Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by deficiency of frataxin protein, with the primary sites of pathology being the large sensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and the cerebellum. FRDA is also often accompanied by severe cardiomyopathy and diabetes mellitus. Frataxin is important in mitochondrial iron-sulphur cluster (ISC) biogenesis and low frataxin expression is due to a GAA repeat expansion in intron 1 of the FXN gene. FRDA cells are genomically unstable, with increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and sensitivity to oxidative stress. Here we report the identification of elevated levels of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) in FRDA patient and YG8sR FRDA mouse model fibroblasts compared to normal fibroblasts.

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