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Smeets H, Verbrugge B, Bulbena X, Hristova L, Vogt J, van Beckhoven I. European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases workshop: LAMA2-muscular dystrophy: paving the road to therapy March 17-19, 2023, Barcelona, Spain. Neuromuscul Disord 2024; 36:16-22. [PMID: 38306718 DOI: 10.1016/j.nmd.2024.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
The European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases (EJPRD) funded the workshop "LAMA2-Muscular Dystrophy: Paving the road to therapy", bringing together 40 health-care professionals, researchers, patient-advocacy groups, Early-Career Scientists and other stakeholders from 14 countries. Progress in natural history, pathophysiology, trial readiness, and treatment strategies was discussed together with efforts to increase patient-awareness and strengthen collaborations. Key outcomes were (a) ongoing natural history studies in 7 countries already covered more than 350 patients. The next steps are to include additional countries, harmonise data collection and define a minimal dataset; (b) therapy development was largely complementary. Approaches included LAMA2-replacement and correction, LAMA1-reactivation, mRNA modulation, linker-protein expression, targeting downstream processes and identifying modifiers, using viral vectors, muscle stem cells, iPSC and mouse models and patient lines; (c) LAMA2-Europe will inform patients (-representatives) worldwide on standards of care and scientific progress, and enable sharing experiences. Follow-up monthly online meetings and research repositories have been established to create sustainable collaborations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hubert Smeets
- Department of Toxicogenomics, Research Institutes MHeNS and GROW, Maastricht University, UNS40 Maastricht 6229ER, the Netherlands.
| | - Bram Verbrugge
- LAMA2-MD Foundation "Voor Sara", Dordrecht, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Julia Vogt
- Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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Bittel AJ, Bittel DC, Gordish-Dressman H, Chen YW. Voluntary wheel running improves molecular and functional deficits in a murine model of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. iScience 2024; 27:108632. [PMID: 38188524 PMCID: PMC10770537 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Endurance exercise training is beneficial for skeletal muscle health, but it is unclear if this type of exercise can target or correct the molecular mechanisms of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Using the FLExDUX4 murine model of FSHD characterized by chronic, low levels of pathological double homeobox protein 4 (DUX4) gene expression, we show that 6 weeks of voluntary, free wheel running improves running performance, strength, mitochondrial function, and sarcolemmal repair capacity, while slowing/reversing skeletal muscle fibrosis. These improvements are associated with restored transcriptional activity of gene networks/pathways regulating actin cytoskeletal signaling, vascular remodeling, inflammation, fibrosis, and muscle mass toward wild-type (WT) levels. However, FLExDUX4 mice exhibit blunted increases in mitochondrial content with training and persistent transcriptional overactivation of hypoxia, inflammatory, angiogenic, and cytoskeletal pathways. These results identify exercise-responsive and non-responsive molecular pathways in FSHD, while providing support for the use of endurance-type exercise as a non-invasive treatment option.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Bittel
- Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20012, USA
| | - Daniel C. Bittel
- Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20012, USA
| | | | - Yi-Wen Chen
- Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20012, USA
- Department of Genomics and Precision Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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Bombieri C, Corsi A, Trabetti E, Ruggiero A, Marchetto G, Vattemi G, Valenti MT, Zipeto D, Romanelli MG. Advanced Cellular Models for Rare Disease Study: Exploring Neural, Muscle and Skeletal Organoids. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1014. [PMID: 38256087 PMCID: PMC10815694 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25021014] [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: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Organoids are self-organized, three-dimensional structures derived from stem cells that can mimic the structure and physiology of human organs. Patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and 3D organoid model systems allow cells to be analyzed in a controlled environment to simulate the characteristics of a given disease by modeling the underlying pathophysiology. The recent development of 3D cell models has offered the scientific community an exceptionally valuable tool in the study of rare diseases, overcoming the limited availability of biological samples and the limitations of animal models. This review provides an overview of iPSC models and genetic engineering techniques used to develop organoids. In particular, some of the models applied to the study of rare neuronal, muscular and skeletal diseases are described. Furthermore, the limitations and potential of developing new therapeutic approaches are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Donato Zipeto
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy; (C.B.); (A.C.); (E.T.); (A.R.); (G.M.); (G.V.); (M.T.V.)
| | - Maria Grazia Romanelli
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy; (C.B.); (A.C.); (E.T.); (A.R.); (G.M.); (G.V.); (M.T.V.)
