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Williams LA, Gerber DJ, Elder A, Tseng WC, Baru V, Delaney-Busch N, Ambrosi C, Mahimkar G, Joshi V, Shah H, Harikrishnan K, Upadhyay H, Rajendran SH, Dhandapani A, Meier J, Ryan SJ, Lewarch C, Black L, Douville J, Cinquino S, Legakis H, Nalbach K, Behrends C, Sato A, Galluzzi L, Yu TW, Brown D, Agrawal S, Margulies D, Kopin A, Dempsey GT. Developing antisense oligonucleotides for a TECPR2 mutation-induced, ultra-rare neurological disorder using patient-derived cellular models. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids 2022; 29:189-203. [PMID: 35860385 PMCID: PMC9287140 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2022.06.015] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in the TECPR2 gene are the cause of an ultra-rare neurological disorder characterized by intellectual disability, impaired speech, motor delay, and hypotonia evolving to spasticity, central sleep apnea, and premature death (SPG49 or HSAN9; OMIM: 615031). Little is known about the biological function of TECPR2, and there are currently no available disease-modifying therapies for this disease. Here we describe implementation of an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) exon-skipping strategy targeting TECPR2 c.1319delT (p.Leu440Argfs∗19), a pathogenic variant that results in a premature stop codon within TECPR2 exon 8. We used patient-derived fibroblasts and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons homozygous for the p.Leu440Argfs∗19 mutation to model the disease in vitro. Both patient-derived fibroblasts and neurons showed lack of TECPR2 protein expression. We designed and screened ASOs targeting sequences across the TECPR2 exon 8 region to identify molecules that induce exon 8 skipping and thereby remove the premature stop signal. TECPR2 exon 8 skipping restored in-frame expression of a TECPR2 protein variant (TECPR2ΔEx8) containing 1,300 of 1,411 amino acids. Optimization of ASO sequences generated a lead candidate (ASO-005-02) with ∼27 nM potency in patient-derived fibroblasts. To examine potential functional rescue induced by ASO-005-02, we used iPSC-derived neurons to analyze the neuronal localization of TECPR2ΔEx8 and showed that this form of TECPR2 retains the distinct, punctate neuronal expression pattern of full-length TECPR2. Finally, ASO-005-02 had an acceptable tolerability profile in vivo following a single 20-mg intrathecal dose in cynomolgus monkeys, showing some transient non-adverse behavioral effects with no correlating histopathology. Broad distribution of ASO-005-02 and induction of TECPR2 exon 8 skipping was detected in multiple central nervous system (CNS) tissues, supporting the potential utility of this therapeutic strategy for a subset of patients suffering from this rare disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A Williams
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - David J Gerber
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Amy Elder
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Wei Chou Tseng
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Valeriya Baru
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | | | - Gauri Mahimkar
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Vaibhav Joshi
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Himali Shah
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Hansini Upadhyay
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | | | - Joshua Meier
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Steven J Ryan
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Caitlin Lewarch
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Lauren Black
- Charles River Laboratories, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Karsten Nalbach
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
| | - Christian Behrends
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
| | - Ai Sato
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lorenzo Galluzzi
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Timothy W Yu
- Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Duncan Brown
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Sudhir Agrawal
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Medicine, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.,Arnay Sciences LLC, Shrewsbury, MA 01545, USA
| | - David Margulies
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Alan Kopin
- Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.,Luke Heller TECPR2 Foundation, Swampscott, MA, USA
| | - Graham T Dempsey
