Identification of Proteins Specifically Assembled on a Stem-Loop Composed of a CAG Triplet Repeat

Abstract

Human genomic DNA contains a number of diverse repetitive sequence motifs, often identified as fragile sites leading to genetic instability. Among them, expansion events occurring at triplet repeats have been extensively studied due to their association with neurological disorders, including Huntington’s disease (HD). In the case of HD, expanded CAG triplet repeats in the HTT gene are thought to cause the onset. The expansion of CAG triplet repeats is believed to be triggered by the emergence of stem-loops composed of CAG triplet repeats, while the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Therefore, identifying proteins recruited on such stem loops would be useful to understand the molecular mechanisms leading to the genetic instability of CAG triplet repeats. We previously developed a plasmid DNA pull-down methodology that captures proteins specifically assembled on any sequence of interest using nuclear extracts. Analysis by Mass Spectrometry revealed that among the proteins specifically bound to a stem-loop composed of CAG triplet repeats, many turned out to belong to DNA repair pathways. We expect our data set to represent a useful entry point for the design of assays allowing the molecular mechanisms of genetic instability at CAG triplet repeats to be explored.