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Ca2+ is a key factor in α-synuclein-induced neurotoxicity

Angelova, PR; Ludtmann, MH; Horrocks, MH; Negoda, A; Cremades, N; Klenerman, D; Dobson, CM; ... Abramov, AY; + view all (2016) Ca2+ is a key factor in α-synuclein-induced neurotoxicity. Journal of Cell Science , 129 (9) pp. 1792-1801. 10.1242/jcs.180737. Green open access

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Abstract

Aggregation of α-synuclein leads to the formation of oligomeric intermediates that can interact with membranes to form pores. However, it is unknown how this leads to cell toxicity in Parkinson's disease. We investigated the species-specific effects of α-synuclein on Ca(2+) signalling in primary neurons and astrocytes using live neuronal imaging and electrophysiology on artificial membranes. We demonstrate that α-synuclein induces an increase in basal intracellular Ca(2+) in its unfolded monomeric state as well as in its oligomeric state. Electrophysiology of artificial membranes demonstrated that α-synuclein monomers induce irregular ionic currents, whereas α-synuclein oligomers induce rare discrete channel formation events. Despite the ability of monomeric α-synuclein to affect Ca(2+) signalling, it is only the oligomeric form of α-synuclein that induces cell death. Oligomer-induced cell death was abolished by the exclusion of extracellular Ca(2+), which prevented the α-synuclein-induced Ca(2+) dysregulation. The findings of this study confirm that α-synuclein interacts with membranes to affect Ca(2+) signalling in a structure-specific manner and the oligomeric β-sheet-rich α-synuclein species ultimately leads to Ca(2+) dysregulation and Ca(2+)-dependent cell death.

Type: Article
Title: Ca2+ is a key factor in α-synuclein-induced neurotoxicity
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1242/jcs.180737
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jcs.180737
Language: English
Additional information: © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed.
Keywords: Ca2+ signalling, Neuronal death, Parkinson's disease, α-Synuclein
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Clinical and Movement Neurosciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1479656
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