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Budzynska K, Siemionow M, Stawarz K, Chambily L, Siemionow K. Chimeric Cell Therapies as a Novel Approach for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Muscle Regeneration. Biomolecules 2024; 14:575. [PMID: 38785982 PMCID: PMC11117592 DOI: 10.3390/biom14050575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Chimerism-based strategies represent a pioneering concept which has led to groundbreaking advancements in regenerative medicine and transplantation. This new approach offers therapeutic potential for the treatment of various diseases, including inherited disorders. The ongoing studies on chimeric cells prompted the development of Dystrophin-Expressing Chimeric (DEC) cells which were introduced as a potential therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). DMD is a genetic condition that leads to premature death in adolescent boys and remains incurable with current methods. DEC therapy, created via the fusion of human myoblasts derived from normal and DMD-affected donors, has proven to be safe and efficacious when tested in experimental models of DMD after systemic-intraosseous administration. These studies confirmed increased dystrophin expression, which correlated with functional and morphological improvements in DMD-affected muscles, including cardiac, respiratory, and skeletal muscles. Furthermore, the application of DEC therapy in a clinical study confirmed its long-term safety and efficacy in DMD patients. This review summarizes the development of chimeric cell technology tested in preclinical models and clinical studies, highlighting the potential of DEC therapy in muscle regeneration and repair, and introduces chimeric cell-based therapies as a promising, novel approach for muscle regeneration and the treatment of DMD and other neuromuscular disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Budzynska
- Department of Orthopaedics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA; (K.B.); (K.S.); (L.C.); (K.S.)
| | - Maria Siemionow
- Department of Orthopaedics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA; (K.B.); (K.S.); (L.C.); (K.S.)
- Chair and Department of Traumatology, Orthopaedics, and Surgery of the Hand, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-545 Poznan, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Stawarz
- Department of Orthopaedics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA; (K.B.); (K.S.); (L.C.); (K.S.)
| | - Lucile Chambily
- Department of Orthopaedics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA; (K.B.); (K.S.); (L.C.); (K.S.)
| | - Krzysztof Siemionow
- Department of Orthopaedics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA; (K.B.); (K.S.); (L.C.); (K.S.)
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Sun MX, Jing M, Hua Y, Wang JB, Wang SQ, Chen LL, Ju L, Liu YS. A female patient carrying a novel DMD mutation with non-random X-chromosome inactivation from a DMD family. BMC Med Genomics 2024; 17:46. [PMID: 38303044 PMCID: PMC10832127 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-024-01794-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinical phenotype and genetic characteristics of a female proband carrying a novel mutation in the DMD gene with non-random X-chromosome inactivation in a large pedigree with pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy. METHODS Clinical information of the female proband, her monozygotic twin sister, and other family members were collected. Potential pathogenic variants were detected with Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) and whole-exome sequencing (WES). Methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme (HhaI) was employed for X-chromosome inactivation analysis. RESULTS The proband was a female over 5 years old, displayed clinical manifestations such as elevated creatine kinase (CK) levels and mild calf muscle hypertrophy. Her monozygotic twin sister exhibited normal CK levels and motor ability. Her uncle and cousin had a history of DMD. WES revealed that the proband carried a novel variant in the DMD (OMIM: 300,377) gene: NM_004006.3: c.3051_3053dup; NP_003997.2: p.Tyr1018*. In this pedigree, five out of six female members were carriers of this variant, while the cousin and uncle were hemizygous for this variant. X-chromosome inactivation analysis suggested non-random inactivation in the proband. CONCLUSION The c.3051_3053dup (p.Tyr1018*) variant in the DMD gene is considered to be the pathogenic variant significantly associated with the clinical phenotype of the proband, her cousin, and her uncle within this family. Integrating genetic testing with clinical phenotype assessment can be a valuable tool for physicians in the diagnosis of progressive muscular dystrophies, such as Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Xia Sun
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Jiangnan University (Wuxi Children's Hospital), Wuxi, China
| | - Miao Jing
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Jiangnan University (Wuxi Children's Hospital), Wuxi, China
| | - Ying Hua
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Jiangnan University (Wuxi Children's Hospital), Wuxi, China.
