Protein shows promise against Huntington’s disease
A highly detailed 3D rendering of a double helix human DNA in blue color, with small carbon elements and light effects on a dark gray-blue background. The image shows an angle of view of different
Researchers from Imperial College London (UK) have developed a protein that could curb activity of the Huntington’s disease (HD) gene, huntingtin, showing promise for new treatments for the disease. In the study on mice, the engineered protein successfully targeted huntingtin and reduced activity for six months: significantly longer than previous studies. The protein is an engineered zinc finger, which specifically targets mutant copies of huntingtin that cause the typical pathology and symptoms seen in HD. In the new study, published Molecular Degeneration, 12 mice with HD were injected with a single dose of the protein, resulting in repression of the...
