PepTivator® α-Synuclein, research grade，130-132-052，美天旎

PepTivator^® α-Synuclein is a pool of lyophilized peptides, consisting mainly of 15-mer sequences with 11 amino acids overlap, covering the complete sequence of human alpha-Synuclein (αSyn) (UniProt ID: P37840).

In vitro stimulation of antigen-specific T cells with PepTivator Peptide Pools causes the secretion of effector cytokines and the up-regulation of activation markers, which then allow the detection and isolation of antigen-specific T cells.

Alpha-Synuclein (αSyn) is a protein that in human is encoded by the SNCA gene and is composed of 140 aa, reaching a molecular weight of approximately 15 kDa. There are at least 3 protein isoforms of αSyn while the most investigated is the full-length one. αSyn is predominantly expressed in different cellular compartments of the brain, mainly in the synaptic terminals of neuronal cells. αSyn is also abundantly expressed in blood cells, including erythrocytes, T and B lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes and macrophages.

The physiological functions of αSyn are not well understood, but it is shown to play a role in restricting the mobility of synaptic vesicles and is implicated in synaptic vesicle recycling and neurotransmitter release. In pathology, αSyn aggregates to abnormal cytoplasmatic particles to form insoluble fibrils. This aggregation process involves the binding of αSyn with other proteins for the formation of the so called Lewy bodies (LB), which are abnormal neuronal inclusions mainly constituted by α-Syn fibrillar clusters. LBs are linked to neurodegenerative diseases, called synucleinopathies, which includes Parkinson´s (PD) disease, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Studies have shown that the percentage of different T lymphocyte populations is decreased in PD patients. Therefore, as changes in T cells and αSyn have been reported in PD, αSyn can be recognized as an antigen that triggers immune responses by different T-cells. As αSyn is expressed in blood cells, it can also be considered as a novel biomarker in diagnosis of diseases related to the hematopoietic system like anemia or leukemia.

The PepTivator Peptide Pools have been specially developed for efficient in vitro stimulation of antigen-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, as peptides of 15 amino acid length with 11 amino acid overlap represent the optimized solution for stimulating both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in various applications. Stimulation of T cells with PepTivator Peptide Pools causes the secetion of effector cytokines and upregulation of activation markers, which then allows the detection or isolation of antigen-specific T cells. Quantitative, phenotypical, or functional analysis of antigen-specific T cell immunity can provide important information on the natural course of immune responses in healthy or immunocompromised individuals.