For Immediate Release
Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Huntington’s Disease
Contact: Kathryn Ryan
914-740-2250
kryan@liebertpub.com
New Rochelle, NY, January 25, 2022—Gene therapy targeting the messenger RNA (mRNA) of the mutated huntingtin gene (HTT) can provide long-lasting therapeutic benefit in Huntington’s disease after a single administration. An adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy containing a primary artificial microRNA (pri-amiRNA) targeting HTT mRNA is described in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy. Click here to read the article now.
“The challenge of treating autosomal dominant genetic brain disorders has been very daunting, and this pioneering effort by Voyager Therapeutics provides new hope for patients with one of the most tragic such diagnoses, that of Huntington’s disease,” says Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy Terence R. Flotte, MD.
Dinah Sah, PhD, from Voyager Therapeutics, and coauthors conducted a systematic comparison of pri-amiRNA processing of a number of AAV-pri-amiRNAs across multiple in vitro and in vivo systems, including mice and non-human primates.
The investigators selected an optimized pri-amiRNA “for an AAV gene therapy that exhibits efficient and precise pri-amiRNA processing, along with potent pharmacological activity for HTT lowering and general tolerability in vivo for the treatment of Huntington’s disease.”
About the Journal
Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and eight other international gene therapy societies, was the first peer-reviewed journal in the field and provides all-inclusive access to the critical pillars of human gene therapy: research, methods, and clinical applications. The Journal is led by Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and an esteemed international editorial board. Human Gene Therapy is available in print and online. Complete tables of contents and a sample issue are available on the Human Gene Therapy website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s more than 100 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.