Article abstract
Nature Chemical Biology 2, 551 - 558 (2006)
Published online: 20 August 2006 | Corrected online: 22 May 2007 | doi:10.1038/nchembio815
There is a Corrigendum (July 2007) associated with this Article.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors reverse gene silencing in Friedreich's ataxia
David Herman1, Kai Jenssen1, Ryan Burnett1, Elisabetta Soragni1, Susan L Perlman2 & Joel M Gottesfeld1
Abstract
Expansion of GAA
TTC triplets within an intron in FXN (the gene encoding frataxin) leads to transcription silencing, forming the molecular basis for the neurodegenerative disease Friedreich's ataxia. Gene silencing at expanded FXN alleles is accompanied by hypoacetylation of histones H3 and H4 and trimethylation of histone H3 at Lys9, observations that are consistent with a heterochromatin-mediated repression mechanism. We describe the synthesis and characterization of a class of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors that reverse FXN silencing in primary lymphocytes from individuals with Friedreich's ataxia. We show that these molecules directly affect the histones associated with FXN, increasing acetylation at particular lysine residues on histones H3 and H4 (H3K14, H4K5 and H4K12). This class of HDAC inhibitors may yield therapeutics for Friedreich's ataxia.
- Department of Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
- Department of Neurology, University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Correspondence to: Joel M Gottesfeld1 e-mail: joelg@scripps.edu
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