Environmental toxins and alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease.

In recent years, environmental influences have been thought to play an important role in Parkinson's disease (PD). Evidence from epidemiological investigations suggests that environmental factors might take part in the disease process. Intriguingly, most of environmental toxins share the common mechanism of causing mitochondria dysfunction by inhibiting complex I and promoting alpha-synuclein aggregation, a key factor in PD. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of interactions between alpha-synuclein and environmental factors could lead to new therapeutic approaches to PD.