Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2023, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (12): 2695-2696.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.373711

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On the role of RNA binding proteins in polyglutamine diseases: from pathogenesis to therapeutics

André Conceição, Rebekah Koppenol, Clévio Nóbrega*   

  1. Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute (ABC-RI), Faro, Portugal; Faculdade de Medicina e Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal (Conceição A, Koppenol R, Nóbrega C)
    PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences, Faculdade de Medicina e Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal; Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal (Conceição A, Koppenol R)
  • Online:2023-12-15 Published:2023-06-15
  • Contact: Clévio Nóbrega, PhD, cdnobrega@ualg.pt.
  • Supported by:
    Clévio Nóbrega’s lab is funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) project, by the French Muscular Dystrophy Association (AFM-Téléthon), by the Ataxia UK, and by the CureCSB project. André Conceição and Rebekah Koppenol are supported by Ph.D. fellowships from FCT (DFA/BD/7892/2020; SFRH/BD/148533/2019, respectively). 

Abstract: Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases are a group of different neurodegenerative disorders characterized by an abnormal expansion of the trinucleotide cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) within coding regions of each disease-associated gene. The abnormal expansion translates into a protein bearing an abnormally long tract of glutamines. The expanded proteins are prone to aggregate, promote aberrant interaction with other proteins and mRNAs and contribute to cellular pathway disruption (Matos et al., 2019). To date, nine different polyQ diseases are described, including among others, Huntington’s disease, and six different spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA). Patients affected by polyQ diseases, suffer a myriad of motor symptoms that include ataxia, dysphagia, tremors, dysarthria, and even dementia. Unfortunately, there is no cure nor treatment able to delay the disease and patients rely only on symptomatic and supportive treatments culminating in premature death (Takahashi et al., 2010).