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Hoolachan JM, McCallion E, Sutton ER, Çetin Ö, Pacheco-Torres P, Dimitriadi M, Sari S, Miller GJ, Okoh M, Walter LM, Claus P, Wood MJA, Tonge DP, Bowerman M. A transcriptomics-based drug repositioning approach to identify drugs with similar activities for the treatment of muscle pathologies in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) models. Hum Mol Genet 2024; 33:400-425. [PMID: 37947217 PMCID: PMC10877467 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddad192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic neuromuscular disorder caused by the reduction of survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein levels. Although three SMN-augmentation therapies are clinically approved that significantly slow down disease progression, they are unfortunately not cures. Thus, complementary SMN-independent therapies that can target key SMA pathologies and that can support the clinically approved SMN-dependent drugs are the forefront of therapeutic development. We have previously demonstrated that prednisolone, a synthetic glucocorticoid (GC) improved muscle health and survival in severe Smn-/-;SMN2 and intermediate Smn2B/- SMA mice. However, long-term administration of prednisolone can promote myopathy. We thus wanted to identify genes and pathways targeted by prednisolone in skeletal muscle to discover clinically approved drugs that are predicted to emulate prednisolone's activities. Using an RNA-sequencing, bioinformatics, and drug repositioning pipeline on skeletal muscle from symptomatic prednisolone-treated and untreated Smn-/-; SMN2 SMA and Smn+/-; SMN2 healthy mice, we identified molecular targets linked to prednisolone's ameliorative effects and a list of 580 drug candidates with similar predicted activities. Two of these candidates, metformin and oxandrolone, were further investigated in SMA cellular and animal models, which highlighted that these compounds do not have the same ameliorative effects on SMA phenotypes as prednisolone; however, a number of other important drug targets remain. Overall, our work further supports the usefulness of prednisolone's potential as a second-generation therapy for SMA, identifies a list of potential SMA drug treatments and highlights improvements for future transcriptomic-based drug repositioning studies in SMA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M Hoolachan
- School of Medicine, David Weatherall Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Eve McCallion
- School of Medicine, David Weatherall Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Emma R Sutton
- School of Medicine, David Weatherall Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Özge Çetin
- School of Medicine, David Weatherall Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Paloma Pacheco-Torres
- School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL910 9AB, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Dimitriadi
- School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL910 9AB, United Kingdom
| | - Suat Sari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Hacettepe University, Ankara, 06100, Turkey
- School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Lennard-Jones Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Gavin J Miller
- School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Lennard-Jones Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
- Centre for Glycoscience, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Magnus Okoh
- School of Medicine, David Weatherall Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Lisa M Walter
- SMATHERIA gGmbH – Non-Profit Biomedical Research Institute, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 31, 30625, Hannover, Germany
- Centre of Systems Neuroscience (ZSN), Hannover Medical School, Bünteweg 2, 30559, Hannover, Germany
| | - Peter Claus
- SMATHERIA gGmbH – Non-Profit Biomedical Research Institute, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 31, 30625, Hannover, Germany
- Centre of Systems Neuroscience (ZSN), Hannover Medical School, Bünteweg 2, 30559, Hannover, Germany
| | - Matthew J A Wood
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Level 2, Children's Hospital, John Radcliffe, Headington Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel P Tonge
- School of Life Sciences, Huxley Building, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
| | - Melissa Bowerman
- School of Medicine, David Weatherall Building, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
- Wolfson Centre for Inherited Neuromuscular Disease, RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, SY10 7AG, United Kingdom
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