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Suárez-Calvet X, Fernández-Simón E, Natera D, Jou C, Pinol-Jurado P, Villalobos E, Ortez C, Monceau A, Schiava M, Codina A, Verdu-Díaz J, Clark J, Laidler Z, Mehra P, Gokul-Nath R, Alonso-Perez J, Marini-Bettolo C, Tasca G, Straub V, Guglieri M, Nascimento A, Diaz-Manera J. Decoding the transcriptome of Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the single nuclei level reveals clinical-genetic correlations. Cell Death Dis 2023; 14:596. [PMID: 37673877 PMCID: PMC10482944 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-023-06103-5] [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: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease produced by mutations in the dystrophin gene characterized by early onset muscle weakness leading to severe and irreversible disability. The cellular and molecular consequences of the lack of dystrophin in humans are only partially known, which is crucial for the development of new therapies aiming to slow or stop the progression of the disease. Here we have analyzed quadriceps muscle biopsies of seven DMD patients aged 2 to 4 years old and five age and gender matched controls using single nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNAseq) and correlated the results obtained with clinical data. SnRNAseq identified significant differences in the proportion of cell population present in the muscle samples, including an increase in the number of regenerative fibers, satellite cells, and fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells (FAPs) and a decrease in the number of slow fibers and smooth muscle cells. Muscle samples from the younger patients with stable mild weakness were characterized by an increase in regenerative fibers, while older patients with moderate and progressive weakness were characterized by loss of muscle fibers and an increase in FAPs. An analysis of the gene expression profile in muscle fibers identified a strong regenerative signature in DMD samples characterized by the upregulation of genes involved in myogenesis and muscle hypertrophy. In the case of FAPs, we observed upregulation of genes involved in the extracellular matrix regeneration but also several signaling pathways. Indeed, further analysis of the potential intercellular communication profile showed a dysregulation of the communication profile in DMD samples identifying FAPs as a key regulator of cell signaling in DMD muscle samples. In conclusion, our study has identified significant differences at the cellular and molecular levels in the different cell populations present in skeletal muscle samples of patients with DMD compared to controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Suárez-Calvet
- Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU), 08041, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Esther Fernández-Simón
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Daniel Natera
- Neuromuscular Disorders Unit. Neurology department, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Cristina Jou
- Pathology department, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Patricia Pinol-Jurado
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Elisa Villalobos
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Carlos Ortez
- Neuromuscular Disorders Unit. Neurology department, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Alexandra Monceau
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Marianela Schiava
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Anna Codina
- Pathology department, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
| | - José Verdu-Díaz
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - James Clark
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Zoe Laidler
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Priyanka Mehra
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Rasya Gokul-Nath
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Jorge Alonso-Perez
- Neuromuscular Disease Unit. Neurology Department. Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, Fundación Canaria Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Canarias (FIISC), Tenerife, Spain
| | - Chiara Marini-Bettolo
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Giorgio Tasca
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Volker Straub
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Michela Guglieri
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Andrés Nascimento
- Neuromuscular Disorders Unit. Neurology department, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Jordi Diaz-Manera
- Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU), 08041, Barcelona, Spain.
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Center, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
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