Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Huntington's Disease

Abstract

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been described as an early pathological mechanism delineating the selective neurodegeneration that occurs in Huntington's disease (HD), a polyglutamine-expansion disorder that largely affects the striatum and the cerebral cortex. Over the years, mitochondria roles in eukaryotic cells (e.g. in neurons) have largely diverged from the classically attributed cell power source; indeed, mitochondria not only contribute for synthesis of several metabolites, but are also dynamic organelles that fragment and fuse to achieve a maximal bioenergetic performance, are transported along microtubules, regulate intracellular calcium homeostasis through the interaction with the endoplasmic reticulum, produce free radicals and participate in cell death processes. Indeed, most of these activities have been demonstrated to be affected in HD, potentially contributing for the neuronal dysfunction in pre-symptomatic stages. This chapter resumes some of the evidences that pose mitochondria as a main regulatory organelle in HD-affected neurons, uncovering some potentially therapeutic mitochondrial-based relevant targets.

Keywords: Calcium dyshomeostasis; Cell death; Metabolic deficits; Mitochondrial dynamics; Oxidative stress.