title: Comparative analysis of anti-polyglutamine Fab crystals grown on Earth and in microgravity.
abstract: Huntington's disease is one of nine neurodegenerative diseases caused by a polyglutamine (polyQ)-repeat expansion. An anti-polyQ antigen-binding fragment, MW1 Fab, was crystallized both on Earth and on the International Space Station, a microgravity environment where convection is limited. Once the crystals returned to Earth, the number, size and morphology of all crystals were recorded, and X-ray data were collected from representative crystals. The results generally agreed with previous microgravity crystallization studies. On average, microgravity-grown crystals were 20% larger than control crystals grown on Earth, and microgravity-grown crystals had a slightly improved mosaicity (decreased by 0.03°) and diffraction resolution (decreased by 0.2 Å) compared with control crystals grown on Earth. However, the highest resolution and lowest mosaicity crystals were formed on Earth, and the highest-quality crystal overall was formed on Earth after return from microgravity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Gwen E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Owens
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Danielle M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: New
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Alejandra I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Olvera
authors.affiliation: Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1025 18th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Julia Ashlyn
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Manzella
authors.affiliation: Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1025 18th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Brittney L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Macon
authors.affiliation: Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1025 18th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1025 18th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1025 18th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Robyn L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Rouleau
authors.affiliation: Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1025 18th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Connor
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Pamela J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Bjorkman
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D018534:Earth, Planet; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D000071058:Huntingtin Protein / Q000737:chemistry; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D010455:Peptides / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014893:Weightlessness; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: C086055:HTT protein, human; D000071058:Huntingtin Protein; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments; D010455:Peptides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C097188:polyglutamine
keywords: Huntington's disease; International Space Station; X-ray crystallography; crystallization; huntingtin; microgravity; polyglutamine