| We show that the Drosophila and mammalian transcription factors Senseless / Gfi 1 interact with Atx 1 ' s AXH domain . ^^^ These results indicate that the Atx 1 / Gfi 1 interaction contributes to the selective Purkinje cell degeneration in SCA1 . . ^^^ The AXH domain of Ataxin 1 mediates neurodegeneration through its interaction with Gfi 1 / Senseless proteins . ^^^ Interestingly , loss of Gfi 1 mimics SCA 1 phenotypes in Purkinje cells . ^^^ |