# Validation of Novel Pathogenic Post-Translational Modifications of Huntingtin, and of Modifying Enzymes as Therapeutic Targets for Huntington's Disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $639,103

## Abstract

Validation of Novel Pathogenic Post-Translational Modifications of Huntingtin,
 and of Modifying Enzymes as Therapeutic Targets for Huntington's Disease
 HD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a single gene mutation, the CAG repeat
expansion in Huntingtin (Htt). The best-validated therapeutic target in HD remains Htt itself, and RNAi
approaches are under development to lower mutant Htt in HD patients. However, these approaches have
daunting obstacles of delivery large molecules to the CNS. Small molecule therapeutics remains an important
alternative. We have identified near 40 PTMs (phosphorylation and acetylation) on endogenous Htt from human
and mouse brain using quantitative proteomics. We find that the PTMs are arranged in clusters, and we have
initial evidence for crosstalk among certain sites in these clusters.. Furthermore, we find that alteration of the
residues for several of the PTMs abrogates mutant Htt neuronal toxicity, showing that PTMs are modulators of
mutant Htt toxicity. These data indicate that identification of the enzymes catalyzing these PTMs will have
potential for yielding defined molecular targets for disease-modifying therapy for HD. We now propose the next
series of steps in these studies, in order to identify additional PTMs, and to identify enzymes that catalyze
modifications, as potential defined molecular targets for rational therapeutics for HD. We will take advantage
now of our newly developed HD iPSC-derived immortalized striatal precursor cell lines. In Aim 1, we will identify
novel PTMs on Htt using our novel striatal precursor cell lines (SPNs) derived from HD iPS cells. These can be
differentiated into neurons with a medium-spiny neuron phenotype. We will generate PTM-specific antibodies
to high-priority PTMs, in order to evaluate localization in cellular compartments using immunofluorescence, and
cell fractionation followed by Western blot, in SPNs and human brain. In Aim 2 we will identify kinases and other
modifying enzymes. In Aim 3 we will confirm the role of PTMs and kinases in HD cellular pathogenesis and their
validation as therapeutic targets. We will perform CRISPR/Cas9 PTM alterations for highly-ranked functional
PTMs, as well as CRISPR/Cas9 knock-out of most relevant kinases in striatal precursor neuron model in
collaboration with Gene Edit BioLab and Xiao and Shihua Li, who are expert at gene editing in relation to
HD. Taken together, these studies will further elucidate the basic biology of mutant Htt. The identification of
modifying enzymes has the potential to provide defined molecular targets for preclinical therapeutic studies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9842916
- **Project number:** 5R01NS086452-07
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher A Ross
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $639,103
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-04-01 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9842916

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9842916, Validation of Novel Pathogenic Post-Translational Modifications of Huntingtin, and of Modifying Enzymes as Therapeutic Targets for Huntington's Disease (5R01NS086452-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9842916. Licensed CC0.

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