Description
Product Characteristics: Alpha-Synuclein (SNCA) is expressed predominantly in the brain, where it is concentrated in presynaptic nerve terminals (1). Alpha-synuclein is highly expressed in the mitochondria of the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, striatum and thalamus (2). Functionally, it has been shown to significantly interact with tubulin (3), and may serve as a potential microtubule-associated protein. It has also been found to be essential for normal development of the cognitive functions, inactivation may lead to impaired spatial learning and working memory (4). SNCA fibrillar aggregates represent the major non A-beta component of Alzheimers disease amyloid plaque, and a major component of Lewy body inclusions, and Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive accumulation in selected neurons of protein inclusions containing alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin (5, 6).
Target Information: Alpha-synuclein is a member of the synuclein family, which also includes beta- and gamma-synuclein. Synucleins are abundantly expressed in the brain and alpha- and beta-synuclein inhibit phospholipase D2 selectively. SNCA may serve to integrate presynaptic signaling and membrane trafficking. Defects in SNCA have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease. SNCA peptides are a major component of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Four alternatively spliced transcripts encoding two different isoforms have been identified for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2009]