The neurodegenerative disorder spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy or Kennedy disease is
caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion within the androgen receptor (AR) gene.
The resulting expanded polyglutamine tract in the N-terminal region of the receptor renders
AR prone to ligand-dependent misfolding and formation of oligomers and aggregates that
are linked to neuronal toxicity. How AR misfolding is influenced by post-translational
modifications, however, is poorly understood. AR is a target of SUMOylation, and this …