Table 1.
Physiological functions of synuclein proteins.
| Functions | α-syn | β-syn | γ-syn | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neurotransmission | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | [22,23,24,25,26,27] |
| Chaperoning | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | [32,33,34] |
| SNARE assembly | ✔ | Maintenance | Maintenance | [28,29,30,31] |
| DAT transporter delivery to the presynapse | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | [11,31,35] |
| Regulation of DAT transporter activity | ✔ | NA | Maintenance | [36,37,38] |
| Regulation of dopamine homeostasis | ✔ | ? | NA | [27,39,40,41,42,43,44] |
| Potentiation of vesicular dopamine uptake | NA | ✔ | NA | [4] |
| Lipid structure or morphology changes | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | [11,31,45] |
| Regulation of lipid metabolism | NA | NA | ✔ | [46] |
| Anti-apoptosis | ✔ | ✔ | NA | [47,48] |
| Mitochondrial regulation | ? | NA | NA | [49,50,51,52] |
| Regulation of cellular metal homeostasis | NA | ✔ | NA | [11,53,54] |
| Regulation of the autophagic–lysosomal pathway | NA | ? | ✔ | [55,56,57] |
| Interaction with proteasomes | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | [58,59,60] |
| Cytoskeleton stabilization | ? | NA | ✔ | [61,62,63] |
| Regulation of the growth of neurons in SNpc | ✔ | NA | NA | [64] |
| Regeneration of damaged neurons | ? | ? | ? | [65,66] |
✔: involved; NA: not available; ?: hypothesis.