Why do structural differences in α-synuclein aggregates cause different pathologies?

(Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science) Abnormal α-synuclein aggregation has been implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases and is known to spread in a prion-like manner. There is a relationship between protein aggregate structure (strain) and clinical phenotype in prion diseases, however, whether differences in the strains of α synuclein aggregates account for the different pathologies remained unclear. Researchers in Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (TMIMS) di...