Characterization, developmental expression and evolutionary features of the huntingtin gene in the amphioxus Branchiostoma floridae

CircHTT(2,3,4,5,6) - co-evolving with the HTT CAG-repeat tract - modulates Huntington's disease phenotypes

Circular RNA (circRNA) molecules have critical functions during brain development and in brain-related disorders. Here, we identified and validated a circRNA, circHTT(2,3,4,5,6), stemming from the Huntington's disease (HD) gene locus that is most abundant in the central nervous system (CNS). We uncovered its evolutionary conservation in diverse mammalian species, and a correlation between circHTT(2,3,4,5,6) levels and the length of the CAG-repeat tract in exon-1 of HTT in human and mouse HD model systems. The mouse orthologue, circHtt(2,3,4,5,6), is expressed during embryogenesis, increases during nervous system development, and is aberrantly upregulated in the presence of the expanded CAG tract. While an IRES-like motif was predicted in circH TT (2,3,4,5,6), the circRNA does not appear to be translated in adult mouse brain tissue. Nonetheless, a modest, but consistent fraction of circHtt(2,3,4,5,6) associates with the 40S ribosomal subunit, suggesting a possible role in the regulation of protein translation. Finally, circHtt(2,3,4,5,6) overexpression experiments in HD-relevant STHdh striatal cells revealed its ability to modulate CAG expansion-driven cellular defects in cell-to-substrate adhesion, thus uncovering an unconventional modifier of HD pathology.

The evolutionary history of the polyQ tract in huntingtin sheds light on its functional pro-neural activities

Huntington's disease is caused by a pathologically long (>35) CAG repeat located in the first exon of the Huntingtin gene (HTT). While pathologically expanded CAG repeats are the focus of extensive investigations, non-pathogenic CAG tracts in protein-coding genes are less well characterized. Here, we investigated the function and evolution of the physiological CAG tract in the HTT gene. We show that the poly-glutamine (polyQ) tract encoded by CAGs in the huntingtin protein (HTT) is under purifying selection and subjected to stronger selective pressures than CAG-encoded polyQ tracts in other proteins. For natural selection to operate, the polyQ must perform a function. By combining genome-edited mouse embryonic stem cells and cell assays, we show that small variations in HTT polyQ lengths significantly correlate with cells' neurogenic potential and with changes in the gene transcription network governing neuronal function. We conclude that during evolution natural selection promotes the conservation and purity of the CAG-encoded polyQ tract and that small increases in its physiological length influence neural functions of HTT. We propose that these changes in HTT polyQ length contribute to evolutionary fitness including potentially to the development of a more complex nervous system.

Involvement of Huntingtin in Development and Ciliary Beating Regulation of Larvae of the Sea Urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus

The multiple functions of the wild type Huntington's disease protein of the sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus (Hp-Htt) have been examined using the anti-Hp-Htt antibody (Ab) raised against synthetic oligopeptides. According to immunoblotting, Hp-Htt was detected as a single band at around the 350 kDa region at the swimming blastula stage to the prism larva stage. From the 2-arm pluteus stage (2aPL), however, an additional smaller band at the 165 kDa region appeared. Immunohistochemically, Hp-Htt was detected in the nuclei and the nearby cytoplasm of the ectodermal cells from the swimming blastula stage, and the blastocoelar cells from the mid-gastrula stage. The Ab-positive signal was converged to the ciliary band-associated strand (CBAS). There, it was accompanied by several CBAS-marker proteins in the cytoplasm, such as glutamate decarboxylase. Application of Hp-Htt morpholino (Hp-Htt-MO) has resulted in shortened larval arms, accompanied by decreased 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridin (BrdU) incorporation by the ectodermal cells of the larval arms. Hp-Htt-MO also resulted in lowered ciliary beating activity, accompanied by a disordered swirling pattern formation around the body. These Hp-Htt-MO-induced deficiencies took place after the onset of CBAS system formation at the larval arms. Thus, Hp-Htt is involved in cell proliferation and the ciliary beating pattern regulation signaling system in pluteus larvae.

In Silico Analysis of Huntingtin Homologs in Lower Eukaryotes

Huntington's disease is a rare neurodegenerative and autosomal dominant disorder. HD is caused by a mutation in the gene coding for huntingtin (Htt). The result is the production of a mutant Htt with an abnormally long polyglutamine repeat that leads to pathological Htt aggregates. Although the structure of human Htt has been determined, albeit at low resolution, its functions and how they are performed are largely unknown. Moreover, there is little information on the structure and function of Htt in other organisms. The comparison of Htt homologs can help to understand if there is a functional conservation of domains in the evolution of Htt in eukaryotes. In this work, through a computational approach, Htt homologs from lower eukaryotes have been analysed, identifying ordered domains and modelling their structure. Based on the structural models, a putative function for most of the domains has been predicted. A putative C. elegans Htt-like protein has also been analysed following the same approach. The results obtained support the notion that this protein is a orthologue of human Htt.

