Truncated N-terminal huntingtin fragment with expanded-polyglutamine (htt552-100Q) suppresses brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcription in astrocytes

Although huntingtin (htt) can be cleaved at many sites by caspases, calpains, and aspartyl proteases, amino acid (aa) 552 was defined as a preferred site for cleavage in human Huntington disease (HD) brains in vivo. To date, the normal function of wild-type N-terminal htt fragment 1-552 aa (htt552)...

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Published in生物化学与生物物理学报:英文版 Vol. 44; no. 3; pp. 249 - 258
Main Author Linhui Wang Fang Lin Jin Wang Junchao Wu Rong Han Lujia Zhu Guoxing Zhang Marian DiFiglia Zhenghong Qin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 2012
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Summary:Although huntingtin (htt) can be cleaved at many sites by caspases, calpains, and aspartyl proteases, amino acid (aa) 552 was defined as a preferred site for cleavage in human Huntington disease (HD) brains in vivo. To date, the normal function of wild-type N-terminal htt fragment 1-552 aa (htt552) and its pathological roles of mutant htt552 are still unknown. Although mutant htt (mhtt) is also expressed in astrocytes, whether and how mhtt con- tributes to the neurodegeneration through astrocytes in HD remains largely unknown. In this study, a glia HD model, using an adenoviral vector to express wild-type htt552 (htt552-18Q) and its mutation (htt552-100Q) in rat primary cortical astrocytes, was generated to investigate the influence of htt552 on the transcription of brain- derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Results from enzyme linked immunosorbent assay showed that the level of BDNF in astrocyte-conditioned medium was decreased in the astrocytes expressing htt552-100Q. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that htt552-100Q reduced the transcripts of the BDNF III and IV, hence, repressed the transcription of BDNF. Furthermore, immunofluorescence showed that aggre- gates formed by htt552-100Q entrapped transcription factors cAMP-response element-binding protein and stimulatory protein 1, which might account for the reduc- tion of BDNF transcription. These findings suggest that mhtt552 reduces BDNF transcription in astrocytes, which might contribute to the neuronal dysfunction in HD.
Bibliography:Although huntingtin (htt) can be cleaved at many sites by caspases, calpains, and aspartyl proteases, amino acid (aa) 552 was defined as a preferred site for cleavage in human Huntington disease (HD) brains in vivo. To date, the normal function of wild-type N-terminal htt fragment 1-552 aa (htt552) and its pathological roles of mutant htt552 are still unknown. Although mutant htt (mhtt) is also expressed in astrocytes, whether and how mhtt con- tributes to the neurodegeneration through astrocytes in HD remains largely unknown. In this study, a glia HD model, using an adenoviral vector to express wild-type htt552 (htt552-18Q) and its mutation (htt552-100Q) in rat primary cortical astrocytes, was generated to investigate the influence of htt552 on the transcription of brain- derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Results from enzyme linked immunosorbent assay showed that the level of BDNF in astrocyte-conditioned medium was decreased in the astrocytes expressing htt552-100Q. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that htt552-100Q reduced the transcripts of the BDNF III and IV, hence, repressed the transcription of BDNF. Furthermore, immunofluorescence showed that aggre- gates formed by htt552-100Q entrapped transcription factors cAMP-response element-binding protein and stimulatory protein 1, which might account for the reduc- tion of BDNF transcription. These findings suggest that mhtt552 reduces BDNF transcription in astrocytes, which might contribute to the neuronal dysfunction in HD.
Huntington's disease; astrocytes; brainderived neurotrophic factor; huntingtin; transcription
31-1940/Q
ISSN:1672-9145
1745-7270