The RAGE receptor and its ligands are highly expressed in astrocytes in a grade-dependant manner in the striatum and subependymal layer in Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by an expansion of the CAG repeat in the huntingtin gene. One of the brain changes that occurs in HD is the expression of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), a receptor protein capable of activating multiple signalling pathways by interacting with a range of ligands leading to either beneficial or harmful effects to the cell. Here, we demonstrate in human HD brains a high degree of co-localization of RAGE with its putative ligands S100B and N-carboxymethyllysine (CML) in the caudate nucleus (CN) and the subependymal layer (SEL). The level of co-staining for both RAGE-S100B and RAGE-CML was the highest in the astrocytes but was low in neurons and microglia. The immunostaining for RAGE, S100B and CML extended in a medio-lateral (SEL-CN) direction with increasing grade, such that any change in the expression and co-localization pattern between grades was less prominent in the lateral CN. Additionally, signalling molecules that are downstream of RAGE activation showed changes in their activation status in HD brains. A larger number of RAGE-positive astrocytic cells had NF-kB translocated to the nucleus and the level of phospho-ERK1/2 was also increased in HD brains. Interestingly, the level of mDia-1, that interacts directly with the cytoplasmic domain of RAGE, decreased in HD. Overall, the results suggest a correlation between the functions of RAGE and the HD pathology, but the influence of RAGE on astrocytes and the impact of this on HD progression requires further study. RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) binds multiple types of ligand to produce either neurotrophic or neurotoxic effects. Immunohistochemical staining of HD human brains showed that both RAGE and its ligands were expressed primarily in astrocytes. The pattern of staining corresponded to the grade and region-wise pattern of neurodegeneration suggesting a possible role for RAGE in HD pathology.