Post-translational modification of α-synuclein in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, and the most prevalent degenerative movement disorder. It is estimated that the prevalence of such age-related neurodegenerative diseases will double in the next 25 years. While the etiology of Parkinson's disease is not entirely clear, a common link between both inherited and sporadic forms of disease is the protein a-synuclein. In PD brains, alpha-synuclein is typically found in large, insoluble protein aggregates referred to as Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. The exact role of a-synuclein is still unknown, but it has been shown to undergo a variety of post-translational modifications, which impact a-synuclein aggregation and oligomer formation in different ways. This review highlights key post-translational modifications and the impact they have on alpha-synuclein aggregation and toxicity, elucidating potential mechanisms for PD pathogenesis and targets for future therapeutics. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Neuroprotection. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.