Effect of an Amyloidogenic SARS-COV-2 Protein Fragment on α-Synuclein Monomers and Fibrils

J Phys Chem B. 2022 May 26;126(20):3648-3658. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c01254. Epub 2022 May 17.

Abstract

Aggregates of α-synuclein are thought to be the disease-causing agent in Parkinson's disease. Various case studies have hinted at a correlation between COVID-19 and the onset of Parkinson's disease. For this reason, we use molecular dynamics simulations to study whether amyloidogenic regions in SARS-COV-2 proteins can initiate and modulate aggregation of α-synuclein. As an example, we choose the nine-residue fragment SFYVYSRVK (SK9), located on the C-terminal of the envelope protein of SARS-COV-2. We probe how the presence of SK9 affects the conformational ensemble of α-synuclein monomers and the stability of two resolved fibril polymorphs. We find that the viral protein fragment SK9 may alter α-synuclein amyloid formation by shifting the ensemble toward aggregation-prone and preferentially rod-like fibril seeding conformations. However, SK9 has only a small effect on the stability of pre-existing or newly formed fibrils. A potential mechanism and key residues for potential virus-induced amyloid formation are described.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amyloidogenic Proteins* / chemistry
  • Amyloidogenic Proteins* / metabolism
  • COVID-19 / virology
  • Coronavirus Envelope Proteins* / chemistry
  • Coronavirus Envelope Proteins* / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Parkinson Disease* / metabolism
  • Peptide Fragments* / chemistry
  • Peptide Fragments* / metabolism
  • SARS-CoV-2 / metabolism
  • alpha-Synuclein* / chemistry
  • alpha-Synuclein* / metabolism

Substances

  • Amyloidogenic Proteins
  • Coronavirus Envelope Proteins
  • Peptide Fragments
  • alpha-Synuclein
  • envelope protein, SARS-CoV-2