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Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) Inhibits Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation: A Potential Agent for Parkinson’s Disease

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Abstract

Protein aggregation is a prominent feature of many neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease (PD). Aggregation of alpha-synuclein (SNCA) may underlie the pathology of PD. They are the main components of Lewy bodies and dystrophic neurites that are the intraneuronal inclusions characteristic of the disease. We have demonstrated that the polyphenol (−)-epi-gallocatechine gallate (EGCG) inhibited SNCA aggregation, which made it a candidate for therapeutic intervention in PD. Three methods were used: SNCA fibril formation inhibition by EGCG in incubates; inhibition of the SNCA fluorophore A-Syn-HiLyte488 binding to plated SNCA in microwells; and inhibition of the A-Syn-HiLyte488 probe binding to aggregated SNCA in postmortem PD tissue. Recombinant human SNCA was incubated under conditions that result in fibril formation. The aggregation was blocked by 100 nM EGCG in a concentration-dependent manner, as shown by an absence of thioflavin T binding. In the microplate assay system, the ED50 of EGCG inhibition of A-Syn-HiLyte488 binding to coated SNCA was 250 nM. In the PD tissue based assay, SNCA aggregates were recognized by incubation with 7 nM of A-Syn-HiLyte488. This binding was blocked by EGCG in a concentration dependent manner. The SNCA amino acid sites, which potentially interacted with EGCG, were detected on peptide membranes. It was implicated that EGCG binds to SNCA by instable hydrophobic interactions. In this study, we suggested that EGCG could be a potent remodeling agent of SNCA aggregates and a potential disease modifying drug for the treatment of PD and other α-synucleinopathies.

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Acknowledgments

No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript. This work is funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81171206) and the grand from Key Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Ministry of Education (No.2015SJBX05). We thank Dr. Jian Mao and Jiangkun Lu for language editing, and Rui Zhou for editing the pictures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Biopharmaceutical and Bioengineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, School of Life Science, 5 South Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yan Xu, Yanyan Zhang, Zhenzhen Quan, Rongkai Zhang, Qinghu Yang, Rongji Dai & Hong Qing

  2. Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Winnie Wong, Jianping Guo & Patrick L. McGeer

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  1. Yan Xu
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  2. Yanyan Zhang
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Correspondence to Hong Qing.

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Xu, Y., Zhang, Y., Quan, Z. et al. Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) Inhibits Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation: A Potential Agent for Parkinson’s Disease. Neurochem Res 41, 2788–2796 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-016-1995-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-016-1995-9

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