Background pattern of a brain with neural connections

Team West

Decoding Alpha-Synuclein Conformational Diversity to Enable Advanced Predictive Amplification Assays

2026-Present

Data from our Team suggest that recombinant products from alpha-synuclein seeding-amplification assays (SAAs) may harbor an untapped wealth of conformational heterogeneity, echoing post translational modifications and conformational properties of seeds and assemblies in the brain, associated with different endophenotypes in Parkinson’s disease and related Lewy body diseases. In our Team approach, we will harness the latest breakthroughs in cryo-EM and mass spectrometry to provide an unprecedented vantage into specific seeds, co-factors, and pathologies to enable the rapid development of scalable conformation-specific precision SAAs that accurately predict important endophenotypes in disease and provide new targets for therapeutic intervention.

Tags
Alpha-synucleinCryo-EMCryo-ETFibrilFluid-based biomarkersPathologyProtein aggregatesProteomicsSeeding assays

Our Research Teams

Members of the CRN work diligently to advance our understanding of Parkinson’s disease. Learn more about recent CRN discoveries and achievements.