Researchers discover the role of tau protein in Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes involuntary movements, psychiatric disturbances and dementia, produced by a mutation of the gene which codifies the protein huntingtin (HTT). It is an inherited disease caused by the expansion of the number of repeats of a CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) triplet.
Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes involuntary movements, psychiatric disturbances and dementia, produced by a mutation of the gene which codifies the protein huntingtin (HTT). It is an inherited disease caused by the expansion of the number of repeats of a CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) triplet.
Alterations in tau protein, known in a number of neurodegenerative diseases (tauopathies), are also involved in Huntington's disease, according to a scientific paper published in the journal Nature Medicine. Dr Isidre Ferrer, professor from the Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapy and director of the Institute of Neuropathology at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), collaborated in the research. The study has been developed by CIBERNED researchers from the Center for Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM) in collaboration with the group CIBERNED at IDIBELL and VU University Medical Center, in Amsterdam.