Molecular Rotors Detect the Formation and Conversion of α-Synuclein Oligomers.

ABSTRACT: α-Synuclein is an intrinsically disordered protein that forms amyloids in Parkinson's disease. Currently, detection methods predominantly report on the formation of mature amyloids but are weakly sensitive to the early stage, toxic oligomers. Molecular rotors are fluorophores that sense changes in the viscosity of their local environment. Here, we monitor α-synuclein oligomer formation using the fluorescence lifetime of molecular rotors. We detect oligomer formation and conversion into amyloids for wild-type and two α-synuclein variants, the pathological mutant A30P and ΔP1 α-synuclein, which lacks a master regulator region of aggregation (residues 36-42). We report that A30P α-synuclein shows a rate of oligomer formation similar to that of wild-type α-synuclein, whereas ΔP1 α-synuclein sh

SUBMITTER: Allerton SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11843532 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature