*Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, U.K.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2013 Dec;41(6):1513-7. doi: 10.1042/BST20130130.
Many proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases have poorly defined or unknown functions. α-Synuclein is one such protein which is associated with a range of diseases including Parkinson's disease. Now accepted as a metal-binding protein, α-synuclein's function could possibly be defined in relation to the binding of cofactors. It has been suggested recently that α-synuclein is able to reduce iron using copper as its catalytic centre. The consequence of this is that possibly the function of α-synuclein can now be defined. The evidence for this and the consequences for Parkinson's disease are discussed in the present review.
许多与神经退行性疾病相关的蛋白质的功能尚未明确或未知。α-突触核蛋白就是这样一种与包括帕金森病在内的一系列疾病相关的蛋白质。现在，α-突触核蛋白被认为是一种金属结合蛋白，其功能可能与其结合辅助因子有关。最近有人提出，α-突触核蛋白能够利用铜作为其催化中心来还原铁。其结果可能是α-突触核蛋白的功能现在可以被定义了。本文综述了这方面的证据及其对帕金森病的影响。
