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SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE · MED

A broken alpha -helix in folded alpha -Synuclein.

J Biol Chem · 2003-02-13

DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m213128200PMID: 12586824

Check source for accessResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Journal ArticleOriginal source ↗

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The text below is the source article’s original abstract under a verified reuse license. cc by

alpha-Synuclein is a small cytosolic protein of presynaptic nerve terminals composed of seven 11-residue repeats and a hydrophilic tail. alpha-Synuclein misfolding and dysfunction may contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and neurodegenerative dementias, but its normal folding and function are unknown. In solution, alpha-synuclein is natively unstructured but assumes an alpha-helical conformation upon binding to phospholipid membranes. We now show that this conformation of alpha-synuclein consists of two alpha-helical regions that are interrupted by a short break. The structural organization of the alpha-helices of alpha-synuclein was not anticipated by sequence analyses and may be important for its pathogenic role.

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