Examination of ataxin-3 (atx-3) aggregation by structural mass spectrometry techniques: A rationale for expedited aggregation upon polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion

Expansion of polyglutamine stretches leads to the formation of polyglutamine-containing neuronal aggregates and neuronal death in nine diseases for which there currently are no treatments or cures. This is largely due to a lack in understanding of the mechanisms by which expanded polyglutamine regions contribute to aggregation and disease. To complicate matters further, several of the polyglutamine-disease related proteins, including ataxin-3, have a multistage aggregation mechanism in which flanking domain self-assembly precedes polyglutamine aggregation yet is influenced by polyglutamine expansion. How polyglutamine expansion influences flanking domain aggregation is poorly understood. Here, we use a combination of mass spectrometry and biophysical approaches to investigate this issue for ataxin-3. We show that the conformational dynamics of the flanking Josephin domain in ataxin-3 with an expanded polyglutamine tract are altered in comparison to those exhibited by its nonexpanded counterpart, specifically within the aggregation-prone region of the Josephin domain (amino acid residues 73-96). Expansion thus exposes this region more frequently in ataxin-3 containing an expanded polyglutamine tract, providing a molecular explanation of why aggregation is accelerated upon polyglutamine expansion. Here, harnessing the power of ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry, oligomeric species formed during aggregation are characterized and a model for oligomer growth proposed. The results suggest that a conformational change occurs at the dimer level that initiates self-assembly. New insights into ataxin-3 fibril architecture are also described, revealing the region of the Josephin domain involved in protofibril formation and demonstrating that polyglutamine aggregation proceeds as a distinct second step after protofibril formation without requiring structural rearrangement of the protofibril core. Overall, the results enable the effect of polyglutamine expansion on every stage of ataxin-3 self-assembly, from monomer through to fibril, to be described and a rationale for expedited aggregation upon polyglutamine expansion to be provided.