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Early neurodegeneration in R6/2 mice carrying the Huntington’s disease mutation with a super-expanded CAG repeat, despite normal lifespan

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Morton, AJ 
Kielar, Catherine 

Abstract

The threshold of CAG repeat expansion in the HTT gene that causes HD is 36 CAG repeats, although ‘superlong’ expansions are found in individual neurons in post mortem brains. Previously, we showed that, compared to mice with <250 CAG repeats, onset of disease in R6/2 mice carrying superlong (>440) CAG repeat expansions was delayed, and disease progression was slower. Inclusion pathology also differed from 250 CAG repeat mice, being dominated by a novel kind of extranuclear neuronal inclusion (nENNI) that resembles a class of aggregate seen in patients with the adult onset form of HD. Here, we characterised neuropathology in R6/2 mice with >400 CAG repeats using light and electron microscopy. nENNIs were found with increased frequency and wider distribution with age. Some nENNIs appear to ‘mature’ as the disease develops, developing a multi-layered cored structure. Mice with superlong CAG repeats do not develop clinical signs until they are around 30-40 weeks of age, and they attain a normal life span (>2 years). Nevertheless, they show brain atrophy and unequivocal neuron loss from the striatum and cortex by 22 weeks of age, an age at which similar pathology is seen in 250 CAG repeat mice. Since this time-point is ‘end stage’ for a 250 CAG mouse, but very far (at least 18 months) from end stage for a >440 CAG repeat mouse, our data confirm that the appearance of clinical signs, the formation of inclusions, and neurodegeneration are processes that progress independently. A better understanding of the relationship between CAG repeat length, neurodegenerative pathways, and clinical behavioural signs is essential, if we are to find strategies to delay or reverse the course of this disease.

Description

Keywords

NII, aggregation, electron microscopy, extranuclear inclusions, huntingtin, nENNI, neurodegeneration, ubiquitin, Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Huntingtin Protein, Huntington Disease, Longevity, Mice, Motor Activity, Nerve Degeneration, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Neurons, Nuclear Proteins, Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion

Journal Title

Journal of Huntington's disease

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1879-6397
1879-6400

Volume Title

7

Publisher

IOS Press
Sponsorship
CHDI Foundation, Inc (A-4050)
CHDI Foundation, Inc (A-4050)