| | - Jian-Biao Wang
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Jiangnan University (Wuxi Children's Hospital), Wuxi, China
| | - Sheng-Quan Wang
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Jiangnan University (Wuxi Children's Hospital), Wuxi, China
| | - Li-Lan Chen
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Jiangnan University (Wuxi Children's Hospital), Wuxi, China
| | - Liang Ju
- Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Jiangnan University (Wuxi Children's Hospital), Wuxi, China
| | - Yan-Shan Liu
- Department of Pediatric Laboratory, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Jiangnan University (Wuxi Children's Hospital), Wuxi, China.
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Ortiz-Vitali JL, Wu J, Xu N, Shieh AW, Niknejad N, Takeuchi M, Paradas C, Lin C, Jafar-Nejad H, Haltiwanger RS, Wang SH, Darabi R. Disease modeling and gene correction of LGMDR21 iPSCs elucidates the role of POGLUT1 in skeletal muscle maintenance, regeneration, and the satellite cell niche. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2023; 33:683-697. [PMID: 37650119 PMCID: PMC10462830 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2023.07.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 21 (LGMDR21) is caused by pathogenic variants in protein O-glucosyltransferase 1 (POGLUT1), which is responsible for O-glucosylation of specific epidermal growth factor (EGF) repeats found in ∼50 mammalian proteins, including Notch receptors. Previous data from patient biopsies indicated that impaired Notch signaling, reduction of muscle stem cells, and accelerated differentiation are probably involved in disease etiopathology. Using patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), their corrected isotypes, and control iPSCs, gene expression profiling indicated dysregulation of POGLUT1, NOTCH, muscle development, extracellular matrix (ECM), cell adhesion, and migration as involved pathways. They also exhibited reduced in vitro POGLUT1 enzymatic activity and NOTCH signaling as well as defective myogenesis, proliferation, migration and differentiation. Furthermore, in vivo studies demonstrated significant reductions in engraftment, muscle stem cell formation, PAX7 expression, and maintenance, along with an increased percentage of mislocalized PAX7+ cells in the interstitial space. Gene correction in patient iPSCs using CRISPR-Cas9 nickase led to the rescue of the main in vitro and in vivo phenotypes. These results demonstrate the efficacy of iPSCs and gene correction in disease modeling and rescue of the phenotypes and provide evidence of the involvement of muscle stem cell niche localization, PAX7 expression, and cell migration as possible mechanisms in LGMDR21.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose L. Ortiz-Vitali
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jianbo Wu
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Nasa Xu
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Annie W. Shieh
- Center for Human Genetics, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Nima Niknejad
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Megumi Takeuchi
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Carmen Paradas
- Neurology Department, Neuromuscular Disorders Unit, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla, Hospital U. Virgen Del Rocío, CSIC, Universidad de Sevilla, Avd. Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Chunru Lin
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Hamed Jafar-Nejad
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Robert S. Haltiwanger
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Sidney H. Wang
- Center for Human Genetics, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Radbod Darabi
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Benzi A, Baratto S, Astigiano C, Sturla L, Panicucci C, Mamchaoui K, Raffaghello L, Bruzzone S, Gazzerro E, Bruno C. Aberrant Adenosine Triphosphate Release and Impairment of P2Y2-Mediated Signaling in Sarcoglycanopathies. J Transl Med 2023; 103:100037. [PMID: 36925196 DOI: 10.1016/j.labinv.2022.100037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Sarcoglycanopathies, limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) caused by genetic loss-of-function of the membrane proteins sarcoglycans (SGs), are characterized by progressive degeneration of skeletal muscle. In these disorders, muscle necrosis is associated with immune-mediated damage, whose triggering and perpetuating molecular mechanisms are not fully elucidated yet. Extracellular adenosine triphosphate (eATP) seems to represent a crucial factor, with eATP activating purinergic receptors. Indeed, in vivo blockade of the eATP/P2X7 purinergic pathway ameliorated muscle disease progression. P2X7 inhibition improved the dystrophic process by restraining the activity of P2X7 receptors on immune cells. Whether P2X7 