Researchers suggest a pathway to reverse the genetic defect of Friedreich's ataxia

Alexandra N. Khristich el al., "Large-scale contractions of Friedreich's ataxia GAA repeats in yeast occur during DNA replication due to their triplex-forming ability," PNAS (2019). Doi:10.1073/pnas.1913416117

"While these results were uncovered in a yeast model, they do provide us with a clue into the mechanism of DNA repeat instability in Friedreich's ataxia," said Alexandra Khristich, graduate student in Mirkin's lab and first author of the study. "I hope that our discovery would become a starting point for the potential development of therapeutic strategies that tip the balance toward DNA repeat contraction in patient tissues"