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Huntington's Disease: The Huntingtin Protein

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Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that is procured from a repeat expansion of CAG in chromosome 4 the Huntington’s gene. “When the number of CAG repeats passes 39 then the disease will inexorably occur at some point in life” (Cepeda). Scientists currently do not know for certain why the cells within the basal ganglia specifically die in Huntington’s patients because the huntingtin protein is present is all cells not just exclusively nerve cells. The normal function of the huntingtin protein is relatively unknown but it is necessary for growth and development and is active throughout the body. “The huntingtin protein undergoes a posttranslational modification, and some events like phosphorylation play a large role in helping

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