α-Synuclein oligomers pump it up!

Oligomeric forms of the Parkinson's disease-causing protein alpha-synuclein are suspected to mediate neurodegeneration, but the mechanisms are not understood. The present study of Shrivastava et al (2015) provides a fresh insight into this old mystery. alpha-Synuclein oligomers are shown by a combination of top state-of-the-art biochemical and super-resolution microscopy methods to sequester the neuronal sodium-potassium pump. Such perturbation of ion currents would ultimately lead to Ca2+ excitotoxicity.