Prionlike propagation of alpha-synuclein

A frozen mouse brain is being cut into thin sections for experiments on a sliding microtome. Lab personnel use a paintbrush to remove the delicate sections from the blade. Discovering disease processes

The Neurobiology of Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders Lab studies disease-associated molecular changes using animal models.

The Neurobiology of Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders Lab and other labs have described alpha-synuclein as being a protein that also is found in the extracellular milieu. Although traditionally alpha-synuclein was thought to exert its detrimental effects inside cells, researchers now know that alpha-synuclein can be secreted from cells and transmitted to neighboring cells. These findings have precipitated new hypotheses in Parkinson's disease and Lewy body disease research, suggesting that alpha-synuclein transmission from cell to cell may be responsible for the disease progressing to different areas of the brain.

The Neurobiology of Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders Lab was one of the first to demonstrate that small soluble aggregates of alpha-synuclein can transfer from cell to cell in a prionlike fashion via extracellular vesicles. Researchers in the lab are eagerly pursuing this line of study.