Rhodopsin Oligomerization and Aggregation

Curvature and hydrophobic forces drive oligomerization and modulate activity of rhodopsin in membranes.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are essential components of cellular signaling pathways. They are the targets of many current pharmaceuticals and are postulated to dimerize or oligomerize in cellular membranes in conjunction with their functional mechanisms. We demonstrate using fluorescence resonance energy transfer how association of rhodopsin occurs by long-range lipid-protein interactio...

Intelligent catalysts for ethylene oligomerization and polymerization

EEthylene polymerization catalysts became available in an enormous variety. The challenge in this research is to find catalysts that are able to connect ethylene molecules in such a way that not only linear chains are produced but variations like branched materials that possess very interesting mechanical properties like linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). In this contribution, three diffe...

Oligomerization, Degradation and Aggregation Reactions and Products of Synuclein Polypeptides Related to Parkinson’s Disease

The Role of Alpha-Synuclein Oligomerization and Aggregation in Cellular and Animal Models of Parkinson’s Disease

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a synaptic protein in which four mutations (A53T, A30P, E46K and gene triplication) have been found to cause an autosomal dominant form of Parkinson's disease (PD). It is also the major component of intraneuronal protein aggregates, designated as Lewy bodies (LBs), a prominent pathological hallmark of PD. How α-syn contributes to LB formation and PD is still not well-unde...

Systematic Comparison of the Effects of Alpha-synuclein Mutations on Its Oligomerization and Aggregation

Aggregation of alpha-synuclein (ASYN) in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites is the typical pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD) and other synucleinopathies. Furthermore, mutations in the gene encoding for ASYN are associated with familial and sporadic forms of PD, suggesting this protein plays a central role in the disease. However, the precise contribution of ASYN to neuronal dysfuncti...