The abnormal amplification of a CAG repeat in the gene coding for huntingtin (HTT) leads to Huntington's disease (HD). At the protein level, this translates into the expansion of a polyglutamine (polyQ) stretch located at the HTT N terminus, which renders HTT aggregation prone by unknown mechanisms. Here we investigated the effects of polyQ expansion on HTT in a complex with its stabilizing interaction partner huntingtin-associated protein 40 (HAP40). Surprisingly, our comprehensive biophysical, crosslinking mass spectrometry and cryo-EM experiments revealed no major differences in the conformation of HTT-HAP40 complexes of various polyQ length, including 17QHTT-HAP40 (wild type), 46QHTT-HAP40 (typical polyQ length in HD patients), and 128QHTT-HAP40 (extreme polyQ length). Thus, HTT polyQ expansion does not alter the global conformation of HTT when associated with HAP40.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2021.04.003 | DOI Listing |
Antioxidants (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan.
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), caused by the abnormal expansion of polyglutamine (polyQ) in the ataxin-3 protein, is one of the inherited polyQ neurodegenerative diseases that share similar genetic and molecular features. Mutant polyQ-expanded ataxin-3 protein is prone to aggregation in affected neurons and is predominantly degraded by autophagy, which is beneficial for neurodegenerative disease treatment. Not only does mutant polyQ-expanded ataxin-3 increase susceptibility to oxidative cytotoxicity, but it also hampers antioxidant potency in neuronal cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFbioRxiv
December 2024
Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, CMSC 5 South, Baltimore, MD21287.
Huntington's Disease (HD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no disease-modifying therapies, is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the HD gene encoding polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin (HTT) protein. Mechanisms of HD cellular pathogenesis and cellular functions of the normal and mutant HTT proteins are still not completely understood. HTT protein has numerous interaction partners, and it likely provides a scaffold for assembly of multiprotein complexes many of which may be altered in HD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurobiol Dis
December 2024
Department of Physiology & Neuroscience, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address:
Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat, encoding a string of glutamines (polyQ) in the first exon of the huntingtin gene (HTTex1). This mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT) with extended polyQ forms aggregates in cortical and striatal neurons, causing cell damage and death. The retina is part of the central nervous system (CNS), and visual deficits and structural abnormalities in the retina of HD patients have been observed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Biophys Res Commun
January 2025
Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St Petersburg State Polytechnical University, St Petersburg, 195251, Russian Federation. Electronic address:
The expansion of glutamine residue track (polyQ) within soluble proteins (Q proteins) is responsible for nine autosomal-dominant genetic neurodegenerative disorders. These disorders develop when polyQ expansion exceeds a specific pathogenic threshold (Q) which is unique for each disease. However, the pathogenic mechanisms associated with the variability of Q within the family of Q proteins are poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
December 2024
Unidad de Investigación, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Canarias (IISC), La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is a cureless neurodegenerative disease recognized as the most prevalent form of dominantly inherited ataxia worldwide. The main hallmark of SCA3 is the expansion of a polyglutamine tract located in the C-terminal of Ataxin-3 (or ATXN3) protein, that triggers the mis-localization and toxic aggregation of ATXN3 in neuronal cells. The propensity of wild type and polyglutamine-expanded ATXN3 proteins to aggregate has been extensively studied over the last decades.
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