Identification and functional dissection of localization signals within ataxin-3.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) or Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) belongs to a group of autosomal dominant neurodegenerative diseases, which are caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine repeat in the affected protein, in this case ataxin-3. Ataxin-3 is mainly localized in the cytoplasm; however, one hallmark of SCA3 is the formation of ataxin-3-containing protein aggregates in the nucleus of neurons. Currently, it is not known how mutant ataxin-3 translocates into the nucleus.