Open Accessα‐Synuclein, oxidative stress and apoptosis from the perspective of a yeast model of Parkinson's disease
Author(s) -
Witt Stephan N.,
Flower Todd R.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
fems yeast research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1567-1364
pISSN - 1567-1356
DOI - 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2006.00135.x
Subject(s) - biology , yeast , saccharomyces cerevisiae , oxidative stress , reactive oxygen species , model organism , microbiology and biotechnology , apoptosis , mitochondrion , budding yeast , phosphatidylserine , cytochrome c , parkinson's disease , biochemistry , disease , gene , medicine , phospholipid , pathology , membrane
The neuronal protein α‐synuclein (α‐syn) has been suggested to be one of the factors linked to Parkinson's disease (PD). Several organisms, including the rat, mouse, worm, and fruit fly, are being used to study α‐syn pathobiology. A new model organism was recently added to this armamentarium: the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The yeast system recapitulates many of the findings made with higher eukaryotes. For example, yeast cells expressing α‐syn accumulate lipid droplets, have vacuolar/lysosomal defects, and exhibit markers of apoptosis, including the externalization of phosphatidylserine, the release of cytochrome c , and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. This MiniReview focuses on the mechanisms by which α‐syn induces oxidative stress and the mechanisms by which yeast cells respond to this stress. Three classes of therapeutics are discussed.