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Supercomputer simulations may
pinpoint causes of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s diseases
Newswise — Using the massive
computer-simulation power of the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC)
at UC San Diego, researchers are zeroing in on the causes of
Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and
other diseases.
A study published in this
week’s Federation of European Biochemical Societies
(FEBS) Journal offers – for the first time – a model
for the complex process of aggregation of a protein
known as alpha-synuclein, which in turn leads to
harmful ring-like or pore-like structures in human
membranes, the kind of damage found in Parkinson’s
and Alzheimer’s patients.
The researchers at SDSC and UC San Diego also
found that the destructive properties of alpha-synuclein can be
blocked by beta-synuclein – a finding that could lead to treatments
for many debilitating diseases.
The current journal’s cover features an image
from the research that helps illustrate the scientists’ work.
“This is one of the first studies to use
supercomputers to model how alpha-synuclein complexes damage the
cells, and how that could be blocked,” said Eliezer Masliah,
professor of neurosciences and pathology at UC San Diego. “We
believe that these ring- or pore-like structures might be
deleterious to the cells, and we have a unique opportunity to better
understand how alpha-synuclein is involved in the pathogenesis of
Parkinson’s disease, and how to reverse this process.”
Igor Tsigelny, project scientist in chemistry
and biochemistry at UC San Diego and a researcher at SDSC, said that
the team’s research helped confirm what researchers had suspected.
“The present study – using molecular modeling and molecular dynamics
simulations in combination with biochemical and ultrastructural
analysis – shows that alpha-synuclein can lead to the formation of
pore-like structures on membranes.”
In contrast, he said, “beta-synuclein appears
to block the propagation of alpha-synucleins into harmful
structures.”
The complex calculations for the study were
performed on Blue Gene supercomputers at SDSC and the Argonne
National Labs.
Tsigelny worked in collaboration with Pazit
Bar-On, Department of Neurosciences; Yuriy Sharikov of SDSC; Leslie
Crews of the Department of Pathology; Makoto Hashimoto of
Neurosciences; Mark A. Miller of SDSC; Steve H. Keller in Medicine;
Oleksandr Platoshyn and Jason X.J. Yuan, both in Medicine; and
Masliah, all at UC San Diego.
The research was supported by funding from the
National Institutes of Health, a Department of Energy INCITE Grant,
the Argonne National Laboratory, and the SDSC/ IBM Institute for
Innovation in Biomedical Simulations and Visualization.
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