Development of mAb-based polyglutamine-dependent and polyglutamine length-independent huntingtin quantification assays with cross-site validation

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 8;17(4):e0266812. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266812. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by an expansion of the CAG trinucleotide repeat domain in the huntingtin gene that results in expression of a mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT) containing an expanded polyglutamine tract in the amino terminus. A number of therapeutic approaches that aim to reduce mHTT expression either locally in the CNS or systemically are in clinical development. We have previously described sensitive and selective assays that measure human HTT proteins either in a polyglutamine-independent (detecting both mutant expanded and non-expanded proteins) or in a polyglutamine length-dependent manner (detecting the disease-causing polyglutamine repeats) on the electrochemiluminescence Meso Scale Discovery detection platform. These original assays relied upon polyclonal antibodies. To ensure an accessible and sustainable resource for the HD field, we developed similar assays employing monoclonal antibodies. We demonstrate that these assays have equivalent sensitivity compared to our previous assays through the evaluation of cellular and animal model systems, as well as HD patient biosamples. We also demonstrate cross-site validation of these assays, allowing direct comparison of studies performed in geographically distinct laboratories.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Huntingtin Protein / genetics
  • Huntingtin Protein / metabolism
  • Huntington Disease* / genetics
  • Huntington Disease* / metabolism
  • Peptides / genetics
  • Peptides / metabolism
  • Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion

Substances

  • Huntingtin Protein
  • Peptides
  • polyglutamine

Grants and funding

CHDI Foundation, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit research organization exclusively dedicated to developing therapeutics that slow the progression of Huntington’s disease. We collaborate scientifically with and fund a wide variety of academic investigators and industrial companies in pursuit of this goal. The CHDI Foundation contributed to study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, and preparation of the manuscript.