blockade can display a direct action on muscle cells is not known yet. In this study, we investigated eATP effects in primary cultures of myoblasts isolated from patients with LGMDR3 (α-sarcoglycanopathy) and in immortalized cells isolated from a patient with LGMDR5 (γ-sarcoglycanopathy). Our results demonstrated that, owing to a reduced ecto-ATPase activity and/or an enhanced release of ATP, patient cells are exposed to increased juxtamembrane concentrations of eATP and display a higher susceptivity to eATP signals. The purinoceptor P2Y2, which proved to be overexpressed in patient cells, was identified as a pivotal receptor responsible for the enhanced ATP-induced or UTP-induced Ca2+ increase in affected myoblasts. Moreover, P2Y2 stimulation in LDMDR3 muscle cells induced chemotaxis of immune cells and release of interleukin-8. In conclusion, a higher eATP concentration and sensitivity in primary human muscle cells carrying different α-SG or γ-SG loss-of-function mutations indicate that eATP/P2Y2 is an enhanced signaling axis in cells from patients with α-/γ-sarcoglycanopathy. Understanding the basis of the innate immune-mediated damage associated with the dystrophic process may be critical in overcoming the immunologic hurdles associated with emerging gene therapies for these disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Benzi
- Department of Experimental Medicine-DIMES, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Serena Baratto
- Center of Translational and Experimental Myology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Cecilia Astigiano
- Department of Experimental Medicine-DIMES, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Laura Sturla
- Department of Experimental Medicine-DIMES, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Chiara Panicucci
- Center of Translational and Experimental Myology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Kamel Mamchaoui
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut de Myologie, Centre de Recherche en Myologie, Paris, France
| | - Lizzia Raffaghello
- Center of Translational and Experimental Myology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy
| | - Santina Bruzzone
- Department of Experimental Medicine-DIMES, University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
| | - Elisabetta Gazzerro
- Unit of Muscle Research Experimental and Clinical Research Center, a Cooperation Between the Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Claudio Bruno
- Center of Translational and Experimental Myology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophtalmology, Genetics, Maternal and ChildHealth-DINOGMI, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
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Vainzof M, Souza LS, Gurgel-Giannetti J, Zatz M. Sarcoglycanopathies: an update. Neuromuscul Disord 2021; 31:1021-1027. [PMID: 34404573 DOI: 10.1016/j.nmd.2021.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Sarcoglycanopathies are the most severe forms of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMDs), constituting about 10-25% of LGMDs. The clinical phenotype is variable, but onset is usually in the first decade of life. Patients present muscle hypertrophy, elevated CK, variable muscle weaknesses, and progressive loss of ambulation. Four subtypes are known: LGMDR3, LGMDR4, LGMDR5 and LGMDR6, caused, respectively, by mutations in the SGCA, SGCB,SGCG and SGCD genes. Their four coded proteins, α-SG, ß-SG, λ-SG and δ-SG are part of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) present in muscle sarcolemma, which acts as a linker between the cytoskeleton of the muscle fiber and the extracellular matrix, providing mechanical support to the sarcolemma during myofiber contraction. Many different mutations have already been identified in all the sarcoglycan genes, with a predominance of some mutations in different populations. The diagnosis is currently based on the molecular screening for these mutations. Therapeutic approaches include the strategy of gene replacement mediated by a vector derived from adeno-associated virus (AAV). Pre-clinical studies have shown detectable levels of SG proteins in the muscle, and some improvement in the phenotype, in animal models. Therapeutic trials in humans are ongoing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariz Vainzof
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Biosciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Lucas S Souza
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Biosciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana Gurgel-Giannetti
- Department of Pediatrics, Service of Neuropediatrics from Federal, University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Mayana Zatz
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Biosciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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