Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: TH
Context: Scientists have made progress in understanding Huntington’s disease by studying fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster).
About the study:
- Huntington’s disease patients carry a mutated version of the HTT gene, which codes for a protein called huntingtin (Htt).
- The mutated gene encodes an abnormal Htt protein, leading to the destruction of neurons regulating movement, thinking, and memory.
- The researchers genetically engineered fruit flies to express the polyglutamine tract of a mutated human HTT gene in their nervous system.
- The study identified the Yod1 gene, whose overexpression removed disease-like effects in the flies, suggesting a potential avenue for therapeutic intervention in humans.
Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited disorder that causes nerve cells (neurons) in parts of the brain to gradually break down and die. The disease attacks areas of the brain that help to control voluntary (intentional) movement, as well as other areas.
