A Capped Peptide of the Aggregation Prone NAC 71-82 Amino Acid Stretch of α-Synuclein Folds into Soluble β-Sheet Oligomers at Low and Elevated Peptide Concentrations.

Although Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites are hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), misfolded α-synuclein oligomers are nowadays believed to be key for the development of these diseases. Attempts to target soluble misfolded species of the full-length protein have been limited so far, probably due to the fast aggregation kinetics and burial of aggregation prone segments in final cross-β-sheet fibrils. A previous characterisation study of fibrils prepared from a capped peptide of the non-amyloid β-component (NAC) 71-82 amino acid stretch of α-synuclein demonstrated an increased aggregation propensity resulting in a cross-β-structure that is also found in prion proteins.