Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33610557›Full record

ArticleJournal of molecular biology2021

Brazilin Removes Toxic Alpha-Synuclein and Seeding Competent Assemblies from Parkinson Brain by Altering Conformational Equilibrium.

George R Nahass, Yuanzi Sun, Yong Xu, Mark Batchelor, Madeleine Reilly, Iryna Benilova, Niraja Kedia, Kevin Spehar, Frank Sobott, Richard B Sessions and 5 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of molecular biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. VCP suppresses proteopathic seeding in neurons.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

George R NahassColorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA; Medical Research Council Prion Unit / UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, London, UK; Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA; Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH, Hamilton, MT, USA.
Yuanzi SunMedical Research Council Prion Unit / UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, London, UK.
Yong XuAstbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
Mark BatchelorMedical Research Council Prion Unit / UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, London, UK.
Madeleine ReillyMedical Research Council Prion Unit / UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, London, UK.
Iryna BenilovaMedical Research Council Prion Unit / UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, London, UK.
Niraja KediaWashington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA.
Kevin SpeharWashington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA.
Frank SobottAstbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
Richard B SessionsBiomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK.
Byron CaugheyRocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH, Hamilton, MT, USA.
Sheena E RadfordAstbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
Parmjit S JatMedical Research Council Prion Unit / UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, London, UK.
John CollingeMedical Research Council Prion Unit / UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, London, UK.
Jan BieschkeMedical Research Council Prion Unit / UCL Institute of Prion Diseases, University College London, London, UK; Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA. Electronic address: j.bieschke@ucl.ac.uk.
MRC Prion Unit · GBUniversity of Leeds · GBWashington University in St. Louis · USColorado College · US

Funding

Prion Disease TherapeuticsZIAAI001087 · NIAID · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES · PI CAUGHEY, BYRON · 2009 to 2025
$2.5M
TEMPLATED CONVERSION OF TRANSMISSIBLE PROTEINS IN NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASER21NS101588 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI WEIHL, CONRAD C · 2018 to 2019
$419k
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/E012558/1Medical Research Council MC_UP_1004/1Medical Research Council MC_UP_1604/1Medical Research Council MC_UU_00024/2Medical Research Council MC_UU_00024/6Medical Research Council MR/M02492X/1NINDS NIH HHS R21 NS101588Wellcome Trust 204963Wellcome Trust 204963/Z/16/ZWellcome Trust 208385
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Alpha-synuclein (α-syn) fibrils, a major constituent of the neurotoxic Lewy Bodies in Parkinson's disease, form via nucleation dependent polymerization and can replicate by a seeding mechanism. Brazilin, a small molecule derived from red cedarwood trees in Brazil, has been shown to inhibit the fibrillogenesis of amyloid-beta (Aβ) and α-syn as well as remodel mature fibrils and reduce cytotoxicity. Here we test the effects of Brazilin on both seeded and unseeded α-syn fibril formation and show that the natural polyphenol inhibits fibrillogenesis of α-syn by a unique mechanism that alters conformational equilibria in two separate points of the assembly mechanism: Brazilin preserves the natively unfolded state of α-syn by specifically binding to the compact conformation of the α-syn monomer. Brazilin also eliminates seeding competence of α-syn assemblies from Parkinson's disease patient brain tissue, and reduces toxicity of pre-formed assemblies in primary neurons by inducing the formation of large fibril clusters. Molecular docking of Brazilin shows the molecule to interact both with unfolded α-syn monomers and with the cross-β sheet structure of α-syn fibrils. Our findings suggest that Brazilin has substantial potential as a neuroprotective and therapeutic agent for Parkinson's disease.

Indexed as

alpha-SynucleinAmyloidAmyloid beta-PeptidesAnimalsBenzopyransBrainHumansMiceMolecular ConformationMolecular Docking SimulationNeuronsParkinson Diseasealpha-SynucleinAmyloidAmyloid beta-PeptidesBenzopyransbrazilinAmyloidMolecular ModellingNeurdegenerationParkinson’s diseasePolyphenol

Identifiers

PMID33610557
PMCPMC7610480
OpenAlexW3132951842

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.