Introducing an expanded CAG tract into the huntingtin gene causes a wide spectrum of ultrastructural defects in cultured human cells

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 17;13(10):e0204735. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204735. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Modeling of neurodegenerative diseases in vitro holds great promise for biomedical research. Human cell lines harboring a mutations in disease-causing genes are thought to recapitulate early stages of the development an inherited disease. Modern genome-editing tools allow researchers to create isogenic cell clones with an identical genetic background providing an adequate "healthy" control for biomedical and pharmacological experiments. Here, we generated isogenic mutant cell clones with 150 CAG repeats in the first exon of the huntingtin (HTT) gene using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and performed ultrastructural and morphometric analyses of the internal organization of the mutant cells. Electron microscopy showed that deletion of three CAG triplets or an HTT gene knockout had no significant influence on the cell structure. The insertion of 150 CAG repeats led to substantial changes in quantitative and morphological parameters of mitochondria and increased the association of mitochondria with the smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum while causing accumulation of small autolysosomes in the cytoplasm. Our data indicate for the first time that expansion of the CAG repeat tract in HTT introduced via the CRISPR/Cas9 technology into a human cell line initiates numerous ultrastructural defects that are typical for Huntington's disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Clone Cells / metabolism
  • Clone Cells / ultrastructure
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum / ultrastructure
  • Gene Knockout Techniques
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Huntingtin Protein / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Huntingtin Protein / genetics*
  • Huntington Disease / genetics*
  • Huntington Disease / pathology*
  • Lysosomes / ultrastructure
  • Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
  • Mitochondria / ultrastructure
  • Mutant Proteins / genetics*
  • Mutation
  • Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion*

Substances

  • HTT protein, human
  • Huntingtin Protein
  • Mutant Proteins

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Russian Scientific Foundation (project № 16-15-10128). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.