The Novel Polyglutamine Protein KIAA1946 Localizes to Cytoplasmic Vesicles
Location
CSU 253/4/5
Start Date
4-4-2011 1:30 PM
End Date
4-4-2011 3:00 PM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Geoffrey M. Goellner
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
Kiaa1946 is a novel protein that contains a polyglutamine (polyQ) stretch within its primary amino acid sequence; polyQ tract proteins are particularly interesting because expansion mutation within them has been shown to underlie a growing list of severe neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington‘s Disease and Spinocerebellar Ataxia. Using a bioinformatics approach, we have found that Kiaa1946 is likely expressed in the nervous system, and contains a putative signal sequence and transmembrane domain- suggesting that it likely plays a functional role in some aspect of the neuronal endomembrane system. As an initial attempt to ascertain which subcellular compartment Kiaa1946 functions in- we have cloned it into both pEGFPN1 and pFLAG-CMV vectors, and assayed its intracellular localization in tissue culture cells using fluorescence microscopy. We find that both epitope tagged versions of KIAA1946 display a punctate/vesicular staining pattern in the cytoplasm of COS-7 and HELA cell- as predicted by the bioinformatics data. These data represent a first step in characterizing the cellular function of this novel polyQ protein, and serve as a starting point for further investigations including: verification of KIAA1946‘s subcellular localization using specific antibodies, and colocalization studies using organelle specific markers.
The Novel Polyglutamine Protein KIAA1946 Localizes to Cytoplasmic Vesicles
CSU 253/4/5
Kiaa1946 is a novel protein that contains a polyglutamine (polyQ) stretch within its primary amino acid sequence; polyQ tract proteins are particularly interesting because expansion mutation within them has been shown to underlie a growing list of severe neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington‘s Disease and Spinocerebellar Ataxia. Using a bioinformatics approach, we have found that Kiaa1946 is likely expressed in the nervous system, and contains a putative signal sequence and transmembrane domain- suggesting that it likely plays a functional role in some aspect of the neuronal endomembrane system. As an initial attempt to ascertain which subcellular compartment Kiaa1946 functions in- we have cloned it into both pEGFPN1 and pFLAG-CMV vectors, and assayed its intracellular localization in tissue culture cells using fluorescence microscopy. We find that both epitope tagged versions of KIAA1946 display a punctate/vesicular staining pattern in the cytoplasm of COS-7 and HELA cell- as predicted by the bioinformatics data. These data represent a first step in characterizing the cellular function of this novel polyQ protein, and serve as a starting point for further investigations including: verification of KIAA1946‘s subcellular localization using specific antibodies, and colocalization studies using organelle specific markers.
Recommended Citation
Becker, Anita K.. "The Novel Polyglutamine Protein KIAA1946 Localizes to Cytoplasmic Vesicles." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 4, 2011.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2011/poster-session-C/3
