The insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1)/Akt pathway plays a crucial role in Huntington's disease by phosphorylating the causative protein, polyQ-huntingtin, and abolishing its toxic properties [Humbert et al. (2002)Dev. Cell, 2, 831-837; Rangone et al. (2004)Eur. J. Neurosci., 19, 273-279]. Therefore, dysregulation of this pathway may be essential for disease progression. In the present report, we thus aimed to analyse the status of Akt in brain or in peripheral tissues in Huntington's disease. Using a genetic model of Huntington's disease in rat that reproduces neuronal dysfunction and death, we show a progressive alteration of Akt during neuronal dysfunction and prior neurodegeneration. By analysing a limited number of lymphoblasts and lymphocytes, we detected modifications of Akt in Huntington's disease patients confirming a dysregulation of Akt in the disease process. Finally, we demonstrate that during late stages of the disease, Akt is cleaved into an inactive form by caspase-3. These observations demonstrate a progressive but marked alteration of this pro-survival pathway in Huntington's disease, and further implicate it as a key transduction pathway regulating the toxicity of huntingtin.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2005.03985.x | DOI Listing |
Mol Ther Nucleic Acids
March 2025
NYU Cardiovascular Research Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 100016, USA.
Altered protein conformation can cause incurable neurodegenerative disorders. Mutations in , the gene encoding neuroserpin, can alter protein conformation resulting in cytotoxic aggregation leading to neuronal death. Familial encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies (FENIB) is a rare autosomal dominant progressive myoclonic epilepsy that progresses to dementia and premature death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMov Disord
January 2025
School of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Background: Despite advancements in understanding Huntington's disease (HD) over the past two decades, absence of disease-modifying treatments remains a challenge. Accurately characterizing progression states is crucial for developing effective therapeutic interventions. Various factors contribute to this challenge, including the need for precise methods that can account for the complex nature of HD progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Psychol
January 2025
University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Cognitive reserve, a component of resilience, may be conceptualized as the ability to overcome accumulating neuropathology and maintain healthy aging and function. However, research measuring and evaluating it in American Indians is needed. We recruited American Indians from 3 regional centers for longitudinal examinations (2010-13, n = 818; 2017-19, n = 403) including MRI, cognitive, clinical, and questionnaire data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurol Clin Pract
October 2024
Department of Neurology (AM, YB, SLP), David Geffen School of Medicine; Institute for Society and Genetics (AM); Interdepartmental Undergraduate Neuroscience Program (AM), UCLA; Division of General Internal Medicine (ACO), Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO; Department of Neurology (YB), Cedars Sinai Health Center, Los Angeles, CA; and Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research (AB), Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.
Background And Objectives: There are well-documented racial and ethnic disparities in access to neurologic care and disease-specific outcomes. Although contemporary clinical and neurogenetic understanding of Huntington disease (HD) is thanks to a decades-long study of a Venezuelan cohort, there are a limited number of studies that have evaluated racial and ethnic disparities in HD. The goal of this study was to evaluate disparities in time from symptom onset to time of diagnosis of HD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Top Med Chem
January 2025
Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China.
In recent years, an increasing number of studies have shown that increased activation of aspartic endopeptidases (AEPs) is a common symptom in neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). AEP cleaves amyloid precursor protein (APP), tau (microtubule-associated protein tau), α- synuclein (α-syn), SET (a 39-KDa phosphoprotein widely expressed in various tissues and localizes predominantly in the nucleus), and TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), and promotes their aggregation, contributing to Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) pathogenesis. Abundant evidence supports the notion that CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ)/AEP may play an important role in NDDs.
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