MOAG-4 promotes the aggregation of alpha-synuclein by competing with self-protective electrostatic interactions

Aberrant protein aggregation underlies a variety of age-related neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Little is known, however, about the molecular mechanisms that modulate the aggregation process in the cellular environment. Recently, MOAG-4/SERF has been identified as a class of evolutionarily conserved proteins that positively regulates aggregate formation. Here, by using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, we examine the mechanism of action of MOAG-4 by characterizing its interaction with α-synuclein (αSyn). NMR chemical shift perturbations demonstrate that a positively charged segment of MOAG-4 forms a transiently populated α-helix that interacts with the negatively charged C-terminus of αSyn. This process interferes with the intra-molecular interactions between the N- and C-terminal regions of αSyn, resulting in the protein populating less compact forms and aggregating more readily. These results provide a compelling example of the complex competition between molecular and cellular factors that protect against protein aggregation and those that promote it.