Chromosomal profiles of gene expression in Huntington's disease

AN Anderson, F Roncaroli, A Hodges, M Deprez… - Brain, 2008 - academic.oup.com
AN Anderson, F Roncaroli, A Hodges, M Deprez, FE Turkheimer
Brain, 2008academic.oup.com
Recent studies suggested that Huntington's disease is due to aberrant interactions between
mutant huntingtin protein, transcription factors and transcriptional co-activators resulting in
widespread transcriptional dysregulation. Mutant huntingtin also interacts with histone
acetyltransferases, consequently interfering with the acetylation and deacetylation states of
histones. Because histone modifications and chromatin structure coordinate the expression
of gene clusters, we have applied a novel mathematical approach, Chromowave, to analyse …
Abstract
Recent studies suggested that Huntington's disease is due to aberrant interactions between mutant huntingtin protein, transcription factors and transcriptional co-activators resulting in widespread transcriptional dysregulation. Mutant huntingtin also interacts with histone acetyltransferases, consequently interfering with the acetylation and deacetylation states of histones. Because histone modifications and chromatin structure coordinate the expression of gene clusters, we have applied a novel mathematical approach, Chromowave, to analyse microarray datasets of brain tissue and whole blood to understand how genomic regions are altered by the effects of mutated huntingtin on chromatin structure. Results show that, in samples of caudate and whole blood from Huntington's disease patients, transcription is indeed deregulated in large genomic regions in coordinated fashion, that transcription in these regions is associated with disease progression and that altered chromosomal clusters in the two tissues are remarkably similar. These findings support the notion of a common genome-wide mechanism of disruption of RNA transcription in the brain and periphery of Huntington's disease patients.
Oxford University Press