Structural biology/ biochemistry--alpha synuclein & other PD linked gene products

这些实验的总体目标是确定PD连锁突变对基因产物性质的影响，并利用这些信息发现测试致病性的可能解释的方法。我们期待这项工作将为帕金森病(PD)的治疗带来新的治疗策略。我们的重点将放在蛋白质纤维形成上，因为纤维状细胞质聚集体，或路易体，是帕金森病的诊断，路易体的一个主要纤维成分也是与早发性帕金森病相关的基因的产物。编码α-突触核蛋白(AlpHas)和泛素C-水解酶(UCH)的两个不同基因的三个突变与早发性帕金森病有关。我们已经证明了这两个Alphas突变会影响蛋白质的寡聚化性质，两者都有利于寡聚化。拟议研究的中心目标是了解齐聚和纤化的结构基础以及这一过程与疾病之间的关系(后者将需要本项目和项目3之间的合作)。我们还对依赖泛素的阿尔法蛋白的降解非常感兴趣，特别是因为UCH可能参与了这一途径。最后，突变的UCH也可能是一种纤维蛋白的可能性正在调查中。蛋白质(UCH和阿尔法)纤化将成为在中心核心设施(核心B)运行的中通量筛查分析的目标。一种与青少年帕金森氏症有关的基因parkin将成为未来生化和生物物理研究的主题。该蛋白含有一个N-末端的泛素同源结构域，这表明它(像UCH一样)参与了降解过程。我们打算描述野生型和突变型帕金氏病的特征。这种疾病是以常染色体隐性遗传的，这一事实表明，由于有毒寡聚体而获得的功能可能与此无关。

The overall goal of these experiments is to determine the effects of PD-linked mutations on the properties of the gene products and to use this information to discover methods to test possible explanations for pathogenicity. We expect that this work will generate new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Our emphasis will be on protein fibrillogenesis, since fibrillar cytoplasmic aggregates, or Lewy bodies, are diagnostic for PD and a major fibrillar component of Lewy bodies is also the product of a gene linked to early-onset PD. Three mutations, in two different genes, encoding alpha-synuclein (alphaS) and ubiquitin C-hydrolase (UCH), have been linked to early-onset PD. We have shown that the two alphaS mutations effect the oligomerization properties of the protein; both favor oligomerization. It is a central goal of the proposed research to understand the structural basis for oligomerization and fibrillization and the relationship between this process and disease (the latter will require a collaboration between this project and project 3). We are also very interested in the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of alphaS, especially since UCH may be involved in that pathway. Finally, the possibility that mutant UCH may also be a fibrillogenic protein is under investigation. Protein (UCH and alphaS) fibrillization will be a target for medium-throughput screening assays to be run in the Center core facility (Core B). A gene linked to juvenile-onset parkinsonism, parkin, will be the subject of future biochemical and biophysical investigations. This protein contains an N-terminal ubiquitin homology domain, which suggests its involvement (like UCH) in the degradative process. We intend to characterize wild-type and mutant forms of Parkin. The fact that this disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner suggests that gain of function due to toxic oligomers may not be involved.