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Platelet-derived extracellular vesicles in Huntington's disease
Hélèna L Denis1, Jérôme Lamontagne-Proulx1, Isabelle St-Amour1
1Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Québec, QC, Canada.
Journal of Neurology
|September 14, 2018
Summary
Extracellular vesicles (EV) from platelets are not a valuable biomarker for Huntington's disease (HD). Mutant huntingtin protein (mHtt) was not found in platelet-derived EV, even in HD patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
- Genetics
Background:
- Extracellular vesicles (EV) are released by cells and can contain disease-specific proteins, making them potential biomarkers.
- Platelets contain high concentrations of mutant huntingtin protein (mHtt), the cause of Huntington's disease (HD).
- Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder with motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if EV derived from platelets can serve as a biomarker for Huntington's disease.
- To determine if mHtt is present in platelet-derived EV.
- To assess the correlation between platelet-derived EV levels and HD progression markers.
Main Methods:
- Studied 59 HD patients (all stages) and 54 healthy controls.
- Analyzed EV release from platelets, including activated platelets.
- Quantified mHtt in platelet-derived EV using correlation analyses with clinical data.
Main Results:
- Platelets from pre-manifest and manifest HD patients did not release increased numbers of EV, even when activated.
- Mutant huntingtin protein (mHtt) was not detected within EV derived from platelets.
- No association was found between platelet-derived EV counts and HD patient age, CAG repeat number, or disease severity scores.
Conclusions:
- EV derived from platelets are not a valuable biomarker for Huntington's disease.
- The absence of mHtt in platelet-derived EV suggests alternative mechanisms for its presence in platelets.
- Further research is needed to identify reliable biomarkers for HD.