Structural Insights into α-synuclein Monomer-fibril Interactions

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 2021 Mar 2

PMID 33649211

Citations 47

Authors

Pratibha Kumari

Dhiman Ghosh

Agathe Vanas

Yanick Fleischmann

Thomas Wiegand

Gunnar Jeschke

Roland Riek

Cedric Eichmann

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Protein aggregation into amyloid fibrils is associated with multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease. Kinetic data and biophysical characterization have shown that the secondary nucleation pathway highly accelerates aggregation via the absorption of monomeric protein on the surface of amyloid fibrils. Here, we used NMR and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the interaction of monomeric α-synuclein (α-Syn) with its fibrillar form. We demonstrate that α-Syn monomers interact transiently via their positively charged N terminus with the negatively charged flexible C-terminal ends of the fibrils. These intermolecular interactions reduce intramolecular contacts in monomeric α-Syn, yielding further unfolding of the partially collapsed intrinsically disordered states of α-Syn along with a possible increase in the local concentration of soluble α-Syn and alignment of individual monomers on the fibril surface. Our data indicate that intramolecular unfolding critically contributes to the aggregation kinetics of α-Syn during secondary nucleation.

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