We first examined a role for intracellular astrocytic responses in a Drosophila model for Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3, also known as Machado–Joseph disease), a disease caused by expansion of the polyglutamine (polyQ) stretch in the ATXN3 gene. This evidence concerns the gene ATXN3 and Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.