Novel type of cell death in Huntington's disease may lead to effective new therapies

(Tokyo Medical and Dental University) Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)-led researchers showed that the mutant huntingtin protein causes a previously unknown kind of cell death called ballooning cell death (BCD). They showed that BCD is a type of necrosis caused by impaired TEAD/YAP transcription and that preventing BCD stopped Huntington's disease symptoms in mice. These findings may lead to development of effective therapies for Huntington's disease patients.