Functional and systems biology approaches to Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary, progressively degenerative and fatal brain disorder classified as a rare, or 'orphan', disease. HD is caused by the extension of trinucleotide repeats encoding a stretch of glutamine residues at the amino-terminal end of the large huntingtin (HTT) protein. Since the discovery of the mutated HTT gene in 1993, the mechanisms by which the mutant HTT protein induces neurodegeneration remain poorly understood and no disease-modifying therapy is currently available. Several functional approaches combining different experimental models and experimental technologies have been used to shed some light on the mechanisms underlying this disease. This review presents these functional approaches, highlights their potential and limitations.