α-Synuclein and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Molecular Basis of the Interaction and Implication in Neurodegeneration

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a 140-amino acid protein, the physiological function of which has yet to be clarified. It is involved in several neurodegenerative disorders, and the interaction of the protein with brain lipids plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Poly...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2018-06, Vol.23 (7), p.1531
Main Authors: Fecchio, Chiara, Palazzi, Luana, de Laureto, Patrizia Polverino
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
alpha-synuclein
Brain
Docosahexaenoic acid
Energy reserves
Fatty acids
Fluidity
Lipid composition
Lipid peroxidation
Lipids
Membrane fluidity
Membrane permeability
Molecular interactions
Neurodegeneration
Neuroprotection
Oxidative stress
Parkinson’s disease
Peroxidation
Polyunsaturated fatty acids
Proteins
Review
Second messengers
Sequestering
Synuclein
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a 140-amino acid protein, the physiological function of which has yet to be clarified. It is involved in several neurodegenerative disorders, and the interaction of the protein with brain lipids plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are highly abundant in the brain where they play critical roles in neuronal membrane fluidity and permeability, serve as energy reserves and function as second messengers in cell signaling. PUFA concentration and composition in the brain are altered with age when also an increase of lipid peroxidation is observed. Considering that PD is clearly correlated with oxidative stress, PUFA abundance and composition became of great interest in neurodegeneration studies because of PUFA's high propensity to oxidize. The high levels of the PUFA docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in brain areas containing α-syn inclusions in patients with PD further support the hypothesis of possible interactions between α-syn and DHA. Additionally, a possible functional role of α-syn in sequestering the early peroxidation products of fatty acids was recently proposed. Here, we provide an overview of the current knowledge regarding the molecular interactions between α-syn and fatty acids and the effect exerted by the protein on their oxidative state. We highlight recent findings supporting a neuroprotective role of the protein, linking α-syn, altered lipid composition in neurodegenerative disorders and PD development.
ISSN:1420-3049
1420-3049
DOI:10.3390/molecules23071531