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SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE · MED

Alpha-synuclein overexpression increases dopamine toxicity in BE2-M17 cells.

BMC Neurosci · 2010-03-25

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-11-41PMID: 20334701

Open accessResearch Support, N.I.H., Intramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; research-article; Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., ExtramuralOriginal source ↗

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BackgroundOxidative stress has been proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). A plausible source of oxidative stress in nigral dopaminergic neurons is the redox reactions that specifically involve dopamine and produce various toxic molecules, i.e., free radicals and quinone species. alpha-Synuclein, a protein found in Lewy bodies characteristic of PD, is also thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of PD and point mutations and multiplications in the gene coding for alpha-synuclein have been found in familial forms of PD.ResultsWe used dopaminergic human neuroblastoma BE(2)-M17 cell lines stably transfected with WT or A30P mutant alpha-synuclein to characterize the effect of alpha-synuclein on dopamine toxicity. Cellular toxicity was analyzed by lactate dehydrogenase assay and by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. Increased expression of either wild-type or mutant alpha-synuclein enhances the cellular toxicity induced by the accumulation of intracellular dopamine or DOPA.ConclusionsOur results suggest that an interplay between dopamine and alpha-synuclein can cause cell death in a neuron-like background. The data presented here are compatible with several models of cytotoxicity, including the formation of alpha-synuclein oligomers and impairment of the lysosomal degradation.

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