Polyglutamine diminishes VEGF; passage to motor neuron death?

Altered gene transcription has been implicated in the pathogenesis of polyglutamine-dependent neurodegeneration. In this issue of Neuron, Sopher et al. demonstrate that androgen receptors containing expanded polyglutamine cause decreased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by interfering with cAMP response element binding protein binding protein (CBP), thereby contributing to the motor neuron degeneration in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy.