Exploring the Release of Toxic Oligomers from α-Synuclein Fibrils with Antibodies and STED Microscopy

α-Synuclein (αS) is an intrinsically disordered and highly dynamic protein involved in dopamine release at presynaptic terminals. The abnormal aggregation of αS as mature fibrils into intraneuronal inclusion bodies is directly linked to Parkinson’s disease. Increasing experimental evidence suggests...

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Main Authors: Alessandra Bigi, Emilio Ermini, Serene W. Chen, Roberta Cascella, Cristina Cecchi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
Series:Life
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/5/431
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author Alessandra Bigi
Emilio Ermini
Serene W. Chen
Roberta Cascella
Cristina Cecchi
author_facet Alessandra Bigi
Emilio Ermini
Serene W. Chen
Roberta Cascella
Cristina Cecchi
author_sort Alessandra Bigi
collection DOAJ
description α-Synuclein (αS) is an intrinsically disordered and highly dynamic protein involved in dopamine release at presynaptic terminals. The abnormal aggregation of αS as mature fibrils into intraneuronal inclusion bodies is directly linked to Parkinson’s disease. Increasing experimental evidence suggests that soluble oligomers formed early during the aggregation process are the most cytotoxic forms of αS. This study investigated the uptake by neuronal cells of pathologically relevant αS oligomers and fibrils exploiting a range of conformation-sensitive antibodies, and the super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy. We found that prefibrillar oligomers promptly penetrate neuronal membranes, thus resulting in cell dysfunction. By contrast, fibril docking to the phospholipid bilayer is accompanied by αS conformational changes with a progressive release of A11-reactive oligomers, which can enter into the neurons and trigger cell impairment. Our data provide important evidence on the role of αS fibrils as a source of harmful oligomers, which resemble the intermediate conformers formed de novo during aggregation, underling the dynamic and reversible nature of protein aggregates responsible for α-synucleinopathies.
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spelling doaj.art-9780ceb0824c4c369a1076c296215bb52023-11-21T19:09:14ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292021-05-0111543110.3390/life11050431Exploring the Release of Toxic Oligomers from α-Synuclein Fibrils with Antibodies and STED MicroscopyAlessandra Bigi0Emilio Ermini1Serene W. Chen2Roberta Cascella3Cristina Cecchi4Section of Biochemistry, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, ItalySection of Biochemistry, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, ItalyCentre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UKSection of Biochemistry, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, ItalySection of Biochemistry, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italyα-Synuclein (αS) is an intrinsically disordered and highly dynamic protein involved in dopamine release at presynaptic terminals. The abnormal aggregation of αS as mature fibrils into intraneuronal inclusion bodies is directly linked to Parkinson’s disease. Increasing experimental evidence suggests that soluble oligomers formed early during the aggregation process are the most cytotoxic forms of αS. This study investigated the uptake by neuronal cells of pathologically relevant αS oligomers and fibrils exploiting a range of conformation-sensitive antibodies, and the super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy. We found that prefibrillar oligomers promptly penetrate neuronal membranes, thus resulting in cell dysfunction. By contrast, fibril docking to the phospholipid bilayer is accompanied by αS conformational changes with a progressive release of A11-reactive oligomers, which can enter into the neurons and trigger cell impairment. Our data provide important evidence on the role of αS fibrils as a source of harmful oligomers, which resemble the intermediate conformers formed de novo during aggregation, underling the dynamic and reversible nature of protein aggregates responsible for α-synucleinopathies.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/5/431synucleinopathiesprotein aggregationamyloidtoxic oligomersLewy bodiesPD
spellingShingle Alessandra Bigi
Emilio Ermini
Serene W. Chen
Roberta Cascella
Cristina Cecchi
Exploring the Release of Toxic Oligomers from α-Synuclein Fibrils with Antibodies and STED Microscopy
Life
synucleinopathies
protein aggregation
amyloid
toxic oligomers
Lewy bodies
PD
title Exploring the Release of Toxic Oligomers from α-Synuclein Fibrils with Antibodies and STED Microscopy
title_full Exploring the Release of Toxic Oligomers from α-Synuclein Fibrils with Antibodies and STED Microscopy
title_fullStr Exploring the Release of Toxic Oligomers from α-Synuclein Fibrils with Antibodies and STED Microscopy
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Release of Toxic Oligomers from α-Synuclein Fibrils with Antibodies and STED Microscopy
title_short Exploring the Release of Toxic Oligomers from α-Synuclein Fibrils with Antibodies and STED Microscopy
title_sort exploring the release of toxic oligomers from α synuclein fibrils with antibodies and sted microscopy
topic synucleinopathies
protein aggregation
amyloid
toxic oligomers
Lewy bodies
PD
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/5/431
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