Using the massive computer-simulation power of the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego, researchers are zeroing in on the causes of Parkinson%26#8217;s disease, Alzheimer%26#8217;s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.
A study published in this week%26#8217;s Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) Journal offers %26#8211; for the first time %26#8211; a model for the complex process of aggregation of a protein known as alpha-synuclein, which in turn leads to harmful ring-like or pore-like structures in human membranes, the kind of damage found in Parkinson%26#8217;s and Alzheimer%26#8217;s patients.
The researchers at SDSC and UC San Diego also found that the destructive properties of alpha-synuclein can be blocked by beta-synuclein %26#8211; a finding that could lead to treatments for many debilitating diseases.
The current journal%26#8217;s cover features an image from the research that helps illustrate the scientists%26#8217; work.
%26#8220;This is one of the first studies to use supercomputers to model how alpha-synuclein complexes damage the cells, and how that could be blocked,%26#8221; said Eliezer Masliah, professor of neurosciences and pathology at UC San Diego. %26#8220;We believe that these ring- or pore-like structures might be deleterious to the cells, and we have a unique opportunity to better understand how alpha-synuclein is involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson%26#8217;s disease, and how to reverse this process.%26#8221;
Igor Tsigelny, project scientist in chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego and a researcher at SDSC, said that the team%26#8217;s research helped confirm what researchers had suspected. %26#8220;The present study %26#8211; using molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations in combination with biochemical and ultrastructural analysis %26#8211; shows that alpha-synuclein can lead to the formation of pore-like structures on membranes.%26#8221;
In contrast, he said, %26#8220;beta-synuclein appears to block the propagation of alpha-synucleins into harmful structures.%26#8221;
The complex calculations for the study were performed on Blue Gene supercomputers at SDSC and the Argonne National Labs.
Source: University of California, San Diego
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