Huntingtin interacting protein 1 can regulate neurogenesis in Drosophila

The role of ligand endocytosis in notch signalling

The Notch signalling receptor is a mechanoreceptor that is activated by force. This force elicits a conformational change in Notch that results in the release of its intracellular domain into the cytosol by two consecutive proteolytic cleavages. In most cases, the force is generated by pulling of the ligands on the receptor upon their endocytosis. In this review, we summarise recent work that shed a more detailed light on the role of endocytosis during ligand-dependent Notch activation and discuss the role of ubiquitylation of the ligands during this process.

Expression of genes encoding the calcium signalosome in cellular and transgenic models of Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disease caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine stretch in the huntingtin (HTT) protein and characterized by dysregulated calcium homeostasis. We investigated whether these disturbances are correlated with changes in the mRNA level of the genes that encode proteins involved in calcium homeostasis and signaling (i.e., the calciosome). Using custom-made TaqMan low-density arrays containing probes for 96 genes, we quantified mRNA in the striatum in YAC128 mice, a model of HD, and wildtype mice. HTT mutation caused the increased expression of some components of the calcium signalosome, including calretinin, presenilin 2, and calmyrin 1, and the increased expression of genes indirectly involved in calcium homeostasis, such as huntingtin-associated protein 1 and calcyclin-binding protein. To verify these findings in a different model, we used PC12 cells with an inducible expression of mutated full-length HTT. Using single-cell imaging with Fura-2AM, we found that store-operated Ca²⁺ entry but not endoplasmic reticulum (ER) store content was changed as a result of the expression of mutant HTT. Statistically significant downregulation of the Orai calcium channel subunit 2, calmodulin, and septin 4 was detected in cells that expressed mutated HTT. Our data indicate that the dysregulation of calcium homeostasis correlates with changes in the gene expression of members of the calciosome. These changes, however, differed in the two models of HD used in this study. Our results indicate that each HD model exhibits distinct features that may only partially resemble the human disease.

Functions of huntingtin in germ layer specification and organogenesis

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by abnormal polyglutamine expansion in the huntingtin protein (Htt). Although both Htt and the HD pathogenic mutation (mHtt) are implicated in early developmental events, their individual involvement has not been adequately explored. In order to better define the developmental functions and pathological consequences of the normal and mutant proteins, respectively, we employed embryonic stem cell (ESC) expansion, differentiation and induction experiments using huntingtin knock-out (KO) and mutant huntingtin knock-in (Q111) mouse ESC lines. In KO ESCs, we observed impairments in the spontaneous specification and survival of ectodermal and mesodermal lineages during embryoid body formation and under inductive conditions using retinoic acid and Wnt3A, respectively. Ablation of BAX improves cell survival, but failed to correct defects in germ layer specification. In addition, we observed ensuing impairments in the specification and maturation of neural, hepatic, pancreatic and cardiomyocyte lineages. These developmental deficits occurred in concert with alterations in Notch, Hes1 and STAT3 signaling pathways. Moreover, in Q111 ESCs, we observed differential developmental stage-specific alterations in lineage specification and maturation. We also observed changes in Notch/STAT3 expression and activation. Our observations underscore essential roles of Htt in the specification of ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm, in the specification of neural and non-neural organ-specific lineages, as well as cell survival during early embryogenesis. Remarkably, these developmental events are differentially deregulated by mHtt, raising the possibility that HD-associated early developmental impairments may contribute not only to region-specific neurodegeneration, but also to non-neural co-morbidities.

Selective roles of normal and mutant huntingtin in neural induction and early neurogenesis

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by abnormal polyglutamine expansion in the amino-terminal end of the huntingtin protein (Htt) and characterized by progressive striatal and cortical pathology. Previous reports have shown that Htt is essential for embryogenesis, and a recent study by our group revealed that the pathogenic form of Htt (mHtt) causes impairments in multiple stages of striatal development. In this study, we have examined whether HD-associated striatal developmental deficits are reflective of earlier maturational alterations occurring at the time of neurulation by assessing differential roles of Htt and mHtt during neural induction and early neurogenesis using an in vitro mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) clonal assay system. We demonstrated that the loss of Htt in ESCs (KO ESCs) severely disrupts the specification of primitive and definitive neural stem cells (pNSCs, dNSCs, respectively) during the process of neural induction. In addition, clonally derived KO pNSCs and dNSCs displayed impaired proliferative potential, enhanced cell death and altered multi-lineage potential. Conversely, as observed in HD knock-in ESCs (Q111 ESCs), mHtt enhanced the number and size of pNSC clones, which exhibited enhanced proliferative potential and precocious neuronal differentiation. The transition from Q111 pNSCs to fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2)-responsive dNSCs was marked by potentiation in the number of dNSCs and altered proliferative potential. The multi-lineage potential of Q111 dNSCs was also enhanced with precocious neurogenesis and oligodendrocyte progenitor elaboration. The generation of Q111 epidermal growth factor (EGF)-responsive dNSCs was also compromised, whereas their multi-lineage potential was unaltered. These abnormalities in neural induction were associated with differential alterations in the expression profiles of Notch, Hes1 and Hes5. These cumulative observations indicate that Htt is required for multiple stages of neural induction, whereas mHtt enhances this process and promotes precocious neurogenesis and oligodendrocyte progenitor cell elaboration.