Morphing Protein Alpha Synuclein Reveals Information about Parkinson's Disease

A recent study looks at detailed images and measurements regarding the morphing structure of a brain protein that could play an important role in aiding the development of new treatments for Parkinson's disease. 

The protein, known as alpha synuclein, has the power to morlph into a harmful structure that creates amyloid fibrils. These structures are linked to protein molecules that can form neurodegenerative diseases in the brain and cause inflammation. 

"The abnormal protein formation characterizes a considerable number of human diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases and type II diabetes," Lia Stanciu said, via a press release, an associate professor of materials engineering at Purdue University.

Until now, the transition from globular to fibrils had not been captured and measured.

In order to create this, researchers used the protein to transform into fibrils by exposing them to copper and mimicking what typically happens when people are exposed to heavy metals, which creates an oxidation state of ions in the structure. 

They then incubated the protein in a labortory over a 24-hour-period and used an electron microscope to capture data of its changing shape. The protein was frozen during specific time intervals with liquid nitrogen. 

This protein morphs into "protofibril" strands that often assemble into pore-like rings that can assemble into fibrils via hydrogen bonds, according to background information from the study. 

"We found a correlation between protofibrils in these rings and the fibrils, for the first time to our knowledge, by measuring their true sizes and visualizing the aggregation steps," Stanciu said, via the release. "A better understanding of the mechanism yields fresh insight into the pathogenesis of amyloid-related diseases and may provide us the opportunity to develop additional therapeutic strategies."

More information regarding the study can be found via the Biophysical Journal.

Parkinson's disease is a prorgressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement. As it develops gradually, symptoms worsen over time causing stiffness, slowness of movement, tremors and uncontrolled motion, according to the Mayo Clinic.