Rett syndrome: interferon-γ to the rescue?

Rett syndrome is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder in girls, underpinned by mutations in the X-linked gene MECP2. In their recent work (Frasca et al, 2024), Frasca and colleagues identified a novel pathway involving interferon-gamma (IFNγ) that could pave the way to potential therapies. R. Meehan and S. Pennings discuss the recent work from Frasca et al, in this issue of EMBO Mol Med, that shows that neural precursor cells rescue symptoms of Rett syndrome by activation of the Interferon γ pathway.