title: Transglutaminase aggregates huntingtin into nonamyloidogenic polymers, and its enzymatic activity increases in Huntington's disease brain nuclei.
abstract: The protein huntingtin (htt), aggregated in neuronal nuclear inclusions, is pathognomonic of Huntington's disease (HD). Constructs, translated in vitro from the N terminus of htt, containing either polyQ23 from a normal individual, or polyQ41 or polyQ67 from an HD patient, were all soluble. Transglutaminase (TGase) crosslinked these proteins, and the aggregations did not have the staining properties of amyloid. More TGase-catalyzed aggregates formed when the polyglutamine domain of htt exceeded the pathologic threshold of polyQ36. Furthermore, shorter htt constructs, containing 135 aa or fewer, formed more aggregates than did larger htt constructs. TGase activity in the HD brain was increased compared with the control, with notable increases in cell nuclei. The increased TGase activity was brain specific. In lymphoblastoid cells from HD patients, TGase activity was decreased. TGase-mediated crosslinking of htt may be involved in the formation of the nonamyloidogenic nuclear inclusions found in the HD brain. The staining properties of nuclear inclusions in the HD brain revealed that they were not amyloid.
authors.affiliation: Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Karpuj
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garren
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Slunt
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gusella
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Becher
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steinman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D019281:Dimerization; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D000071058:Huntingtin Protein; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000378:metabolism; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; C086055:HTT protein, human; D000071058:Huntingtin Protein; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011503:Transglutaminases