Improvement of BDNF signalling by P42 peptide in Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by a mutation in the Huntingtin (HTT) protein. We previously reported that the 23aa peptide of HTT protein, P42, is preventing HD pathological phenotypes, such as aggregation, reduction of motor performances and neurodegeneration. A systemic treatment with P42 during the pre-symptomatic phase of the disease showed therapeutic potential in R6/2 mice.

Systemic delivery of P42 peptide: a new weapon to fight Huntington's disease.

Background: In Huntington's disease (HD), the ratio between normal and mutant Huntingtin (polyQ-hHtt) is crucial in the onset and progression of the disease. As a result, addition of normal Htt was shown to improve polyQ-hHtt-induced defects. Therefore, we recently identified, within human Htt, a 23aa peptide (P42) that prevents aggregation and polyQ-hHtt-induced phenotypes in HD Drosophila model.