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Expanded short tandem repeats cause more than 50 monogenic diseases, which are mostly neuromuscular diseases. In the non-coding repeat expansion diseases, in which the expanded repeat sequence is located outside of the coding region, the toxicity of the transcribed repeat-containing RNAs had been the focus of research. However, recent studies have revealed that repeat RNAs can be translated into repeat polypeptides, despite the lack of an AUG initiation codon, by non-canonical repeat-associated non-AUG translation (RAN translation). RAN translated repeat polypeptides have actually been confirmed in patients' tissues. Moreover, various cellular and animal disease models have demonstrated the toxicity of these peptides, suggesting the pathogenic roles of RAN translation in the repeat expansion diseases. In this review, we will outline RAN translation, from the viewpoint of its molecular mechanisms to its potential as a therapeutic target for the repeat expansion diseases.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jb/mvad012 | DOI Listing |
Neurogenetics
September 2025
Nur International University, 54600, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive, autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor dysfunction, cognitive decline, and psychiatric disturbances. It is caused by CAG repeat expansions in the HTT gene, resulting in the formation of mutant huntingtin protein that aggregates and disrupts neuronal function. This review outlines the pathogenesis of HD, including genetic, molecular, and environmental factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurotherapeutics
September 2025
Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address:
Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a CAG/polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat expansion disorder in which the mutant androgen receptor (AR) protein triggers progressive degeneration of the neuromuscular system in men. As the misfolded polyQ AR is the proximal mediator of toxicity, therapeutic efforts have focused on targeting the mutant protein, but these prior efforts have met with limited success in SBMA patients. Here, we examine the efficacy of small molecule AR proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) degraders that rapidly and potently promote AR ubiquitination and degradation by the proteasome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Neuropharmacol
August 2025
Department of Neurology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Introduction: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the third most frequent dementia and the leading dementia subtype in individuals under 65. The discovery of C9orf72 (chromosome 9 open reading frame 72) GGGGCC abnormal expansion is a major genetic cause of both FTD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), linking these diseases along a clinicopathological spectrum. This study aimed to depict the research landscape of C9orf72 in FTD over the past decade, track emerging research hotspots, and provide insights into under-researched areas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHow genomic changes translate into organismal novelties is often confounded by the multi-layered nature of genome architecture and the long evolutionary timescales over which molecular changes accumulate. Coleoid cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, and octopus) provide a unique system to study these processes due to a large-scale chromosomal rearrangement in the coleoid ancestor that resulted in highly modified karyotypes, followed by lineage-specific fusions, translocations, and repeat expansions. How these events have shaped gene regulatory patterns underlying the evolution of coleoid innovations, including their large and elaborately structured nervous systems, novel organs, and complex behaviours, remains poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain
September 2025
IRCSS Fondazione Santa Lucia, European Center for Brain Research (CERC), Rome 00143, Italy.
Innate immune signaling pathways are hyperactivated in the central nervous system (CNS) of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), as well as in preclinical models with diverse causative backgrounds including TDP-43, SOD1, and C9orf72 mutations. This raises an important question of whether these pathways are key pathogenic features of the disease, and whether therapeutic amelioration could be beneficial. Here, we systematically profile Type-I interferon (IFN)-stimulated gene (ISG) expression signatures using a non-biased approach in CNS tissue from a cohort of 36 individuals with ALS, including sporadic ALS (sALS; n=18), genetic ALS caused by (i) a C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion (C9-ALS; n=11), and (ii) a SOD1 mutation (SOD1-ALS; n=5), alongside age- and sex-matched individuals who died of a non-neurological cause (n=12).
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