Ataxin-1 with an expanded glutamine tract alters nuclear matrix-associated structures

Pamela J. Skinner, Beena T. Koshy, Christopher J. Cummings, Ivan A. Klement, Kara Helin, Antonio Servadio, Huda Y. Zoghbi and Harry T. Orr ()
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Pamela J. Skinner: University of Minnesota
Beena T. Koshy: Baylor College of Medicine
Christopher J. Cummings: Baylor College of Medicine
Ivan A. Klement: University of Minnesota
Kara Helin: University of Minnesota
Antonio Servadio: Baylor College of Medicine
Huda Y. Zoghbi: Baylor College of Medicine
Harry T. Orr: University of Minnesota

Nature, 1997, vol. 389, issue 6654, 971-974

Abstract: Abstract Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is one of several neurodegenerative disorders caused by an expansion of a polyglutamine tract1,2. It is characterized by ataxia, progressive motor deterioration, and loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells1. To understand the pathogenesis of SCA1, we examined the subcellular localization of wild-type human ataxin-1 (the protein encoded by the SCA1 gene) and mutant ataxin-1 in the Purkinje cells of transgenic mice3. We found that ataxin-1 localizes to the nuclei of cerebellar Purkinje cells. Normal ataxin-1 localizes to several nuclear structures ∼0.5 µm across, whereas the expanded ataxin-1 localizes to a single ∼2-µm structure, before the onset of ataxia. Mutant ataxin-1 localizes to a single nuclear structure in affected neurons of SCA1 patients. Similarly, COS-1 cells transfected with wild-type or mutant ataxin-1 show a similar pattern of nuclear localization; with expanded ataxin-1 occurring in larger structures that are fewer in number than those of normal ataxin-1. Colocalization studies show that mutant ataxin-1 causes a specific redistribution of the nuclear matrix-associated domain containing promyelocytic leukaemia protein4,5,6,7. Nuclear matrix preparations demonstrate that ataxin-1 associates with the nuclear matrix in Purkinje and COS cells. We therefore propose that a critical aspect of SCA1 pathogenesis involves the disruption of a nuclear matrix-associated domain.

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1038/40153

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