contributed equally to this work. Conflict of interest:The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists. Nonstandard abbreviations used: type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); white adipose tissue (WAT); monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1); diet-induced obesity (DIO); macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α); macrophage antigen-1 (MAC-1); thiazolidinedione (TZD).

contributed equally to this work. Conflict of interest:The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists. Nonstandard abbreviations used: type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); white adipose tissue (WAT); monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1); diet-induced obesity (DIO); macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α); macrophage antigen-1 (MAC-1); thiazolidinedione (TZD).

The Huntington's disease (HD) gene has been mapped in 4~16.3 but has eluded identification. We have used haplotype analysis of linkage disequilibrium to spotlight a small segment of 4~16.3 as the likely location of the defect. A new gene, IT15, isolated using cloned trapped exons from the target area contains a polymorphic trinucleotide repeat that is expanded and unstable on HD chromosomes. A (CAG), repeat longer than the normal range was observed on HD chromosomes from all 75 disease families examined, comprising a variety of ethnic backgrounds and 4~16.3 haplotypes. The GAG), repeat appears to be located within the coding sequence of a predicted-346 kd protein that is widely expressed but unrelated to any known gene. Thus, the HD mutation involves an unstable DNA segment, similar to those described in fragile X syndrome, spino-bulbar muscular atrophy, and myotonic dystrophy, acting in the context of a novel 4~16.3 gene to produce a dominant phenotype.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of a CAG repeat in the gene encoding huntingtin, a protein of unknown function. To distinguish between "loss of function" and "gain of function" models of HD, the murine HD homolog Hdh was inactivated by gene targeting. Mice heterozygous for Hdh inactivation were phenotypically normal, whereas homozygosity resulted in embryonic death. Homozygotes displayed abnormal gastrulation at embryonic day 7.5 and were resorbing by day 8.5. Thus, huntingtin is critical early in embryonic development, before the emergence of the nervous system. That Hdh inactivation does not mimic adult HD neuropathology suggests that the human disease involves a gain of function.

The hallmark neuropathology of Huntington's disease (HD) is due to elongation of a polyglutamine segment in huntingtin, a novel approximately 350 kDa protein of unknown function. We used a yeast two-hybrid interactor screen to identify proteins whose association with huntingtin might be altered in the pathogenic process. Surprisingly, no interactors were found with internal and C-terminal segments of huntingtin. In contrast, huntingtin's N-terminus detected 13 distinct proteins, seven novel and six reported previously. Among these, we identified a major interactor class, comprising three distinct WW domain proteins, HYPA, HYPB and HYPC, that bind normal and mutant huntingtin in extracts of HD lymphoblastoid cells. This interaction is mediated by huntingtin's proline-rich region and is enhanced by lengthening the adjacent glutamine tract. Although HYPB and HYPC are novel, HYPA is human FBP-11, a protein implicated in spliceosome function. The emergence of this class of proteins as huntingtin partners argues that a WW domain-mediated process, such as non-receptor signaling, protein degradation or pre-mRNA splicing, may participate in HD pathogenesis.

BackgroundFriedreich's ataxia (FRDA), the most common recessive ataxia in Caucasians, is due to severely reduced levels of frataxin, a highly conserved protein, that result from a large GAA triplet repeat expansion within the first intron of the frataxin gene (FXN). Typical marks of heterochromatin are found near the expanded GAA repeat in FRDA patient cells and mouse models. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) with a pimelic diphenylamide structure and HDAC3 specificity can decondense the chromatin structure at the FXN gene and restore frataxin levels in cells from FRDA patients and in a GAA repeat based FRDA mouse model, KIKI, providing an appealing approach for FRDA therapeutics.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn an effort to further improve the pharmacological profile of pimelic diphenylamide HDACIs as potential therapeutics for FRDA, we synthesized additional compounds with this basic structure and screened them for HDAC3 specificity. We characterized two of these compounds, 136 and 109, in FRDA patients' peripheral blood lymphocytes and in the KIKI mouse model. We tested their ability to upregulate frataxin at a range of concentrations in order to determine a minimal effective dose. We then determined in both systems the duration of effect of these drugs on frataxin mRNA and protein, and on total and local histone acetylation. The effects of these compounds exceeded the time of direct exposure in both systems.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results support the pre-clinical development of a therapeutic approach based on pimelic diphenylamide HDACIs for FRDA and provide information for the design of future human trials of these drugs, suggesting an intermittent administration of the drug.

Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of striatal neurons, is caused by an expanded, unstable trinucleotide repeat in a novel 4p16.3 gene. To lay the foundation for exploring the pathogenic mechanism in HD, we have determined the structure of the disease gene and examined its expression. The HD locus spans 180 kb and consists of 67 exons ranging in size from 48 bp to 341 bp with an average of 138 bp. Scanning of the HD transcript failed to reveal any additional sequence alterations characteristic of HD chromosomes. A codon loss polymorphism in linkage disequilibrium with the disorder revealed that both normal and HD alleles are represented in the mRNA population in HD heterozygotes, indicating that the defect does not eliminate transcription. The gene is ubiquitously expressed as two alternatively polyadenylated forms displaying different relative abundance in various fetal and adult tissues, suggesting the operation of interacting factors in determining specificity of cell loss. The HD gene was disrupted in a female carrying a balanced translocation with a breakpoint between exons 40 and 41. The absence of any abnormal phenotype in this individual argues against simple inactivation of the gene as the mechanism by which the expanded trinucleotide repeat causes HD. Taken together, these observations suggest that the dominant HD mutation either confers a new property on the mRNA or, more likely, alters an interaction at the protein level.

Huntington's disease (HD) chromosomes contain an expanded unstable (CAG)n repeat in chromosome 4p16.3. We have examined nine families with potential de novo expression of the disease. With one exception, all of the affected individuals had 42 or more repeat units, well above the normal range. In four families, elderly unaffected relatives inherited the same chromosome as that containing the expanded repeat in the proband, but had repeat lengths of 34-38 units, spanning the gap between the normal and HD distributions. Thus, mutation to HD is usually associated with an expansion from an already large repeat.