We have generated some really interesting data from our cryo-EM studies of the huntingtin protein to date. Susan Lea and Justin Deme who are working on the HTT samples I send from Toronto, recently shared this screen capture of the huntingtin envelopes from the most recent sample which are super to see:

Huntingtin Q23 cryo-EM envelope – calculated by Professor Susan Lea and Dr Justin Deme

As a complementary and orthogonal approach to understanding the huntingtin protein structure, I am keen to try small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Although low resolution, this approach will allow calculation of the protein envelope in solution which will be interesting to compare to that calculated by cryo-EM where the sample is vitrified in a layer of thin ice.

To do these experiments, I need to make more huntingtin protein. You can see my sample preparation on Zenodo. The SAXS experiments are being completed by these folks soon – here’s hoping for some interesting data.