AI Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how α-synuclein, a protein linked to Parkinson's disease, impacts the structure of a specific DNA hairpin using a technique called Förster resonance energy transfer.
- Binding of α-synuclein to the DNA hairpin's loop changes its typical open-closed states, especially in conditions that simulate cellular environments.
- The research suggests that beyond forming harmful aggregates, α-synuclein could influence the expression of genes relevant to Parkinson's, and the findings may also shed light on how organisms in high-pressure environments function.
Article Abstract
The effect of an amyloidogenic intrinsically disordered protein, α-synuclein, which is associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), on the conformational dynamics of a DNA hairpin (DNA-HP) was studied by employing the single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer method. The open-to-closed conformational equilibrium of the DNA-HP is drastically affected by binding of monomeric α-synuclein to the loop region of the DNA-HP. Formation of a protein-bound intermediate conformation is fostered in the presence of an aqueous two-phase system mimicking intracellular liquid-liquid phase separation. Using pressure modulation, additional mechanistic information about the binding complex could be retrieved. Hence, in addition to toxic amyloid formation, α-synuclein may alter expression profiles of disease-modifying genes in PD. Furthermore, these findings might also have significant bearings on the understanding of the physiology of organisms thriving at high pressures in the deep sea.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7496936 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.202002119 | DOI Listing |
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