In article <mailman.1308.1319565543.14889.proteins from net.bio.net>, rkurtz3
@gmail.com says...
> In my research I found
> that PD is connected to a protein called alpha-synuclein, and I hope to
> develop a program that can help predict the folding of this protein. I was
> wondering if you have any papers that may be helpful or if you know of
> scientists that may be willing to help me.. Any advice that you could offer
> would be greatly appreciated.
>>> -Rachel Yang
>From the point of view of a protein scientist, PD belongs into a much
larger group of diseases, the amyloidoses. In these, proteins re-fold
into beta-helices, leading to aggregation. Characteristically, the
aggregates bind certain dyes under metachromatic color shift, that way
they can be recognized in histological sections. The prion diseases,
Huntington's, Alzheimer's, ALS, Ostertag amyloidoses, type II diabetes
(yes, that one too!) and several others belong into this group. The
structure of amyloid has been solved recently (PDB-code 2rnm) by magic
angle NMR spectroscopy.