- Q-State Biosciences, 179 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Tamim-Yecheskel BC, Fraiberg M, Kokabi K, Freud S, Shatz O, Marvaldi L, Subic N, Brenner O, Tsoory M, Eilam-Altstadter R, Biton I, Savidor A, Dezorella N, Heimer G, Behrends C, Ben-Zeev B, Elazar Z. A tecpr2 knockout mouse exhibits age-dependent neuroaxonal dystrophy associated with autophagosome accumulation. Autophagy 2020; 17:3082-3095. [PMID: 33218264 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2020.1852724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutations in the coding sequence of human TECPR2 were recently linked to spastic paraplegia type 49 (SPG49), a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder involving intellectual disability, autonomic-sensory neuropathy, chronic respiratory disease and decreased pain sensitivity. Here, we report the generation of a novel CRISPR-Cas9 tecpr2 knockout (tecpr2-/-) mouse that exhibits behavioral pathologies observed in SPG49 patients. tecpr2-/- mice develop neurodegenerative patterns in an age-dependent manner, manifested predominantly as neuroaxonal dystrophy in the gracile (GrN) and cuneate nuclei (CuN) of the medulla oblongata in the brainstem and dorsal white matter column of the spinal cord. Age-dependent correlation with accumulation of autophagosomes suggests compromised targeting to lysosome. Taken together, our findings establish the tecpr2 knockout mouse as a potential model for SPG49 and ascribe a new role to TECPR2 in macroautophagy/autophagy-related neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Milana Fraiberg
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Kamilya Kokabi
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Saskia Freud
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Oren Shatz
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Letizia Marvaldi
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Nemanja Subic
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ori Brenner
- Veterinary Recourses, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Michael Tsoory
- Veterinary Recourses, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Inbal Biton
- Veterinary Recourses, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Alon Savidor
- Chemical Research Support, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Nili Dezorella
- Irving and Cherna Moskowitz Center for Nano and Bio-Nano Imaging, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Gali Heimer
- Department of Pediatric Neurology Unit, Edmond and Lilly Safra Children Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Christian Behrends
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (Synergy), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Bruria Ben-Zeev
- Department of Pediatric Neurology Unit, Edmond and Lilly Safra Children Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Zvulun Elazar
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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Fraiberg M, Tamim-Yecheskel BC, Kokabi K, Subic N, Heimer G, Eck F, Nalbach K, Behrends C, Ben-Zeev B, Shatz O, Elazar Z. Lysosomal targeting of autophagosomes by the TECPR domain of TECPR2. Autophagy 2020; 17:3096-3108. [PMID: 33213269 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2020.1852727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
TECPR2 (tectonin beta-propeller repeat containing 2) is a large, multi-domain protein comprised of an amino-terminal WD domain, a middle unstructured region and a carboxy-terminal TEPCR domain comprises of six TECPR repeats followed by a functional LIR motif. Human TECPR2 mutations are linked to spastic paraplegia type 49 (SPG49), a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder. Here we show that basal macroautophagic/autophagic flux is impaired in SPG49 patient fibroblasts in the form of accumulated autophagosomes. Ectopic expression of either full length TECPR2 or the TECPR domain rescued autophagy in patient fibroblasts in a LIR-dependent manner. Moreover, this domain is recruited to the cytosolic leaflet of autophagosomal and lysosomal membranes in a LIR- and VAMP8-dependent manner, respectively. These findings provide evidence for a new role of the TECPR domain in particular, and TECPR2 in general, in lysosomal targeting of autophagosomes via association with Atg8-family proteins on autophagosomes and VAMP8 on lysosomes.Abbreviations: HOPS: homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting; LIR: LC3-interacting region; SPG49: spastic paraplegia type 49; STX17: syntaxin 17; TECPR2: tectonin beta-propeller repeat containing 2; VAMP8: vesicle associated membrane protein 8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milana Fraiberg
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Kamilya Kokabi
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Nemanja Subic
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Gali Heimer
- Department of Pediatric Neurology Unit, Edmond and Lilly Safra Children Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Franziska Eck
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (Synergy), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Karsten Nalbach
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (Synergy), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Christian Behrends
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (Synergy), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Bruria Ben-Zeev
- Department of Pediatric Neurology Unit, Edmond and Lilly Safra Children Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Oren Shatz
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Zvulun Elazar
- Departments of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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