Publications by authors named "Sarah Yerkes"

Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. The disease is the result of an expanded CAG repeat in exon 1 of the HD gene, which encodes an elongated polyglutamine tract in the mutant form of the protein, huntingtin. Disease pathogenesis is linked to intracellular aggregates that form because of the tendency of the mutant protein to misfold.

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Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that follows an autosomal-dominant inheritance pattern. The pathogenesis of the disease depends on the degree of expansion of triplet (CAG) repeats located in the first exon on the gene. An expanded polyglutamine tract within the protein huntingtin (Htt) enables a gain-of-function phenotype that is often exhibited by a dysfunctional oligomerization process and the formation of protein aggregates.

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Article Synopsis
  • Huntington's Disease (HD) is a genetic disorder caused by misfolded mutant huntingtin protein that disrupts normal cellular functions and leads to neuronal degeneration.
  • Recent research has identified short guanosine monotonic oligonucleotides, specifically a 20-mer all G-oligonucleotide (HDG), which can inhibit the aggregation of the mutant protein and promote cell survival in test conditions.
  • The findings suggest that these G-quartet oligonucleotides could represent a novel therapeutic strategy to combat Huntington's Disease by targeting the protein aggregation that contributes to the disease's progression.
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