title: An Efficient Procedure for Removal and Inactivation of Alpha-Synuclein Assemblies from Laboratory Materials.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preformed α-synuclein fibrils seed the aggregation of soluble α-synuclein in cultured cells and in vivo. This, and other findings, has kindled the idea that α-synuclein fibrils possess prion-like properties.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  As α-synuclein fibrils should not be considered as innocuous, there is a need for decontamination and inactivation procedures for laboratory benches and non-disposable laboratory material.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed the effectiveness of different procedures designed to disassemble α-synuclein fibrils and reduce their infectivity. We examined different commercially available detergents to remove α-synuclein assemblies adsorbed on materials that are not disposable and that are most found in laboratories (e.g. plastic, glass, aluminum or stainless steel surfaces).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We show that methods designed to decrease PrP prion infectivity neither effectively remove α-synuclein assemblies adsorbed to different materials commonly used in the laboratory nor disassemble the fibrillar form of the protein with efficiency. In contrast, both commercial detergents and SDS detached α-synuclein assemblies from contaminated surfaces and disassembled the fibrils.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We describe three cleaning procedures that effectively remove and disassemble α-synuclein seeds. The methods rely on the use of detergents that are compatible with most non-disposable tools in a laboratory. The procedures are easy to implement and significantly decrease any potential risks associated to handling α-synuclein assemblies.
authors.affiliation: Paris-Saclay Institute of Neurosciences, CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bousset
authors.affiliation: Van Andel Research Institute, Center for Neurodegenerative Science, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brundin
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologie et Chimie des Proteines, CNRS/Université de Lyon 1, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Böckmann
authors.affiliation: Physical Chemistry, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Beat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meier
authors.affiliation: Paris-Saclay Institute of Neurosciences, CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Melki
mesh_terms: D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D003902:Detergents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D003902:Detergents; D051844:alpha-Synuclein
keywords: Alpha synuclein; Parkinson’s disease; cleaning procedures; detergent; fibrils; inactivation; removal