Post-Translational Modifications of Huntingtin: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Opportunities in Huntington's...

Huntingtin (HTT) is a large, ubiquitously expressed scaffold protein that participates in multiple cellular processes, including vesicular transport, transcriptional regulation, and energy metabolism. The mutant form of HTT (mHTT), characterized by an abnormal polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion in its N-terminal region, is the causative agent of Huntington's disease (HD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Current therapeutic efforts for HD have primarily focused on lowering HTT levels through gene silencing or promoting mHTT degradation. However, accumulating evidence suggests that post-translational modifications (PTMs) of HTT-such as phosphorylation, ubiquitination, acetylation, and SUMOylation-play pivotal roles in modulating HTT's conformation, aggregation propensity, subcellular localization, and degradation pathways. These modifications regulate the balance between HTT's physiological functions and pathological toxicity. Importantly, dysregulation of PTMs has been linked to mHTT accumulation and selective neuronal vulnerability, highlighting their relevance as potential therapeutic targets. A deeper understanding of how individual PTMs and their crosstalk regulate HTT homeostasis may not only provide mechanistic insights into HD pathogenesis but also uncover novel, more specific strategies for intervention. In this review, we summarize recent understanding on HTT PTMs, discuss their implications for disease modification, and outline critical knowledge gaps that remain to be addressed.