# Mechanisms of Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2-causing CCTG DNA Repeat Instability

> **NIH NIH SC3** · CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS · 2020 · $97,050

## Abstract

Project Summary
Expansions of simple DNA repeats cause over 30 heritable neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders. For
example, the two major types of myotonic dystrophy are repeat expansion disorders. DM1 is caused by long
CTG trinucleotide repeats in the 5’ UTR of DMPK whereas DM2 is caused by long tetranucleotide CCTG repeats
in an intron of ZNF9. Experimental systems from bacteria to Drosophila to human cells have been established to
investigate the mechanisms by which CTG sequences expand, or increase in length. Such studies have
implicated specific roles of DNA replication, DNA repair, and transcription in the expansion process. In contrast,
CCTG repeats are more poorly understood, and it is unclear whether the same molecular mechanisms
contributing to CTG repeat expansions also apply to CCTG repeats. This is a pressing question since individuals
with DM2 have, on average, 5000 CCTG repeats in ZNF9. Moreover, the incidence of such long repeat lengths
make delineating the mechanism of repeat contraction particularly attractive as a therapeutic prospect. Thus, the
work proposed here seeks to establish budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a robust experimental
system to investigate CCTG repeat expansions and contractions. Specifically, the proposed research will
investigate the genetic control of CCTG repeat instability and define the proteins and chromatin modifications
associated with CCTG repeats. My overarching hypothesis is that the genes involved in CCTG repeat instability
may partially overlap with those of CTG repeats, but there will be a unique set of players owing to the distinct
effect of CCTG repeats on DNA secondary structure, chromatin state, and replication dynamics. Towards this
end, I will determine the effect of CCTG repeat length, orientation, and transcription on expansions and
contractions. I will identify genetic and molecular determinants of CCTG repeat instability using both candidate
and unbiased genetic screening approaches. In particular, identifying genes involved in CCTG repeat contraction
through an unbiased genetic screen will potentially uncover genes that have no previously known role in DNA
repeat maintenance. Finally, I will define the protein and chromatin landscape at CCTG repeats and compare it to
CTG repeats using the innovative CRISPR-based Chromatin Affinity Purification with Mass Spectrometry
(CRISPR-ChAP-MS) approach. Overall, the proposed research will have a major impact on our understanding of
the molecular biology of CCTG repeats, which has significant implications for human health and disease. This
work will identify potential targets for preventative and therapeutic interventions for DM2 and also serve as a
model for understanding the replication and maintenance of microsatellite repeats responsible for other repeat
expansion disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9891078
- **Project number:** 5SC3GM127198-03
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS
- **Principal Investigator:** Jane C Kim
- **Activity code:** SC3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $97,050
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-13 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9891078

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9891078, Mechanisms of Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2-causing CCTG DNA Repeat Instability (5SC3GM127198-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9891078. Licensed CC0.

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