Anticorpi Huntingtin

May play a role in microtubule-mediated transport or vesicle function.

Huntingtin is a disease gene linked to Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of striatal neurons. This is thought to be caused by an expanded, unstable trinucleotide repeat in the huntingtin gene, which translates as a polyglutamine repeat in the protein product. A fairly broad range of trinucleotide repeats (9-35) has been identified in normal controls, and repeat numbers in excess of 40 have been described as pathological. The huntingtin locus is large, spanning 180 kb and consisting of 67 exons. The huntingtin gene is widely expressed and is required for normal development. It is expressed as 2 alternatively polyadenylated forms displaying different relative abundance in various fetal and adult tissues. The larger transcript is approximately 13.7 kb and is expressed predominantly in adult and fetal brain whereas the smaller transcript of approximately 10.3 kb is more widely expressed. The genetic defect leading to Huntington's disease may not necessarily eliminate transcription, but may confer a new property on the mRNA or alter the function of the protein. One candidate is the huntingtin-associated protein-1, highly expressed in brain, which has increased affinity for huntingtin protein with expanded polyglutamine repeats. This gene contains an upstream open reading frame in the 5' UTR that inhibits expression of the huntingtin gene product through translational repression.

Expressed in the brain cortex (at protein level). Widely expressed with the highest level of expression in the brain (nerve fibers, varicosities, and nerve endings). In the brain, the regions where it can be mainly found are the cerebellar cortex, the neocortex, the striatum, and the hippocampal formation.

Huntington disease: A neurodegenerative disorder characterized by involuntary movements (chorea), general motor impairment, psychiatric disorders and dementia. Onset of the disease occurs usually in the third or fourth decade of life. Onset and clinical course depend on the degree of poly-Gln repeat expansion, longer expansions resulting in earlier onset and more severe clinical manifestations. Neuropathology of Huntington disease displays a distinctive pattern with loss of neurons, especially in the caudate and putamen.

Lopes-Maciel-Rodan syndrome: An autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by developmental regression in infancy, delayed psychomotor development, severe intellectual disability, and cerebral and cerebellar atrophy. Additional features include swallowing problems, dystonia, bradykinesia, and continuous manual stereotypies without chorea. Some patients manifest seizures.

Belongs to the huntingtin family.

Cleaved by caspases downstream of the polyglutamine stretch (PubMed:8696339, PubMed:9535906, PubMed:10770929, PubMed:29802276). The resulting N-terminal fragments are cytotoxic and provokes apoptosis (PubMed:10770929).

Cytoplasm. Nucleus. Early endosome.

The mutant Huntingtin protein colocalizes with AKAP8L in the nuclear matrix of Huntington disease neurons. Shuttles between cytoplasm and nucleus in a Ran GTPase-independent manner (PubMed:15654337). Recruits onto early endosomes in a Rab5- and HAP40-dependent fashion (PubMed:16476778).