A genomic screen in yeast implicates kynurenine 3-monooxygenase as a therapeutic target for Huntington disease

Nat Genet. 2005 May;37(5):526-31. doi: 10.1038/ng1542. Epub 2005 Apr 3.

Abstract

Huntington disease is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of a polyglutamine tract in the protein huntingtin (Htt), which leads to its aggregation in nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusion bodies. We recently identified 52 loss-of-function mutations in yeast genes that enhance the toxicity of a mutant Htt fragment. Here we report the results from a genome-wide loss-of-function suppressor screen in which we identified 28 gene deletions that suppress toxicity of a mutant Htt fragment. The suppressors are known or predicted to have roles in vesicle transport, vacuolar degradation, transcription and prion-like aggregation. Among the most potent suppressors was Bna4 (kynurenine 3-monooxygenase), an enzyme in the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation that has been linked directly to the pathophysiology of Huntington disease in humans by a mechanism that may involve reactive oxygen species. This finding is suggestive of a conserved mechanism of polyglutamine toxicity from yeast to humans and identifies new candidate therapeutic targets for the treatment of Huntington disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Autophagy / physiology
  • Humans
  • Huntington Disease / drug therapy
  • Huntington Disease / genetics
  • Huntington Disease / metabolism*
  • Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase
  • Microglia / metabolism
  • Mixed Function Oxygenases / genetics
  • Mixed Function Oxygenases / metabolism*
  • Mutation
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / enzymology
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism

Substances

  • Mixed Function Oxygenases
  • Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase