SynuClean-D

SynuClean-D (SC-D) is an inhibitor of α-synuclein aggregation, disrupts mature amyloid fibrils, prevents fibril propagation, and abolishes the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease^[1]. In Vitro: SynuClean-D significantly reduces the in vitro aggregation of wild-type α-synuclein and the familiar A30P and H50Q variants in a substoichiometric molar ratio. SynuClean-D prevents fibril propagation in protein-misfolding cyclic amplification assays and decreases the number of α-synuclein inclusions in human neuroglioma cells. Computational analysis suggests that SynuClean-D can bind to cavities in mature α-synuclein fibrils and, indeed, it displays a strong fibril disaggregation activity^[1]. In Vivo: The treatment with SynuClean-D of two parkinson’s disease (PD) Caenorhabditis elegans models, expressing α-synuclein either in muscle or in dopaminergic neurons, significantly reduces the toxicity exerted by α-synuclein. SynuClean-D-treated worms show decreased α-synuclein aggregation in muscle and a concomitant motility recovery. More importantly, this compound is able to rescue dopaminergic neurons from α-synuclein-induced degeneration^[1].