Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)

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Wheeler, V.C. et al.

Early phenotypes that presage late-onset neurodegenerative disease allow testing of modifiers in Hdh CAG knock-in mice.

In Huntington's disease (HD), CAG repeats extend a glutamine tract in huntingtin to initiate the dominant loss of striatal neurons and chorea. Neuropathological changes include the formation of insoluble mutant N-terminal fragment, as nuclear/neuropil inclusions and filter-trap amyloid, which may either participate in the disease process or be a degradative by-product. In young Hdh knock-in mice, CAGs that expand the glutamine tract in mouse huntingtin to childhood-onset HD lengths lead to nuclear accumulation of full-length mutant huntingtin and later accumulation of insoluble fragment. Here we report late-onset neurodegeneration and gait deficits in older Hdh(Q111) knock-in mice, demonstrating that the nuclear phenotypes comprise early stages in a disease process that conforms to genetic and pathologic criteria determined in HD patients. Furthermore, using the early nuclear-accumulation phenotypes as surrogate markers, we show in genetic experiments that the disease process, initiated by full-length mutant protein, is hastened by co-expression of mutant fragment; therefore, accrual of insoluble-product in already compromised neurons may exacerbate pathogenesis. In contrast, timing of early disease events was not altered by normal huntingtin or by mutant caspase-1, two proteins shown to reduce inclusions and glutamine toxicity in other HD models. Thus, potential HD therapies in man might be directed at different levels: preventing the disease-initiating mechanism or slowing the subsequent progression of pathogenesis.[1]

References

Early phenotypes that presage late-onset neurodegenerative disease allow testing of modifiers in Hdh CAG knock-in mice. Wheeler, V.C., Gutekunst, C.A., Vrbanac, V., Lebel, L.A., Schilling, G., Hersch, S., Friedlander, R.M., Gusella, J.F., Vonsattel, J.P., Borchelt, D.R., MacDonald, M.E. Hum. Mol. Genet. (2002) [Pubmed]

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