Safe and effective superoxide dismutase 1 silencing using artificial microRNA in macaques
Authors
Borel, FlorieGernoux, Gwladys
Sun, Huaming
Stock, Rachel
Blackwood, Meghan
Brown, Robert H. Jr.
Mueller, Christian
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2018-10-31Keywords
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosisALS
gene silencing
SOD1
adeno-associated virus
AAV
microRNA
miRNA
Genetics and Genomics
Nervous System Diseases
Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Therapeutics
Translational Medical Research
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurological disease caused by degeneration of motor neurons leading to rapidly progressive paralysis. About 10% of cases are caused by gain-of-function mutations that are transmitted as dominant traits. A potential therapy for these cases is to suppress the expression of the mutant gene. Here, we investigated silencing of SOD1, a gene commonly mutated in familial ALS, using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) encoding an artificial microRNA (miRNA) that targeted SOD1 In a superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1)-mediated mouse model of ALS, we have previously demonstrated that SOD1 silencing delayed disease onset, increased survival time, and reduced muscle loss and motor and respiratory impairments. Here, we describe the preclinical characterization of this approach in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) using an AAV serotype for delivery that has been shown to be safe in clinical trials. We optimized AAV delivery to the spinal cord by preimplantation of a catheter and placement of the subject with head down at 30° during intrathecal infusion. We compared different promoters for the expression of artificial miRNAs directed against mutant SOD1 Results demonstrated efficient delivery and effective silencing of the SOD1 gene in motor neurons. These results support the notion that gene therapy with an artificial miRNA targeting SOD1 is safe and merits further development for the treatment of mutant SOD1-linked ALS.Source
Sci Transl Med. 2018 Oct 31;10(465). pii: eaau6414. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aau6414.
DOI
10.1126/scitranslmed.aau6414Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/29375PubMed ID
30381409Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1126/scitranslmed.aau6414