Polyglutamine Tract Expansion Increases S-Nitrosylation of Huntingtin and Ataxin-1

Expansion of the polyglutamine (polyQ) tract in the huntingtin (Htt) protein causes Huntington’s disease (HD), a fatal inherited movement disorder linked to neurodegeneration in the striatum and cortex. S-nitrosylation and S-acylation of cysteine residues regulate many functions of cytosolic proteins. We therefore used a resin-assisted capture approach to identify these modifications in Htt. In contrast to many proteins that have only a single S-nitrosylation or S-acylation site, we identified sites along much of the length of Htt. Moreover, analysis of cells expressing full-length Htt or a large N-terminal fragment of Htt shows that polyQ expansion strongly increases Htt S-nitrosylation. This effect appears to be general since it is also observed in Ataxin-1, which causes spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) when its polyQ tract is expanded. Overexpression of nitric oxide synthase increases the S-nitrosylation of normal Htt and the frequency of conspicuous juxtanuclear inclusions of Htt N-terminal fragments in transfected cells. Taken together with the evidence that S-nitrosylation of Htt is widespread and parallels polyQ expansion, these subcellular changes show that S-nitrosylation affects the biology of this protein in vivo.

Evidence for dynamic and multiple roles for huntingtin in Ciona intestinalis

Although mutations in the huntingtin gene (HTT) due to poly-Q expansion cause neuropathology in humans (Huntington’s disease; HD), the normal function(s) of the gene and its protein (HTT) remain obscure. With new information from recently sequenced invertebrate genomes, the study of new animal models opens the possibility of a better understanding of HTT function and its evolution. To these ends, we studied huntingtin expression pattern and dynamics in the invertebrate chordate Ciona intestinalis. Ciona huntingtin (Ci-HTT) shows a biphasic expression pattern during larval development and prior to metamorphosis. A single form of huntingtin protein is present until the early larval stages, at which time two different mass proteins become evident in the metamorphically competent larva. An antibody against Ci-HTT labeled 50 cells in the trunk mesenchyme regions in pre-hatching and hatched larvae and probably represents the distribution of the light form of the protein. Dual labeling with anti-Ci-HTT and anti-aldoketoreductase confirmed the presence of Ci-HTT in mesenchyme cells. Suppression of Ci-HTT RNA by a morpholino oligonucleotide reduced the number and apparent mobility of Ci-HTT positive cells. In Ciona, HTT expression has a dynamic temporal and spatial expression pattern that in ontogeny precedes metamorphosis. Although our results may reflect a derived function for the protein in pre- and post-metamorphic events in Ciona, we also note that as in vertebrates, there is evidence for multiple differential temporal expression, indicating that this protein probably has multiple roles in ontogeny and cell migration.

Polyglutamine domain flexibility mediates the proximity between flanking sequences in huntingtin

Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG expansion within the huntingtin gene that encodes a polymorphic glutamine tract at the amino terminus of the huntingtin protein. HD is one of nine polyglutamine expansion diseases. The clinical threshold of polyglutamine expansion for HD is near 37 repeats, but the mechanism of this pathogenic length is poorly understood. Using Förster resonance energy transfer, we describe an intramolecular proximity between the N17 domain and the downstream polyproline region that flanks the polyglutamine tract of huntingtin. Our data support the hypothesis that the polyglutamine tract can act as a flexible domain, allowing the flanking domains to come into close spatial proximity. This flexibility is impaired with expanded polyglutamine tracts, and we can detect changes in huntingtin conformation at the pathogenic threshold for HD. Altering the structure of N17, either via phosphomimicry or with small molecules, also affects the proximity between the flanking domains. The structural capacity of N17 to fold back toward distal regions within huntingtin requires an interacting protein, protein kinase C and casein kinase 2 substrate in neurons 1 (PACSIN1). This protein has the ability to bind both N17 and the polyproline region, stabilizing the interaction between these two domains. We also developed an antibody-based FRET assay that can detect conformational changes within endogenous huntingtin in wild-type versus HD fibroblasts. Therefore, we hypothesize that wild-type length polyglutamine tracts within huntingtin can form a flexible domain that is essential for proper functional intramolecular proximity, conformations, and dynamics.

