Monitoring alpha-synuclein oligomerization and aggregation using bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays: What you see is not always what you get.

ABSTRACT: Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) was introduced a decade ago as a method to monitor alpha-synuclein (α-syn) oligomerization in intact cells. Since then, several α-syn BiFC cellular assays and animal models have been developed based on the assumption that an increase in the fluorescent signal correlates with increased α-syn oligomerization or aggregation. Despite the increasing use of these assays and models in mechanistic studies, target validation and drug screening, there have been no reports that (1) validate the extent to which the BiFC fluorescent signal correlates with α-syn oligomerization at the biochemical level; (2) provide a structural characterization of the oligomers and aggregates formed by the BiFC. To address this knowledge gap, we first analysed the expressi

SUBMITTER: Frey B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8246987 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature