PolyQ-expansion does not alter the huntingtin-HAP40 complex

The amplification of a CAG repeat in the gene coding for huntingtin (HTT) leads to Huntington’s disease (HD). At the protein level, this translates into the expansion of a poly-glutamine (polyQ) stretch in the HTT N-terminus, which renders HTT aggregation-prone by unknown mechanisms. Here we investigate the effects of polyQ expansion on the HTT-HAP40 complex, where HTT structure is substantially stabilized. Surprisingly, our biophysical, cryo-EM and crosslinking mass spectrometry experiments reveal no major changes between 17QHTT-HAP40 (wild type), 46QHTT-HAP40 (typical polyQ length in HD patients) and 128QHTT-HAP40 (extreme polyQ length). Thus, the proposed destabilizing effect of HTT polyQ expansion may not suffice to alter the HTT-HAP40 complex, suggesting that polyQ expansion does not have a major global effect on HTT structure.