Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39384800›Full record

ArticleNature communications2024

Stick-slip unfolding favors self-association of expanded HTT mRNA.

Brett M O'Brien, Roumita Moulick, Gabriel Jiménez-Avalos, Nandakumar Rajasekaran, Christian M Kaiser, Sarah A Woodson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Single-Molecule Dwell Times in Biomolecular Condensates.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Brett M O'BrienChemical Biology Interface Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Roumita MoulickT. C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Gabriel Jiménez-AvalosT. C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0221-3208
Nandakumar RajasekaranDepartment of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Christian M KaiserDepartment of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. c.m.kaiser@uu.nl.
Sarah A WoodsonChemical Biology Interface Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. swoodson@jhu.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-0170-1987

Funding

The Chemistry-Biology Interface Program at Johns Hopkins UniversityT32GM080189 · NIGMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI ROKITA, STEVEN E · 2008 to 2022
$3.5M
The Chemistry-Biology Interface Program at Johns Hopkins UniversityT32GM149382 · NIGMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI STEVEN E ROKITA · 2023 to 2026
$1.4M
Molecular Origins of Neurodegeneration through Force Detangling of Toxic RNAR21NS128701 · NINDS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI KAISER, CHRISTIAN, WOODSON, SARAH A. · 2023 to 2024
$442k
NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM080189NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM149382NINDS NIH HHS R21 NS128701Pew Charitable Trusts 2022-A-22671Pew Charitable Trusts Biomed-Innovation-2022-A-22671U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) T32GM080189U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) R21NS128701
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In Huntington's Disease (HD) and related disorders, expansion of CAG trinucleotide repeats produces a toxic gain of function in affected neurons. Expanded huntingtin (expHTT) mRNA forms aggregates that sequester essential RNA binding proteins, dysregulating mRNA processing and translation. The physical basis of RNA aggregation has been difficult to disentangle owing to the heterogeneous structure of the CAG repeats. Here, we probe the folding and unfolding pathways of expHTT mRNA using single-molecule force spectroscopy. Whereas normal HTT mRNAs unfold reversibly and cooperatively, expHTT mRNAs with 20 or 40 CAG repeats slip and unravel non-cooperatively at low tension. Slippage of CAG base pairs is punctuated by concerted rearrangement of adjacent CCG trinucleotides, trapping partially folded structures that readily base pair with another RNA strand. We suggest that the conformational entropy of the CAG repeats, combined with stable CCG base pairs, creates a stick-slip behavior that explains the aggregation propensity of expHTT mRNA.

Indexed as

Huntingtin ProteinHuntington DiseaseRNA, MessengerTrinucleotide Repeat ExpansionBase PairingHumansNucleic Acid ConformationRNA FoldingSingle Molecule ImagingHTT protein, humanHuntingtin ProteinRNA, Messenger

Identifiers

PMID39384800
PMCPMC11464812

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.