Persyn, a member of the synuclein family, influences neurofilament network integrity

Synucleins are small cytosolic proteins expressed in the nervous system; they are localized in synaptic terminals but not tightly associated with either cytoskeletal or vesicular fractions. Alpha-synuclein has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and familial Parkinson's disease because it is present in senile plaques and Lewy bodies, binds amyloid Aβ peptide and is mutated in some families affected by Parkinson's disease, but the cellular functions of synucleins remain elusive. Here we show that a synuclein we term persyn increases the susceptibility of neurofilament-H to calcium-dependent proteases.

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