Various neurodegenerative diseases are associated with aberrant gene expression. 
We recently identified a novel class of pimelic o-aminobenzamide histone 
deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors that show promise as therapeutics in the 
neurodegenerative diseases Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) and Huntington's disease 
(HD). Here, we describe the various techniques used in our laboratories to 
dissect mechanisms of gene silencing in FRDA and HD, and to test our HDAC 
inhibitors for their ability to reverse changes in gene expression in cellular 
models.