SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Interact with Alpha Synuclein and Induce Lewy Body-like Pathology In Vitro
Growing cases of patients reported have shown a potential relationship between (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) SARS-CoV-2 infection and Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, it is unclear whether there is a molecular link between these two diseases. Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn), an aggrega...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/6/3394 |
| _version_ | 1797470745068044288 |
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| author | Zhengcun Wu Xiuao Zhang Zhangqiong Huang Kaili Ma |
| author_facet | Zhengcun Wu Xiuao Zhang Zhangqiong Huang Kaili Ma |
| author_sort | Zhengcun Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Growing cases of patients reported have shown a potential relationship between (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) SARS-CoV-2 infection and Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, it is unclear whether there is a molecular link between these two diseases. Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn), an aggregation-prone protein, is considered a crucial factor in PD pathology. In this study, bioinformatics analysis confirmed favorable binding affinity between α-Syn and SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and nucleocapsid (N) protein, and direct interactions were further verified in HEK293 cells. The expression of α-Syn was upregulated and its aggregation was accelerated by S protein and N protein. It was noticed that SARS-CoV-2 proteins caused Lewy-like pathology in the presence of α-Syn overexpression. By confirming that SARS-CoV-2 proteins directly interact with α-Syn, our study offered new insights into the mechanism underlying the development of PD on the background of COVID-19. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:40:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-45cf2d0e5cba4d85b5edee016ddb6f46 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:40:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-45cf2d0e5cba4d85b5edee016ddb6f462023-11-24T01:38:55ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672022-03-01236339410.3390/ijms23063394SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Interact with Alpha Synuclein and Induce Lewy Body-like Pathology In VitroZhengcun Wu0Xiuao Zhang1Zhangqiong Huang2Kaili Ma3Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, ChinaInstitute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, ChinaInstitute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, ChinaInstitute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Kunming 650118, ChinaGrowing cases of patients reported have shown a potential relationship between (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) SARS-CoV-2 infection and Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, it is unclear whether there is a molecular link between these two diseases. Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn), an aggregation-prone protein, is considered a crucial factor in PD pathology. In this study, bioinformatics analysis confirmed favorable binding affinity between α-Syn and SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and nucleocapsid (N) protein, and direct interactions were further verified in HEK293 cells. The expression of α-Syn was upregulated and its aggregation was accelerated by S protein and N protein. It was noticed that SARS-CoV-2 proteins caused Lewy-like pathology in the presence of α-Syn overexpression. By confirming that SARS-CoV-2 proteins directly interact with α-Syn, our study offered new insights into the mechanism underlying the development of PD on the background of COVID-19.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/6/3394Parkinson’s diseaseSARS-CoV-2alpha-synucleinspike proteinnucleocapsid protein |
| spellingShingle | Zhengcun Wu Xiuao Zhang Zhangqiong Huang Kaili Ma SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Interact with Alpha Synuclein and Induce Lewy Body-like Pathology In Vitro International Journal of Molecular Sciences Parkinson’s disease SARS-CoV-2 alpha-synuclein spike protein nucleocapsid protein |
| title | SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Interact with Alpha Synuclein and Induce Lewy Body-like Pathology In Vitro |
| title_full | SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Interact with Alpha Synuclein and Induce Lewy Body-like Pathology In Vitro |
| title_fullStr | SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Interact with Alpha Synuclein and Induce Lewy Body-like Pathology In Vitro |
| title_full_unstemmed | SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Interact with Alpha Synuclein and Induce Lewy Body-like Pathology In Vitro |
| title_short | SARS-CoV-2 Proteins Interact with Alpha Synuclein and Induce Lewy Body-like Pathology In Vitro |
| title_sort | sars cov 2 proteins interact with alpha synuclein and induce lewy body like pathology in vitro |
| topic | Parkinson’s disease SARS-CoV-2 alpha-synuclein spike protein nucleocapsid protein |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/6/3394 |
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