Endogenous Alpha-Synuclein Protein Analysis from Human Brain Tissues Using Single-Molecule Pull-Down Assay

Anal Chem. 2017 Dec 19;89(24):13044-13048. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b04335. Epub 2017 Nov 29.

Abstract

Alpha-synuclein (α-SYN) is a central molecule in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis. Despite several studies, the molecular nature of endogenous α-SYN especially in human brain samples is still not well understood due to the lack of reliable methods and the limited amount of biospecimens. Here, we introduce α-SYN single-molecule pull-down (α-SYN SiMPull) assay combined with in vivo protein crosslinking to count individual α-SYN protein and assess its native oligomerization states from biological samples including human postmortem brains. This powerful single-molecule assay can be highly useful in diagnostic applications using various specimens for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / diagnosis
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / metabolism*
  • alpha-Synuclein / analysis*
  • alpha-Synuclein / metabolism

Substances

  • alpha-Synuclein