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Apoptotic cascades as possible targets for inhibiting cell death in Huntington’s disease

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Abstract

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a devastating autosomal dominant disorder characterized by progressive motor and neuropsychological symptoms. Evidence implicating the apoptotic cascades as a possible cause for the neurodegeneration seen in HD has directed researchers toward investigating therapeutic treatments targeting caspases and other proapoptotic factors. Cellular and murine models, which have demonstrated that caspase-mediated cleavage could be the cause for the neurodegeneration seen in HD, have evoked more research investigating the possible inhibition of apoptosis in HD. In particular, minocycline, a tetracycline-derived antibiotic that has been shown to increase survival in transgenic mouse models of HD, exhibits a neuroprotective feature in HD and demonstrates an anti-inflammatory as well as an anti-microbial effect by inhibiting microglial activation known to cause apoptosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The College of Wooster, 1189 Beall Avenue, Wooster, OH, 44691, USA

    Lindsay R. Pattison & Dean Fraga

  2. Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK

    Mark R. Kotter

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Graz Medical University, Auenbruggerplatz 31, A-8036, Graz, Austria

    Raphael M. Bonelli

Authors
  1. Lindsay R. Pattison
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  2. Mark R. Kotter
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  4. Raphael M. Bonelli
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Correspondence to Raphael M. Bonelli.

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Received in revised form: 7 February 2006

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Pattison, L.R., Kotter, M.R., Fraga, D. et al. Apoptotic cascades as possible targets for inhibiting cell death in Huntington’s disease. J Neurol 253, 1137–1142 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-006-0198-8

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