SARS-COV-2 spike protein fragment eases amyloidogenesis of α-synuclein, 2023, Chesney et al.

SARS-COV-2 spike protein fragment eases amyloidogenesis of α-synuclein
Chesney, Andrew D.; Maiti, Buddhadev; Hansmann, Ulrich H. E.

Parkinson’s Disease is accompanied by presence of amyloids in the brain formed of α-synuclein chains. Correlation between COVID-19 and the onset of Parkinson’s disease let to the idea that amyloidogenic segments in SARS-COV-2 proteins can induce aggregation of α-synuclein. Using molecular dynamic simulations, we show that the fragment FKNIDGYFKI of the spike protein, which is unique for SARS-COV-2, shifts preferentially the ensemble of α-synuclein monomer towards rod-like fibril seeding conformations, and at the same time stabilizes differentially this polymorph over the competing twister-like structure. Our results are compared with earlier work relying on a different protein fragment that is not specific for SARS-COV-2.

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