Cell Death by Glutamine Repeats?

摘要

A number of eukaryotic proteins con tain stretches of repeating glutamine residues (7). For example, hunting tin pro-tein contains a glutamine-repeat sequence of 6 to 35 residues, and prion pro tein has a domain rich in glutamine and aspar agine residues (Q/N-rich domain). Expan sion of the glutamine repeat in huntingtin and at least seven other proteins results in neuro degenerative disease (2), whereas conforma tional changes in prion protein cause a range of spongiform encephalopathies (3).