Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG expansion in the HTT gene. Using yeast two-hybrid methods, we identified a large set of proteins that interact with huntingtin (HTT) interacting proteins. This network, comprised of HTT interacting proteins (HIPs) and proteins interacting with these primary nodes, contains 3,235 interactions among 2,141 highly interconnected proteins. Analysis of functional annotations of these proteins indicates that primary and secondary HIPs are enriched in pathways implicated in HD, including mTOR, Rho GTPase signaling and oxidative stress response. To validate roles for HIPs in mutant HTT toxicity, we show that the Rho GTPase signaling... More
Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG expansion in the HTT gene. Using yeast two-hybrid methods, we identified a large set of proteins that interact with huntingtin (HTT) interacting proteins. This network, comprised of HTT interacting proteins (HIPs) and proteins interacting with these primary nodes, contains 3,235 interactions among 2,141 highly interconnected proteins. Analysis of functional annotations of these proteins indicates that primary and secondary HIPs are enriched in pathways implicated in HD, including mTOR, Rho GTPase signaling and oxidative stress response. To validate roles for HIPs in mutant HTT toxicity, we show that the Rho GTPase signaling components, BAIAP2, EZR, PIK3R1, PAK2 and RAC1 are modifiers of mutant HTT toxicity. We also demonstrate that Htt co-localizes with BAIAP2 in filopodia and that mutant HTT interferes with filopodial dynamics. These data indicate that HTT is involved directly in membrane dynamics, cell attachment and motility. Furthermore, they implicate dysregulation in these pathways as pathological mechanisms in HD.