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Electron Microscopic Analysis of α-Synuclein Fibrils

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Experimental Models of Parkinson’s Disease

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2322))

Abstract

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a major component of abnormal protein deposits observed in the brains of patients with synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The synaptic protein α-syn is water-soluble under normal physiological conditions, but in these patients’ brains, we see accumulation of insoluble amyloid-like α-syn fibrils with prion-like properties. Intracerebral accumulation of these fibrils is correlated with disease onset and progression. Recombinant α-syn protein also forms amyloid-like fibrils that are structurally akin to those extracted from patients’ brains. Recent cryo-electron microscopic studies have identified the core structures of synthetic α-syn fibrils and α-syn fibrils extracted from the brains of patients with MSA at the atomic level. In this chapter, we describe negative staining and immunoelectron microscopy protocols for ultrastructural characterization of synthetic α-syn fibrils and pathological α-syn fibrils.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Brain and Neurosciences, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan

    Airi Tarutani & Masato Hasegawa

  2. Laboratory of Neuropathology and Neuroscience, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Airi Tarutani

Authors
  1. Airi Tarutani
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  2. Masato Hasegawa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masato Hasegawa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Research for Parkinson’s Disease, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuzuru Imai

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© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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Tarutani, A., Hasegawa, M. (2021). Electron Microscopic Analysis of α-Synuclein Fibrils. In: Imai, Y. (eds) Experimental Models of Parkinson’s Disease. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2322. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1495-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1495-2_2

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1494-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1495-2

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