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- Bravo, L, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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- Tabiri, S, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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- Massaro, Giulia, et al.
(author)
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Fetal gene therapy for neurodegenerative disease of infants
- 2018
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In: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 24:9, s. 1317-1323
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- For inherited genetic diseases, fetal gene therapy offers the potential of prophylaxis against early, irreversible and lethal pathological change. To explore this, we studied neuronopathic Gaucher disease (nGD), caused by mutations in GBA. In adult patients, the milder form presents with hepatomegaly, splenomegaly and occasional lung and bone disease; this is managed, symptomatically, by enzyme replacement therapy. The acute childhood lethal form of nGD is untreatable since enzyme cannot cross the blood–brain barrier. Patients with nGD exhibit signs consistent with hindbrain neurodegeneration, including neck hyperextension, strabismus and, often, fatal apnea1. We selected a mouse model of nGD carrying a loxP-flanked neomycin disruption of Gba plus Cre recombinase regulated by the keratinocyte-specific K14 promoter. Exclusive skin expression of Gba prevents fatal neonatal dehydration. Instead, mice develop fatal neurodegeneration within 15 days2. Using this model, fetal intracranial injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector reconstituted neuronal glucocerebrosidase expression. Mice lived for up to at least 18 weeks, were fertile and fully mobile. Neurodegeneration was abolished and neuroinflammation ameliorated. Neonatal intervention also rescued mice but less effectively. As the next step to clinical translation, we also demonstrated the feasibility of ultrasound-guided global AAV gene transfer to fetal macaque brains.
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- Burke, Derek G., et al.
(author)
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Increased glucocerebrosidase (GBA) 2 activity in GBA1 deficient mice brains and in Gaucher leucocytes
- 2013
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In: Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease. - : Wiley. - 0141-8955 .- 1573-2665. ; 36:5, s. 869-872
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lysosomal glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) deficiency is causative for Gaucher disease. Not all individuals with GBA1 mutations develop neurological involvement raising the possibility that other factors may provide compensatory protection. One factor may be the activity of the non-lysosomal beta-glucosidase (GBA2) which exhibits catalytic activity towards glucosylceramide and is reported to be highly expressed in brain tissue. Here, we assessed brain GBA2 enzymatic activity in wild type, heterozygote and GBA1 deficient mice. Additionally, we determined activity in leucocytes obtained from 13 patients with Gaucher disease, 10 patients with enzymology consistent with heterozygote status and 19 controls. For wild type animals, GBA2 accounted for over 85 % of total brain GBA activity and was significantly elevated in GBA1 deficient mice when compared to heterozygote and wild types (GBA1 deficient; 92.4 +/- 5.6, heterozygote; 71.5 +/- 2.4, wild type 76.8 +/- 5.1 nmol/h/mg protein). For the patient samples, five Gaucher patients had GBA2 leucocyte activities markedly greater than controls. No difference in GBA2 activity was apparent between the control and carrier groups. Undetectable GBA2 activity was identified in four leucocyte preparations; one in the control group, two in the carrier group and one from the Gaucher disease group. Work is now required to ascertain whether GBA2 activity is a disease modifying factor in Gaucher disease and to identify the mechanism(s) responsible for triggering increased GBA2 activity in GBA1 deficiency states.
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- Poupon-Bejuit, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Diabetes drugs activate neuroprotective pathways in models of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
- 2024
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In: EMBO MOLECULAR MEDICINE. - 1757-4676 .- 1757-4684. ; 16:6, s. 1284-1309
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) arises from diminished blood flow and oxygen to the neonatal brain during labor, leading to infant mortality or severe brain damage, with a global incidence of 1.5 per 1000 live births. Glucagon-like Peptide 1 Receptor (GLP1-R) agonists, used in type 2 diabetes treatment, exhibit neuroprotective effects in various brain injury models, including HIE. In this study, we observed enhanced neurological outcomes in post-natal day 10 mice with surgically induced hypoxic-ischaemic (HI) brain injury after immediate systemic administration of exendin-4 or semaglutide. Short- and long-term assessments revealed improved neuropathology, survival rates, and locomotor function. We explored the mechanisms by which GLP1-R agonists trigger neuroprotection and reduce inflammation following oxygen-glucose deprivation and HI in neonatal mice, highlighting the upregulation of the PI3/AKT signalling pathway and increased cAMP levels. These findings shed light on the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of GLP1-R agonists in HIE, potentially extending to other neurological conditions, supporting their potential clinical use in treating infants with HIE. Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) is caused by complications during labor or the umbilical cord causing reduced oxygen to the baby's brain. This leads to brain injury and lifelong disability or death. Administration of GLP1 receptor agonists to a mouse model of HIE reduces brain damage and improves multiple readouts of efficacy.A single peripheral administration of a GLP1 receptor agonist, used in the clinic to treat diabetes, significantly reduced brain infarct size and improved survival and locomotor function in a mouse model of neonatal HIE. GLP1 receptor agonists activated neuroprotective pathways and reduced markers of inflammatory response in the brain. This study is supportive of further investigating the clinical application of GLP1 receptor agonist for HIE but also more widely for other neurological diseases. Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) is caused by complications during labor or the umbilical cord causing reduced oxygen to the baby's brain. This leads to brain injury and lifelong disability or death. Administration of GLP1 receptor agonists to a mouse model of HIE reduces brain damage and improves multiple readouts of efficacy.
