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Vibrational circular dichroism sheds new light on the competitive effects of crowding and $\beta$-synuclein on the fibrillation process of $\alpha$-synuclein

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

The effects of crowding, using the crowding agent Ficoll 70, and the presence of beta-synuclein on the fibrillation process of a-synuclein were studied by spectroscopic techniques, transmission electron microscopy, and thioflavin T assays. This combined approach, in which all techniques were applied to the same original sample, generated an unprecedented understanding of the effects of these modifying agents on the morphological properties of the fibrils. Separately, crowding gives rise to shorter mutually aligned fibrils, while beta-synuclein leads to branched, short fibrils. The combination of both effects leads to short, branched, mutually aligned fibrils. Moreover, it is shown that the nondestructive technique of vibrational circular dichroism is extremely sensitive to the length and the higher order morphology of the fibrils.
Journal: Biochemistry
ISSN: 0006-2960
Volume: 57
Pages: 5989 - 5995
Publication year:2018
Keywords:A1 Journal article
BOF-keylabel:yes
BOF-publication weight:1
CSS-citation score:1
Authors:International
Authors from:Government
Accessibility:Open