FAN1 modifies Huntington's disease progression by stabilizing the expanded HTT CAG repeat.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by an expanded CAG repeat in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. CAG repeat length explains around half of the variation in age at onset (AAO) but genetic variation elsewhere in the genome accounts for a significant proportion of the remainder. Genome-wide association studies have identified a bidirectional signal on chromosome 15, likely underlain by FANCD2- and FANCI-associated nuclease 1 (FAN1), a nuclease involved in DNA interstrand cross link repair.

Genetic deletion of transglutaminase 2 does not rescue the phenotypic deficits observed in R6/2 and zQ175 mouse models of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant, progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of CAG repeats in the huntingtin gene. Tissue transglutaminase 2 (TG2), a multi-functional enzyme, was found to be increased both in HD patients and in mouse models of the disease. Furthermore, beneficial effects have been reported from the genetic ablation of TG2 in R6/2 and R6/1 mouse lines.

Systematic behavioral evaluation of Huntington's disease transgenic and knock-in mouse models.

Huntington's disease (HD) is one of the few neurodegenerative diseases with a known genetic cause, knowledge that has enabled the creation of animal models using genetic manipulations that aim to recapitulate HD pathology. The study of behavioral and neuropathological phenotypes of these HD models, however, has been plagued by inconsistent results across laboratories stemming from the lack of standardized husbandry and testing conditions, in addition to the intrinsic differences between the models. We have compared different HD models using standardized conditions to identify the most robust phenotypic differences, best suited for preclinical therapeutic efficacy studies.