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Anti-SOD1 Nanobodies That Stabilize Misfolded SOD1 Proteins Also Promote Neurite Outgrowth in Mutant SOD1 Human Neurons

Kumar, Meenakshi Sundaram
Fowler-Magaw, Megan E
Kulick, Daniel
Boopathy, Sivakumar
Gadd, Del Hayden
Rotunno, Melissa
Douthwright, Catherine
Golebiowski, Diane
Yusuf, Issa
Xu, Zuoshang
... show 4 more
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Abstract

ALS-linked mutations induce aberrant conformations within the SOD1 protein that are thought to underlie the pathogenic mechanism of SOD1-mediated ALS. Although clinical trials are underway for gene silencing of SOD1, these approaches reduce both wild-type and mutated forms of SOD1. Here, we sought to develop anti-SOD1 nanobodies with selectivity for mutant and misfolded forms of human SOD1 over wild-type SOD1. Characterization of two anti-SOD1 nanobodies revealed that these biologics stabilize mutant SOD1 in vitro. Further, SOD1 expression levels were enhanced and the physiological subcellular localization of mutant SOD1 was restored upon co-expression of anti-SOD1 nanobodies in immortalized cells. In human motor neurons harboring the SOD1 A4V mutation, anti-SOD1 nanobody expression promoted neurite outgrowth, demonstrating a protective effect of anti-SOD1 nanobodies in otherwise unhealthy cells. In vitro assays revealed that an anti-SOD1 nanobody exhibited selectivity for human mutant SOD1 over endogenous murine SOD1, thus supporting the preclinical utility of anti-SOD1 nanobodies for testing in animal models of ALS. In sum, the anti-SOD1 nanobodies developed and presented herein represent viable biologics for further preclinical testing in human and mouse models of ALS.

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Kumar MS, Fowler-Magaw ME, Kulick D, Boopathy S, Gadd DH, Rotunno M, Douthwright C, Golebiowski D, Yusuf I, Xu Z, Brown RH Jr, Sena-Esteves M, O'Neil AL, Bosco DA. Anti-SOD1 Nanobodies That Stabilize Misfolded SOD1 Proteins Also Promote Neurite Outgrowth in Mutant SOD1 Human Neurons. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Dec 16;23(24):16013. doi: 10.3390/ijms232416013. PMID: 36555655; PMCID: PMC9784173.

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DOI
10.3390/ijms232416013
PubMed ID
36555655
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Funding and Acknowledgements
This project was also funded by the Angel Fund for ALS Research for R.H.B.J.; the Pilot Project Program grant UL1TR001453 from the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS) for D.A.B., M.E.-S., and R.H.B.J.; and NIH/NINDS R01 NS067206 for D.A.B.
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Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).Attribution 4.0 International