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. 2014 Dec 1;24(7):1898–1907. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddu606

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Co-expression of mutant Htt and α-syn alters Htt aggregation pattern. (A) H4 cells transfected with different combinations of α-syn- and Htt-Venus BiFC constructs. Cells transfected with a Htt25Q-Venus BiFC pair of plasmids show homogeneous fluorescence indicative of oligomeric species, while a Htt103Q-Venus BiFC pair produces both oligomeric species and large intracellular fluorescent aggregates with variable size and morphology. Htt location is primarily cytosolic. α-Syn-Venus BiFC pair produces homogeneous fluorescence distributed throughout all cellular compartments, including the nucleus. When α-syn and Htt103Q BiFC constructs were combined, there is a change in the aggregation pattern of both proteins, quantified in B–D. Co-transfection of Htt103Q with α-syn BiFC constructs decreases the average number of aggregates per cell (B and C) and increases the average size of aggregates (D). (E) The α-syn pair or the Htt103Q pair are more toxic than the wild-type Htt pair and combining α-syn with Htt103Q does not enhance toxicity in this model. *Significant versus 103Q/103Q, P < 0.01; #Significant versus 25Q/25Q, P < 0.001. Scale bar, 20 µm. AU, arbitrary units.