Preprint Hypothesis Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Role of alpha-Synuclein in Cell Biology: A Hypothesis

Renu Minda
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Version 1 : Received: 18 April 2021 / Approved: 22 April 2021 / Online: 22 April 2021 (10:47:07 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 31 December 2021 / Approved: 10 January 2022 / Online: 10 January 2022 (12:23:19 CET)

How to cite: Minda, R. Role of alpha-Synuclein in Cell Biology: A Hypothesis. Preprints 2021, 2021040606. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0606.v1 Minda, R. Role of alpha-Synuclein in Cell Biology: A Hypothesis. Preprints 2021, 2021040606. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0606.v1

Abstract

I wish to suggest a hypothesis regarding the physiological function of alpha-synuclein, a protein implicated in Parkinson disease, whose cell biology is still debated. The essence is the concept of Carnot cycle of refrigeration in which membrane fluidity depends on the heat produced by mitochondria. The hypothesis has the potential to explain the diverse phenotypes attributed to alpha-synuclein under both physiological and pathological conditions.

Keywords

Parkinson disease; alpha-synuclein; thermodynamics; Carnot cycle; mitochondria

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Biophysics

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Comments (2)

Comment 1
Received: 6 May 2021
Commenter:
Swapan Bhattacharjee

The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment: The application of Carnot Cycle in neuroscience is novel and deserves to be followed up. Though the application of equilibrium thermodynamics is still the norm amongst biologists, it is only a convenient approximation as the author mentions in the paper. Most believe that a living organism is far from equilibrium, but difficult to rigorously applythe mathematical tools of non-equilibrium thermodynamics because of enormous dynamic complexity.
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Comment 2
Received: 11 May 2021
Commenter:
Swapan Bhattacharjee

The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment: The application of Carnot Cycle in neuroscience is novel and deserves to be followed up. Though the application of equilibrium thermodynamics is still the norm amongst biologists, it is only a convenient approximation as the author mentions in the paper. Most believe that a living organism is far from equilibrium, but difficult to rigorously apply the mathematical tools of non-equilibrium thermodynamics because of enormous dynamic complexity.
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