Context: Recently researchers have advanced their comprehension of Huntington’s disease through the examination of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster)

Key findings of the Study

• Individuals with Huntington’s disease harbor a mutated form of the HTT gene, responsible for encoding a protein known as huntingtin (Htt).

• Nerve cells require Htt protein for their normal functioning and survival. However, a mutated gene encoding for an abnormal Htt protein leads to the destruction of neurons controlling movement, cognition, and memory.

• The mutant HTT gene is considered to be a dominant gene i.e the disease is triggered even if one copy of the gene, inherited from either parents, is mutated.

• The scientists genetically engineered fruit flies to express the mutated human HTT gene into their nervous system.

• The research found that excessive expression of Yod1 gene removed all disease-like effects in the flies, including neurodegeneration. This indicates a possible avenue for therapeutic intervention in humans.

Huntington’s disease

• Huntington’s disease (HD) is a passed-on problem that makes brain nerve cells slowly wear down and die in certain parts of the mind.

• The sickness goes after parts of the brain that help to manage movements we want, and other areas too.

Reason

• A gene named HTT is in charge of making a protein called huntingtin.

Mutation

• When these genes change, they give wrong orders that make odd huntingtin proteins we need. These then join together to form clusters.

• The groups mess up how brain cells work. This at last causes neurons in the head to die, leading to Huntington disease.

Treatment

• Treatment involves therapy to control symptoms.

• There is no medicine to fix it, but some helpers like drugs and exercise can control a few signs better.

Glutamine repeats

• Mutated version of Htt: The bad luck for the patient is that they have a changed form of a gene named HTT. The HTT gene makes a protein called huntingtin, or Htt.

• Destroys Neural systems: Nerve cells need the Htt protein to work properly and stay alive. The changed gene makes the wrong Htt protein, which breaks the brain cells controlling movement, thinking and memory.

• Inheritance: Every one of us gets two HTT gene copies, with one from each parent. The disease starts even if only one copy of the gene is changed while the other works normally.

Conclusion

• The study using fruit flies sheds light on potential molecular mechanisms involved in Huntington's disease and identifies a gene, Yod1, that may play a role in mitigating disease effects. Further research is needed to explore the applicability of these findings to human patients.