Cryo-electron microscopy uncovers key residues within the core of alpha-synuclein fibrils

Abstract

Recent expeditious advances in the determination of the 3-D structure of fibrils of alpha-synuclein, the intrinsically disordered protein associated with the neurodegenerative Parkinson’s disease (PD), have identified amino acid contacts that form the fibril’s inter-protofilament interface. The residues that constitute this “steric zipper” interface determine the morphology of the fibrils as well as toxicity of the oligomeric building units or “kernels” which lead to the formation of the protofilaments. The zipper interface houses key amino acid residues involved in familial PD that can be targeted by drug design.