Nucleic Acids in HD

Nucleic acid alterations have been described in brain tissue from HD patients as well as in rodent models of HD. Studies on isolation and determination of total RNA from the cortex and striatum of HD patients and control subjects indicate that 

Alterations in DNA are particularly important in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA, which play important roles in the pathogenesis of the respiratory chain complex activities and oxidative stress in HD (Banoei et al., 2007). Determination of mtDNA damage in 60 HD patients and 70 healthy controls indicate that HD patients have higher frequencies of mtDNA deletions in lymphocytes than control subjects. Although the molecular mechanism associated with mtDNA damage is not known, it is proposed that CAG repeats instability and mutant huntingtin may be causative factors in mtDNA damage (Banoei et al., 2007). 

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