Researchers at the Autonomous University of Barcelona have found a therapeutic target to neutralize toxic forms of a particular protein, alpha-synuclein, which is closely linked to Parkinson’s disease. A region of this protein would be vulnerable to attack, so it would not become toxic fibers that accumulate in people’s brains. This discovery will allow researchers to develop new treatments to achieve inactivation of this region of the protein, according to a study conducted by the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB-UAB) and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Researchers confirm that alpha-synuclein accumulation is a specific feature of Parkinson’s disease. It is a process in which the protein self-assembles, forms oligomers, and ends up as toxic amyloid fibers that accumulate in patients’ brains. This plays a key role in the development and progression of the disease, which is why researchers explain that it is essential to treat them in the early stages of diagnosis. However, it is worth noting that They are highly transitional and dynamic in nature, which complicates the study of their structure and treatments that prevent them can be developed.
Researchers knew that the PSMa3 molecule inhibits the aggregation of alpha-synuclein into oligomers, preventing its transformation into fibers and reversing its neurotoxicity. However, researchers They have now discovered where, how and when this connection occurs and the area that is “indispensable” for the conversion process related to Parkinson’s symptoms.
“With the identification of this area we will now be able to develop new products,” Salvador Ventura, director of the Protein Folding and Protein Diseases Research Group at IBB-UAB, and study coordinator, Salvador Ventura, explained in a press release from the university. “Molecules that mimic the properties of PSMα3 with much higher affinity and potency.”
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