Alpha-synuclein research: defining strategic moves in the battle against Parkinson’s disease

• Main Authors: Luis M. A. Oliveira, Thomas Gasser, Robert Edwards, Markus Zweckstetter, Ronald Melki, Leonidas Stefanis, Hilal A. Lashuel, David Sulzer, Kostas Vekrellis, Glenda M. Halliday, Julianna J. Tomlinson, Michael Schlossmacher, Poul Henning Jensen, Julia Schulze-Hentrich, Olaf Riess, Warren D. Hirst, Omar El-Agnaf, Brit Mollenhauer, Peter Lansbury, Tiago F. Outeiro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-07-01
• Series: npj Parkinson's Disease
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-021-00203-9

Abstract With the advent of the genetic era in Parkinson’s disease (PD) research in 1997, α-synuclein was identified as an important player in a complex neurodegenerative disease that affects >10 million people worldwide. PD has been estimated to have an economic impact of $51.9 billion in the US alone. Since the initial association with PD, hundreds of researchers have contributed to elucidating the functions of α-synuclein in normal and pathological states, and these remain critical areas for continued research. With this position paper the authors strive to achieve two goals: first, to succinctly summarize the critical features that define α-synuclein’s varied roles, as they are known today; and second, to identify the most pressing knowledge gaps and delineate a multipronged strategy for future research with the goal of enabling therapies to stop or slow disease progression in PD.