136 results about "Huntingtin" patented technology

Methods and compositions for reducing expression of a mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein in a cell are provided. Such methods include contacting the cell with an effective amount of a nucleic acid silencing agent targeting a differentiating polymorphism in RNA encoding the mHTT.

This invention provides a method of treating a patient afflicted with a neurodegenerative disorder, e.g., Huntington's disease, comprising administering to the patient rasagiline as an add-on therapy to or in combination with pridopidine. This invention also provides a package and a pharmaceutical composition comprising rasagiline and pridopidine for treating a patient afflicted with a neurodegenerative disorder. This invention also provides rasagiline for use as an add-on therapy or in combination with pridopidine in treating a patient afflicted with a neurodegenerative disorder. This invention further provides use of rasagiline and pridopidine in the preparation of a combination for treating a patient afflicted with a neurodegenerative disorder.

The drug action mechanisms and core techniques of the present invention are summarized in figure 1. Specifically, the invention provides malignant denatured proteins, such as mutant Huntingtin proteinor alpha-synuclein, stick together to grow into oligomer aggregates (1, 2), fibrillar aggregates (3), and ultimately inclusion bodies (4). Young neuronal cells produce a large quantity of Nt-Arg through N-terminal arginylation (5) of endoplasmic reticulum chaperones, such as BiP, and thereafter, arginylated BiP (R-BiP) comes into the cytoplasm and binds with denatured proteins (6). Nt-Arg of R-BiP, as a ligand, binds with the ZZ domain of p62 (7) to induce the structural activation of p62 (8) while the ordinarily closed inactive form of p62 is changed with an open form thereof, and thus PB1 and LC3-binding domains are exposed. On the basis of oligomerization (9) by the PB1 domain, p62 binds with the denatured protein aggregates to be concentrated to autophagically degradable aggregates, that is, p62 bodies (10). Thereafter, p62 completes autophagy targeting (11) and lysosomal proteolysis through binding with LC3 protruding on the autophagosomal membranes. In young neuronal cells, theautophagic proteolysis occurring through steps 5-11 is strong, and thus the cytotoxic protein aggregates (1-5) do not accumulate, but in aged neuronal cells, the autophagic proteolysis occurring through steps 5-11 is weakened, and thus the protein aggregates (1-5) accumulate, resulting in a vicious cycle. The present invention attempts to effectively remove Huntingtin and alpha-synuclein protein aggregates and the like by artificially activating p62 using low-mass ligands of the p62 ZZ domain (12, 13). Specifically, p62 binding the ligands through step 12 promotes p62-R-BiP-denatured protein oligomerization (9) and autophagy aggregate formation (10). In addition, the ligand-62 conjugates step 13 act as autophagy activators (14), to promote LC3 synthesis, the conversion of LC3-I into LC3-II, and the like, thereby promoting the formation of autophagosomes (15).

The invention features compositions and methods comprising at least one compound selected from a proteasomal inhibitor, an autophagy inhibitor, a lysosomal inhibitor, an inhibitor of protein transport from the ER to the Golgi, an Hsp90 chaperone inhibitor, a heat shock response activator, a glycosidase inhibitor or histone deacetylase inhibitor that are useful for treating or preventing a protein conformation disease in a subject by correcting misfolded proteins in vivo. The compositions and methods can further comprise an 11-cis-retinal or 9-cis-retinal compound. Examples of protein conformation disorders and / or diseases may include retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, corneal dystrophies, retinoschises, Stargardt's disease, autosomal dominant druzen, Best's macular dystrophy, al -antitrypsin deficiency, cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, cancer and / or Jacob-Creutzfeld disease.

The present invention relates to novel inhibitors of prolyl endopeptidase of formula (1)wherein I, A, X, Y and Z are specified in the description. The compounds are useful for the treatment of diseases such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease, Down Syndrome, Parkinson disease and Chorea Huntington.

Disclosed are methods for identifying compounds that modulate huntingtin mediated impairment of protein degradation pathways. Compounds identified by such screens can be used as candidate drugs for the treatment of prevention of polyglutamine diseases such as Huntington's Disease.

The invention provides an ependymin-like protein derived a mammal, or its partial peptide or its precursor protein, or a salt thereof; a signal peptide; a DNA coding for the protein, etc. a recombinant vector; a transformant; a method of producing the protein; a pharmaceutical composition comprising the protein, etc. or DNA, an antibody against the protein, etc.; and a method for screening and a screening kit for compounds promoting the function of the protein. The protein, its partial peptide or a salt thereof has physiological activities such as a nerve-extending or nerve-regenerating activity, a gliacyte stimulating activity, and so on. The protein, etc. or the DNA is useful as a therapeutic or prophylactic agent for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), dementia or cerebellar degeneration. The antibody against the protein, etc. can be used in the assay of the protein, etc. in a test sample. Furthermore, the protein, etc. is useful as a screening reagent for compounds or their salts capable of promoting the function of the protein.