A new role for a protein involved in the aetiology of Parkinson disease

25 de May de 2010

Alpha-synuclein is a synaptic protein forming aggregates during Parkinson development and therefore it has been implicated in its pathogenesis. The precise role of this cytosolic protein in “normal” neurons is not characterized and therefore subjected to intensive research. In an article recently published in EMBO Report a group of the Institute of Neurosciences in collaboration with investigators of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge (UK) described the alpha-synuclein capacity to interfere with the molecular mechanism of neurosecretion when this is regulated by signalling lipids. In this report, these groups proved that arachidonic acid, a common lipid regulator enhances the formation of SNARE complexes increasing catecholamine secretion in neuroendocrine chromaffin cells. Interestingly, alpha-synuclein has the ability to sequester arachidonic acid, therefore interfering with the normal activation of the release of neurotransmitters. This study provides mechanistic insights into the action of alpha-synuclein in neuroexocytosis, an information that could be important to understand the role of this protein in Parkinson. a-Synuclein sequesters arachidonic acid to modulate SNARE-mediated exocytosis. Darios, F., Ruipérez, V., López, I, Villanueva, J., Gutiérrez, L.M., and Davletov, B. EMBO Report (EMBO reports advance online publication 21 May 2010; doi:10.1038/embor.2010.66).