Scientists have discovered a previously unknown pathway that allows toxic proteins linked to Huntington’s disease to spread between brain cells.
Huntington’s disease, a debilitating inherited brain disorder, may be driven by a newly discovered cellular mechanism that allows toxic proteins to spread directly between brain cells, according to new research.
Huntington’s disease gradually robs people of movement, memory and personality. It is caused by a toxic form of the huntingtin protein, which accumulates in brain cells and eventually destroys them. Although researchers have long known that this protein can spread from cell to cell, the exact mechanism behind this process wasn’t clear.
Now, scientists from Florida Atlantic University and international collaborators have identified a previously…