Cylindrical α-Syn oligomers.
Chen et al. [5] obtained
cryo-EM images of two toxic cylindrical oligomers of α-Syn. These
oligomers never grow longer. The smaller cylinder has a molecular weight
consistent with having 18 monomers. Our model of this assembly resembles
that of two channel nonamers stacked end-on with 2-fold perpendicular
symmetry (Fig. 24). The primary difference from the channel model is
that the NAC β-hairpins from the two nonamers interlock to form a
36-stranded antiparallel β-barrel linking the two nonamers. The
dimensions of the model and size of the central pore resemble those of
the cryo-EM image.