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- Poupon-Bejuit, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Neuroprotective Effects of Diabetes Drugs for the Treatment of Neonatal Hypoxia-Ischemia Encephalopathy.
- 2020
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In: Frontiers in cellular neuroscience. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1662-5102. ; 14
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The perinatal period represents a time of great vulnerability for the developing brain. A variety of injuries can result in death or devastating injury causing profound neurocognitive deficits. Hypoxic-ischemic neonatal encephalopathy (HIE) remains the leading cause of brain injury in term infants during the perinatal period with limited options available to aid in recovery. It can result in long-term devastating consequences with neurologic complications varying from mild behavioral deficits to severe seizure, intellectual disability, and/or cerebral palsy in the newborn. Despite medical advances, the only viable option is therapeutic hypothermia which is classified as the gold standard but is not used, or may not be as effective in preterm cases, infection-associated cases or low resource settings. Therefore, alternatives or adjunct therapies are urgently needed. Ongoing research continues to advance our understanding of the mechanisms contributing to perinatal brain injury and identify new targets and treatments. Drugs used for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have demonstrated neuroprotective properties and therapeutic efficacy from neurological sequelae following HIE insults in preclinical models, both alone, or in combination with induced hypothermia. In this short review, we have focused on recent findings on the use of diabetes drugs that provide a neuroprotective effect using in vitro and in vivo models of HIE that could be considered for clinical translation as a promising treatment.
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- Tordo, Julie, et al.
(author)
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A novel adeno-associated virus capsid with enhanced neurotropism corrects a lysosomal transmembrane enzyme deficiency
- 2018
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In: Brain. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-8950 .- 1460-2156. ; 141:7, s. 2014-2031
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are popular in vivo gene transfer vehicles. However, vector doses needed to achieve therapeutic effect are high and some target tissues in the central nervous system remain difficult to transduce. Gene therapy trials using AAV for the treatment of neurological disorders have seldom led to demonstrated clinical efficacy. Important contributing factors are low transduction rates and inefficient distribution of the vector. To overcome these hurdles, a variety of capsid engineering methods have been utilized to generate capsids with improved transduction properties. Here we describe an alternative approach to capsid engineering, which draws on the natural evolution of the virus and aims to yield capsids that are better suited to infect human tissues. We generated an AAV capsid to include amino acids that are conserved among natural AAV2 isolates and tested its biodistribution properties in mice and rats. Intriguingly, this novel variant, AAV-TT, demonstrates strong neurotropism in rodents and displays significantly improved distribution throughout the central nervous system as compared to AAV2. Additionally, sub-retinal injections in mice revealed markedly enhanced transduction of photoreceptor cells when compared to AAV2. Importantly, AAV-TT exceeds the distribution abilities of benchmark neurotropic serotypes AAV9 and AAVrh10 in the central nervous system of mice, and is the only virus, when administered at low dose, that is able to correct the neurological phenotype in a mouse model of mucopolysaccharidosis IIIC, a transmembrane enzyme lysosomal storage disease, which requires delivery to every cell for biochemical correction. These data represent unprecedented correction of a lysosomal transmembrane enzyme deficiency in mice and suggest that AAV-TT-based gene therapies may be suitable for treatment of human neurological diseases such as mucopolysaccharidosis IIIC, which is characterized by global neuropathology.
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