The impact of altered charge on huntingtin aggregation and lipid binding.

Abstract

Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by an expansion within the polyglutamine (polyQ) domain of the huntingtin protein (htt), resulting in toxic aggregation. The complex aggregation mechanism is influenced by a variety of factors, including the first 17 amino acids at the N-terminus (Nt17) preceding the polyQ domain and presence of lipid membranes. Nt17 has a propensity to form an amphipathic α-helix which promotes, through intramolecular interactions, the formation of α-helix rich oligomers in which nucleation of fibril formation occurs. The Nt17 amphipathic α-helix also facilitates htt/lipid interactions. Nt17 contains multiple sites of potential post-translational modification. Acetylation occurs at lysine 6, 9, and/or 15 while phosphorylation occurs at threonine 3, serine 13, and/or serine 16. Such modifications affect both aggregation and lipid binding through altering intramolecular interactions (i.e. electrostatics, hydrophobic interactions, and salt-bridges) critical to oligomer formation and stability. A mechanistic understanding of how acetylation and phosphorylation impacts oligomeric intermediates, subsequent aggregation, and lipid interactions can provide critical insights into toxic mechanism and elucidate potential therapeutic targets. The role of intramolecular interactions, most notably electrostatics, in htt interactions with respect to aggregation and lipid binding was measured using a combination of thioflavin-T aggregation assays, colorimetric lipid binding assays, atomic force microscopy, and mass spectrometry. Incubation of free Nt17 peptides (without the polyQ domain) containing point mutations with htt-exon1(46Q) most notably influenced aggregation, with the incorporation of free peptides reducing aggregation relative to htt-exon1(46Q) alone. Oligomers were exposed to lipid vesicles, and those with free Nt17 peptide incorporated minimally impacted interactions relative to those exclusively containing htt-exon1(46Q). Collectively, this suggests that while post-translational modifications impact fibril nucleation within oligomers, charge plays a limited role in facilitating the interaction between htt oligomers and lipid membranes.