The evolutionary origins of chordate hematopoiesis and vertebrate endothelia

The vertebrate circulatory system is the most complex vascular system among those of metazoans, with key innovations including a multi-chambered heart and highly specialized blood cells. Invertebrate vessels, on the other hand, consist of hemal spaces between the basal laminae of epithelia. How the evolutionary transition from an invertebrate-type system to the complex vertebrate one occurred is, however, poorly understood. We investigate here the development of the cardiovascular system of the cephalochordate amphioxus Branchiostoma lanceolatum in order to gain insight into the origin of the vertebrate cardiovascular system. The cardiac markers Hand, Csx (Nkx2-5) and Tbx4/5 reveal a broad cardiac-like domain in amphioxus; such a decentralized organization during development parallels that seen in the adult anatomy. Our data therefore support the hypothesis that amphioxus never possessed a proper heart, even transiently during development. We also define a putative hematopoietic domain, supported by the expression of the hematopoietic markers Scl and Pdvegfr. We show that this area is closed to the dorsal aorta anlages, partially linked to excretory tissues, and that its development is regulated by retinoic acid, thus recalling the aorta-gonads-mesonephros (AGM) area of vertebrates. This region probably produces Pdvegfr+ hemal cells, with an important role in amphioxus vessel formation, since treatments with an inhibitor of PDGFR/VEGFR lead to a decrease of Laminin in the basal laminae of developing vessels. Our results point to a chordate origin of hematopoiesis in an AGM-like area from where hemal Pdvegfr+ cells are produced. These Pdvegfr+ cells probably resemble the ancestral chordate blood cells from which the vertebrate endothelium later originated.

The function and developmental expression of alternatively spliced isoforms of amphioxus and Xenopus laevis Pax2/5/8 genes: revealing divergence at the invertebrate to vertebrate transition

Pax genes encode highly conserved transcription factors vital for metazoan development. Pax transcripts, particularly those in Group II (Pax2/5/8), are extensively alternatively spliced. This study compares the transcriptional activation capacity and developmental stage-specific expression of major isoforms of Group II Pax proteins in amphioxus (Branchiostoma floridae) and in Xenopus laevis. The comparison reveals considerable divergence of splice forms between the lineages, with the X. laevis Group II Pax genes (Pax2, Pax5, and Pax8) possessing a greater repertoire of regulated and functionally distinct splice forms than the single amphioxus gene (Pax2/5/8). Surprisingly, some apparently conserved splice forms are expressed at quite different levels during development in the two organisms and present different capacities to activate transcription. However, despite this divergence, the combinatorial transcriptional activation capacity of the isoforms present in early X. laevis and amphioxus development are broadly similar. This suggests that the some of the conserved functional roles, implied by the expression of Group II Pax genes in homologous tissues of amphioxus and X. laevis embryos, may depend upon the combination of isoforms expressed in a particular tissue at a particular time in development. Thus, during early development, the evolutionary constraint on the net effect of several isoforms co-expressed in a given tissue may be more strict than that on specific isoforms. This flexibility may facilitate the appearance of new exons and splicing patterns in the vertebrate duplicates, leading to isoforms with subtly distinct functions critical to the subsequent development of vertebrate-specific cell types and structures.

Molecular Mechanisms and Potential Therapeutical Targets in Huntington's Disease

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the gene encoding for huntingtin protein. A lot has been learned about this disease since its first description in 1872 and the identification of its causative gene and mutation in 1993. We now know that the disease is characterized by several molecular and cellular abnormalities whose precise timing and relative roles in pathogenesis have yet to be understood. HD is triggered by the mutant protein, and both gain-of-function (of the mutant protein) and loss-of-function (of the normal protein) mechanisms are involved. Here we review the data that describe the emergence of the ancient huntingtin gene and of the polyglutamine trait during the last 800 million years of evolution. We focus on the known functions of wild-type huntingtin that are fundamental for the survival and functioning of the brain neurons that predominantly degenerate in HD. We summarize data indicating how the loss of these beneficial activities reduces the ability of these neurons to survive. We also review the different mechanisms by which the mutation in huntingtin causes toxicity. This may arise both from cell-autonomous processes and dysfunction of neuronal circuitries. We then focus on novel therapeutical targets and pathways and on the attractive option to counteract HD at its primary source, i.e., by blocking the production of the mutant protein. Strategies and technologies used to screen for candidate HD biomarkers and their potential application are presented. Furthermore, we discuss the opportunities offered by intracerebral cell transplantation and the likely need for these multiple routes into therapies to converge at some point as, ideally, one would wish to stop the disease process and, at the same time, possibly replace the damaged neurons.