PIN1-mediated Heat Shock Response Can Modulate Aggregation in Huntington’s Disease

Abstract

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no current drug treatment that can effectively modify disease progression The mutation that causes HD is an expansion of CAG repeats that codes for an abnormal polyglutamine (polyQ) tract in the huntingtin protein (Htt) Mutant Htt can form oligomers polymers and large aggregates which are insoluble and toxic to neurons through interference with gene transcription enhanced mitochondrial stress and dysfunction of the proteasome degradation system Heat shock response (HSR) can protect cells from mutant Htt by refolding misfolded proteins and reducing the ability of mutant Htt to aggregate PIN1 is an abudundant cis-trans isomerase in neurons that is known to participate in many cell signaling processes In my project I found that PIN1 can interact with HSF1 which is crucial for HSF1 tramsactivation and thus enhance key chaperon proteins expression attributed to HSR Modulation PIN1 in SHSY5Y and cortical primary neuron under heat shock circumstances can interfere amount of aggregates and inclusion bodies PIN1(+/+)、(+/-) (-/-) primary neuron result showed that PIN1 level is poositive correlated with chaperon protein expression and is negative related to aggregates level In mouse model I illustrate that PIN1 manipulation only has little effect on aggregates level while PIN1 combined with HSF1 activation can decrease mutant Htt aggregates burden My finding reveal that PIN1 is indispensable for HSF1-mediated Htt aggregates reduction

Date of Award	2016 Jun 23
Original language	English
Supervisor	Pei-Jung Lu (Supervisor)