In Huntington's disease, mice carrying the pathologic genetic variant
of the huntingtin gene are being used to understand how this genetic lesion causes degeneration of striatal neurons and to develop novel treatments for the illness.
The zinc finger protein works by targeting the mutant copies
of the Huntingtin gene, repressing its ability to express and create harmful proteins.
Genes that lead to the toxic effects
of the huntingtin gene may be silenced by these microRNAs, in particular the miR - 10b - 5p microRNA.
Huntington's disease is caused by the abnormal repetition of a specific DNA sequence at the tail end
of the huntingtin gene.
A quirk
of the huntingtin gene might be helpful when it comes to avoiding these «off - target effects».
Both teams designed zinc finger molecules that would stick to the «CAG tract»
of the huntingtin gene, and tell cells not to read the gene.
Since RNA - based gene silencing drugs have been successful so far, why bother with the greater challenge of targeting the DNA
of the huntingtin gene itself, especially if it means dealing with virus particles and big, fragile drugs made of protein?
When a person has too many CAGs in a row near the start
of the huntingtin gene, a harmful «mutant» form of the protein is produced based on the instructions in the gene.
Correlation of CAG repeat length between the maternal and paternal allele
of the Huntingtin gene: evidence for assortative mating.
It's the extra-long copy
of the huntingtin gene that makes neurons sick, because it causes them to produce an extra-long, harmful version of the huntingtin protein.
Drug - makers can build designer molecules with a sequence that will stick to the messenger molecule
of the huntingtin gene, but not to other messengers.
One possible explanation is that the mice in the Dragatsis project were unusual to begin with, in that they had only one copy
of the huntingtin gene, rather than the usual two.
Everyone has two copies
of the huntingtin gene but Huntington's disease is caused by a copy that's extra-long.
Huntington's disease is caused by an unwanted expansion
of the huntingtin gene.
Huntington's Disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inherited disease characterized by an abnormal and unstable expansion in the number of CAG trinucleotide repeats in exon 1
of the huntingtin gene (Group HsDCR, 1993).
Not exact matches
Researchers led by Xiao - Jiang Li, MD, PhD and Shihua Li, MD, at Emory University School
of Medicine, used genetically engineered mice in which the
huntingtin gene can be deleted, triggered only when the mice are given the drug tamoxifen.
In a nonhuman primate model geneticist Anthony Chan DVM, PhD, and his colleagues at Yerkes developed, rhesus macaques carry a
gene encoding a fragment
of mutant human
huntingtin.
It is caused by a single
gene abnormality which leads to the production
of a mutant form
of a protein called
huntingtin (mHtt).
HD is caused by a mutation in the human HTT
gene that results in an abnormal expansion and misfolding
of the corresponding
huntingtin protein.
Not long after the HD
gene was isolated, studies led by MacDonald, also a co-author
of the current investigation, found that a variation in the number
of CAG trinucleotide repeats within the HD
gene, which codes for a protein called
huntingtin, is the primary determinant
of the age at which HD symptoms appear, with a greater number
of CAG repeats associated with an earlier symptom onset.
Being able to detect and measure the amount
of mutant
huntingtin present in the nervous system will be a valuable way
of seeing whether the
gene - silencing drug is hitting its target and has the intended effect, lowering the amount
of disease causing mHTT protein.
2015 will see the start
of the first human clinical trial
of a
gene silencing or
huntingtin - lowering drug, which specifically aims to reduce production
of mutant
huntingtin in the brains
of HD patients.
The zinc finger protein sticks to the DNA
of the mutant
Huntingtin gene and turns off the
gene's expression.
The mutant
Huntingtin gene is thought to cause toxic levels
of protein to aggregate in the brain.
To further explore nuclear transport's role in Huntington's disease, Grima took lab - grown mouse neurons and used chemical switches to a) turn on both an additional healthy copy
of the RanGAP1
gene and a mutant version
of Huntingtin; b) just turn on the mutant
Huntingtin; or c) just turn on a healthy version
of Huntingtin.
These three monkeys carried a
gene encoding a fragment
of mutant human
huntingtin.
Mutations
of the
huntingtin protein (HTT)
gene underlie both adult - onset and juvenile forms
of Huntington's disease (HD).
an organism that has had one
of its
genes altered, for example by adding a long CAG repeat into the
huntingtin gene.
In an announcement likely to stand as one
of the biggest breakthroughs in Huntington's disease since the discovery
of the HD
gene in 1993, Ionis and Roche today announced that the first human trial
of a
huntingtin - lowering drug, IONIS - HTTRx, demonstrates that it reduces mutant
huntingtin in the nervous system, and is safe and well - tolerated.
If what you've read here about zinc finger technology reminds you
of «
gene silencing» or «
huntingtin - lowering» methods for treating Huntington's disease, give yourself a gold star.
R6 / 2 mice have been genetically altered with an abnormal
gene that makes them produce a harmful fragment
of the mutant
huntingtin protein
The disease is linked to a mutation in the
Huntingtin gene, which causes a protein
of the same name to fold up incorrectly like misshapen origami.
Researchers recently inactivated the
huntingtin gene in healthy adult mice
of different ages.
Activity
of the mutant
huntingtin gene was reduced by around 50 % in the brain near the injection site.
More than 36 CAG repeats in the
huntingtin gene will always lead to HD symptoms, if a person lives long enough, and longer CAG repeats tend to produce an earlier age
of onset.
The expanded CAG sequence in the HD
gene results in a
huntingtin protein with too many glutamines at the start
of it.
Mutations on a single
gene, the
huntingtin gene, are the cause
of Huntington's disease.
The genetic basis
of Huntington's disease (HD) is the presence
of expanded CAG repeats in the
huntingtin gene.
One
of the most exciting avenues
of HD research is
huntingtin lowering (also known as
gene silencing), which aims to reduce levels
of the
huntingtin protein in cells.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG: CTG repeat expansion in exon 1
of the
gene that encodes the polyglutamine - containing protein
Huntingtin.
With these details
of translation in mind, a team
of Huntington's disease researchers, led by Susann Schweiger
of The Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, decided to study how
huntingtin proteins are made from
genes of different lengths.
Features a clinical trials roundup, an exclusive interview with Prof Sarah Tabrizi about the first trial
of a
huntingtin lowering «
gene silencing» drug, and a surprise for EHDN president Prof Bernhard Landwehrmeyer.
We've known for twenty years now that the cause
of Huntington's disease is a mutation in the
huntingtin gene.
After huge leaps forward in recent years, we're edging ever closer to human trials
of huntingtin lowering or «
gene silencing» as a potential treatment for Huntington's Disease.
It would be a form
of «
huntingtin lowering» or «
gene silencing», but one that doesn't reply on DNA - like or RNA - like drugs, which are difficult to deliver to the brain.
The current ASO trial in humans is a
huntingtin lowering, or
gene silencing therapy, which works to disable both copies
of the HD
gene in short bursts.
The edits made to the
Huntingtin gene during the first four weeks will remain forever, but the eventual deactivation
of the Cas nuclease reduces the chances
of harmful effects later on.
In HD, a repeated sequence
of letters in this
gene leads to an extra-long form
of huntingtin protein that can wreak havoc in brain cells over long periods
of time.
That means it's a single strand
of chemically modified DNA, designed to stick to the message molecule from the
huntingtin gene.
Rigorous experiments in animals have given way to clinical trials
of drugs that target the HD
gene in people, and there are more techniques for decreasing or eliminating
huntingtin on the horizon.