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.