Autor(es): Conceição, André ; Koppenol, Rebekah ; Nóbrega, Clévio
Data: 2023
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/20179
Origem: Sapientia - Universidade do Algarve
Assunto(s): RNA binding proteins; Polyglutamine diseases; Pathogenesis; Therapeutics
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).
