What is it about?
Parkinson's disease is a nervous system disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. An abundant neuronal protein alpha-synuclein's non-functional aggregates accumulate in cell during this disease, resulting in abnormal cell to cell communication. The normal physiological function of monomeric alpha-synuclein is still unclear. Here we used biophysical and biochemical approaches to point out a key function of alpha-synuclein monomer in regulating cell to cell communication, which is required to synchronize the overall function of human body.
Featured Image
Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Our study will help to understand the molecular basis of abnormal intercellular communication, during pathological conditions. A few key observations will initiate new cell-based studies and in the future can be extended to the structure-function study of alpha-synuclein in more detail. These are crucial factors to identify better drug targets for the disease in the future.
Perspectives
I hope this article will initiate new in vivo studies to understand the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.
Debasis Das
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: α-Synuclein kinetically regulates the nascent fusion pore dynamics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, August 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2021742118.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
