α-SC8

α-SC8 is a rationally designed vaccine candidate targeting pathological alpha-synuclein aggregates associated with synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy (MSA), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). It utilizes the prion domain of the fungal HET-s protein as a structural scaffold to present specific epitopes from alpha-synuclein fibrils. By mimicking the parallel in-register beta-sheet structure of these fibrils, α-SC8 induces an immune response that selectively recognizes misfolded, aggregated forms of alpha-synuclein while sparing the native, monomeric protein. This specificity aims to avoid potential autoimmune complications seen with earlier vaccine attempts. The candidate has demonstrated the ability to induce antibodies that recognize pathological aggregates in both mouse models and human patient brain lysates.

Other names

α-SC8 vaccine