Temperature profoundly affects ataxin-3 fibrillogenesis

Ataxin-3 (AT3) triggers spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 when it carries a polyglutamine stretch expanded beyond a critical threshold. By Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy we previously showed that a normal (AT3Q24) and an expanded (AT3Q55) variant were capable of evolving into oligomers and protofibrils at 37 °C, whereas only the expanded form generated irreversibly aggregated fibrils that also were associated with a network of side-chain glutamine hydrogen bonding [Natalello et al. (2011) PLoS One. 6:e18789]. We report here that AT3Q24, when gradually heated up to 85 °C, undergoes aggregation similar to that observed at 37 °C; in contrast, AT3Q55 only generates large, amorphous aggregates. We propose a possible interpretation of the mechanism by which temperature affects the outcome of fibrillogenesis.