The JAK2-STAT3 pathway controls a beneficial proteostasis response of reactive astrocytes in Huntington’s disease

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by striatal neurodegeneration, aggregation of mutant Huntingtin (mHTT) and the presence of reactive astrocytes. Astrocytes are important partners for neurons and engage in a specific reactive response in HD that involves morphological, molecular and functional changes. How reactive astrocytes contribute to HD is still an open question, especially because their reactive state is poorly reproduced in mouse models. Here, we show that the JAK2-STAT3 pathway, a central cascade controlling the reactive response of astrocytes, is activated in the putamen of HD patients. Selective activation of this cascade in astrocytes reduces the number and size of neuronal mHTT aggregates and improves neuronal features in two HD mouse models. Moreover, activation of the JAK2-STAT3 pathway in astrocytes coordinates a transcriptional program that increases their intrinsic proteolytic capacity, through the lysosomes and the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and enhances their production of the co-chaperone DNAJB1, which is released in exosomes. Together, our results show that the JAK2-STAT3 pathway controls a beneficial proteostasis response in reactive astrocytes in HD, which involves bi-directional signalling with neurons to reduce mHTT aggregation and toxicity. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.