AnaSpec Introduces a & ß -Synuclein Recombinant Proteins

AnaSpec has announced the release of two new recombinant proteins, a-synuclein (SNCA) and b-Synuclein (SNCB). These proteins, along with g-synuclein (SNCG), are members of the synuclein family of small proteins expressed primarily in neural tissue and in some tumors. Synuclein proteins, found only in vertebrates, possess a highly conserved N-terminal domain, with a variable number of 11-residue repeats and a less conserved C-terminal, with a preponderance of acidic residues.

a-Synuclein
a-Synuclein is an abundant protein of 140 residues that is present in high concentration at presynaptic terminals and is found in both soluble and membrane-associated fractions of the brain. Several possible functions have been suggested, among which are vesicle release and trafficking.

In vitro incubation in the presence of salt with agitation causes a-Synuclein to form fibrils.2-6 a-Synuclein, labeled with AnaSpec’s proprietary green dye, HiLyte Fluor™ 488 (Ex/Em=503/525 nm) is also available.

b-Synuclein
N-terminal of ß-synuclein is highly homologous to a-, ?-synucleins and consists of degenerative “KTKEGV” repeats. Similar to a-synuclein, beta-synuclein is found primarily in the brain; however, it does not associate with Lewy bodies in Parkinson disease like a-synuclein. Beta-synuclein was found to inhibit production of phosphatidic acid by the phospholipase D2 transmembrane protein in vitro.

In addition, ß-synuclein was detected in many breast and ovarian tumors. Recent investigations demonstrated that ß-synuclein can induce mild experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats.