Polyglutamine peptides, of the kind found in Huntington’s disease and other PolyQ disorders are
immunogenic, the more so with each addition of glutamine. Polyglutamine repeats are also found
in almost 2000 proteins expressed by viruses, phages, bacteria, yeasts and fungi. These include the
omnipresent Herpes virus, HSV-6 and numerous endemic or commensal bacteria, yeast or fungi.
They are also found in Lactococcal species, perhaps explaining why milk consumption has been
reported to lower the age of onset in this condition. Immune activation has indeed been observed
sixteen years prior to the onset of Huntington’s disease (see also these refs). This suggests that antibodies to these infectious agents also target the human mutant protein, causing degeneration via immune attackand inflammatory mechanism:
Immunosuppression , antibody adsorption, anti-antibody antibodies and aggressive antiviral and
antibacterial strategies might delay the onset and stem the progression of Huntington’s disease.
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