{"title":"Liquid-liquid phase separation and conformational strains of <i>α</i>-Synuclein: implications for Parkinson's disease pathogenesis.","authors":"Eva D Ruiz-Ortega, Anna Wilkaniec, Agata Adamczyk","doi":"10.3389/fnmol.2024.1494218","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parkinson's disease (PD) and other synucleinopathies are characterized by the aggregation and deposition of alpha-synuclein (<i>α</i>-syn) in brain cells, forming insoluble inclusions such as Lewy bodies (LBs) and Lewy neurites (LNs). The aggregation of <i>α</i>-syn is a complex process involving the structural conversion from its native random coil to well-defined secondary structures rich in <i>β</i>-sheets, forming amyloid-like fibrils. Evidence suggests that intermediate species of <i>α</i>-syn aggregates formed during this conversion are responsible for cell death. However, the molecular events involved in <i>α</i>-syn aggregation and its relationship with disease onset and progression remain not fully elucidated. Additionally, the clinical and pathological heterogeneity observed in various synucleinopathies has been highlighted. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and condensate formation have been proposed as alternative mechanisms that could underpin <i>α</i>-syn pathology and contribute to the heterogeneity seen in synucleinopathies. This review focuses on the role of the cellular environment in <i>α</i>-syn conformational rearrangement, which may lead to pathology and the existence of different <i>α</i>-syn conformational strains with varying toxicity patterns. The discussion will include cellular stress, abnormal LLPS formation, and the potential role of LLPS in <i>α</i>-syn pathology.</p>","PeriodicalId":12630,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11537881/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2024.1494218","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) and other synucleinopathies are characterized by the aggregation and deposition of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) in brain cells, forming insoluble inclusions such as Lewy bodies (LBs) and Lewy neurites (LNs). The aggregation of α-syn is a complex process involving the structural conversion from its native random coil to well-defined secondary structures rich in β-sheets, forming amyloid-like fibrils. Evidence suggests that intermediate species of α-syn aggregates formed during this conversion are responsible for cell death. However, the molecular events involved in α-syn aggregation and its relationship with disease onset and progression remain not fully elucidated. Additionally, the clinical and pathological heterogeneity observed in various synucleinopathies has been highlighted. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and condensate formation have been proposed as alternative mechanisms that could underpin α-syn pathology and contribute to the heterogeneity seen in synucleinopathies. This review focuses on the role of the cellular environment in α-syn conformational rearrangement, which may lead to pathology and the existence of different α-syn conformational strains with varying toxicity patterns. The discussion will include cellular stress, abnormal LLPS formation, and the potential role of LLPS in α-syn pathology.
期刊介绍：
Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience is a first-tier electronic journal devoted to identifying key molecules, as well as their functions and interactions, that underlie the structure, design and function of the brain across all levels. The scope of our journal encompasses synaptic and cellular proteins, coding and non-coding RNA, and molecular mechanisms regulating cellular and dendritic RNA translation. In recent years, a plethora of new cellular and synaptic players have been identified from reduced systems, such as neuronal cultures, but the relevance of these molecules in terms of cellular and synaptic function and plasticity in the living brain and its circuits has not been validated. The effects of spine growth and density observed using gene products identified from in vitro work are frequently not reproduced in vivo. Our journal is particularly interested in studies on genetically engineered model organisms (C. elegans, Drosophila, mouse), in which alterations in key molecules underlying cellular and synaptic function and plasticity produce defined anatomical, physiological and behavioral changes. In the mouse, genetic alterations limited to particular neural circuits (olfactory bulb, motor cortex, cortical layers, hippocampal subfields, cerebellum), preferably regulated in time and on demand, are of special interest, as they sidestep potential compensatory developmental effects.
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