To determine whether α-synuclein expressed from one cell could induce the rupture of vesicles in neighboring cells, we treated N27 cells stably expressing α-synuclein (N27 α-synuclein) with the mitochondrial toxin MPP+ (1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine), which is used to induce a Parkinson's like pathology in tissue culture [23]. Here, SNCA is linked to Parkinson disease.