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Laberthonnière C, Delourme M, Chevalier R, Dion C, Ganne B, Hirst D, Caron L, Perrin P, Adélaïde J, Chaffanet M, Xue S, Nguyen K, Reversade B, Déjardin J, Baudot A, Robin J, Magdinier F. In skeletal muscle and neural crest cells, SMCHD1 regulates biological pathways relevant for Bosma syndrome and facioscapulohumeral dystrophy phenotype. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:7269-7287. [PMID: 37334829 PMCID: PMC10415154 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Many genetic syndromes are linked to mutations in genes encoding factors that guide chromatin organization. Among them, several distinct rare genetic diseases are linked to mutations in SMCHD1 that encodes the structural maintenance of chromosomes flexible hinge domain containing 1 chromatin-associated factor. In humans, its function as well as the impact of its mutations remains poorly defined. To fill this gap, we determined the episignature associated with heterozygous SMCHD1 variants in primary cells and cell lineages derived from induced pluripotent stem cells for Bosma arhinia and microphthalmia syndrome (BAMS) and type 2 facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD2). In human tissues, SMCHD1 regulates the distribution of methylated CpGs, H3K27 trimethylation and CTCF at repressed chromatin but also at euchromatin. Based on the exploration of tissues affected either in FSHD or in BAMS, i.e. skeletal muscle fibers and neural crest stem cells, respectively, our results emphasize multiple functions for SMCHD1, in chromatin compaction, chromatin insulation and gene regulation with variable targets or phenotypical outcomes. We concluded that in rare genetic diseases, SMCHD1 variants impact gene expression in two ways: (i) by changing the chromatin context at a number of euchromatin loci or (ii) by directly regulating some loci encoding master transcription factors required for cell fate determination and tissue differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mégane Delourme
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Raphaël Chevalier
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Camille Dion
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Benjamin Ganne
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
| | - David Hirst
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Leslie Caron
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Pierre Perrin
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
| | - José Adélaïde
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, CNRS, Institut Paoli Calmette, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Marseille, Laboratory of predictive Oncology, Marseille 13009, France
| | - Max Chaffanet
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, CNRS, Institut Paoli Calmette, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Marseille, Laboratory of predictive Oncology, Marseille 13009, France
| | - Shifeng Xue
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558, Singapore
- Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Karine Nguyen
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
- Département de Génétique Médicale, AP-HM, Hôpital d’enfants de la Timone, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Bruno Reversade
- Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Medical Genetics, Koç University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Physiology, Cardiovascular Disease Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- Laboratory of Human Genetics & Therapeutics, Smart-Health Initiative, BESE, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jérôme Déjardin
- Institut de Génétique Humaine, UMR 9002, CNRS–Université de Montpellier, Montpellier 34000, France
| | - Anaïs Baudot
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Jérôme D Robin
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, Marseille Medical Genetics, Marseille 13005, France
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Rossiaud L, Fragner P, Barbon E, Gardin A, Benabides M, Pellier E, Cosette J, El Kassar L, Giraud-Triboult K, Nissan X, Ronzitti G, Hoch L. Pathological modeling of glycogen storage disease type III with CRISPR/Cas9 edited human pluripotent stem cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1163427. [PMID: 37250895 PMCID: PMC10213880 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1163427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Glycogen storage disease type III (GSDIII) is a rare genetic disease caused by mutations in the AGL gene encoding the glycogen debranching enzyme (GDE). The deficiency of this enzyme, involved in cytosolic glycogen degradation, leads to pathological glycogen accumulation in liver, skeletal muscles and heart. Although the disease manifests with hypoglycemia and liver metabolism impairment, the progressive myopathy is the major disease burden in adult GSDIII patients, without any curative treatment currently available. Methods: Here, we combined the self-renewal and differentiation capabilities of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) with cutting edge CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to establish a stable AGL knockout cell line and to explore glycogen metabolism in GSDIII. Results: Following skeletal muscle cells differentiation of the edited and control hiPSC lines, our study reports that the insertion of a frameshift mutation in AGL gene results in the loss of GDE expression and persistent glycogen accumulation under glucose starvation conditions. Phenotypically, we demonstrated that the edited skeletal muscle cells faithfully recapitulate the phenotype of differentiated skeletal muscle cells of hiPSCs derived from a GSDIII patient. We also demonstrated that treatment with recombinant AAV vectors expressing the human GDE cleared the accumulated glycogen. Discussion: This study describes the first skeletal muscle cell model of GSDIII derived from hiPSCs and establishes a platform to study the mechanisms that contribute to muscle impairments in GSDIII and to assess the therapeutic potential of pharmacological inducers of glycogen degradation or gene therapy approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucille Rossiaud
- CECS, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- UEVE U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- Genethon, Evry, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, Univ Evry, Inserm, Genethon, Integrare Research Unit UMR_S951, Evry, France
| | - Pascal Fragner
- CECS, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- UEVE U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
| | - Elena Barbon
- Genethon, Evry, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, Univ Evry, Inserm, Genethon, Integrare Research Unit UMR_S951, Evry, France
| | - Antoine Gardin
- Genethon, Evry, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, Univ Evry, Inserm, Genethon, Integrare Research Unit UMR_S951, Evry, France
| | - Manon Benabides
- CECS, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- UEVE U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
| | - Emilie Pellier
- CECS, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- UEVE U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
| | | | - Lina El Kassar
- CECS, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- UEVE U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
| | - Karine Giraud-Triboult
- CECS, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- UEVE U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
| | - Xavier Nissan
- CECS, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- UEVE U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
| | - Giuseppe Ronzitti
- Genethon, Evry, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, Univ Evry, Inserm, Genethon, Integrare Research Unit UMR_S951, Evry, France
| | - Lucile Hoch
- CECS, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- UEVE U861, I-Stem, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
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Padberg GW, van Engelen BGM, Voermans NC. Facioscapulohumeral Disease as a myodevelopmental disease: Applying Ockham's razor to its various features. J Neuromuscul Dis 2023; 10:411-425. [PMID: 36872787 DOI: 10.3233/jnd-221624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an exclusively human neuromuscular disease. In the last decades the cause of FSHD was identified: the loss of epigenetic repression of the D4Z4 repeat on chromosome 4q35 resulting in inappropriate transcription of DUX4. This is a consequence of a reduction of the array below 11 units (FSHD1) or of a mutation in methylating enzymes (FSHD2). Both require the presence of a 4qA allele and a specific centromeric SSLP haplotype. Muscles become involved in a rostro-caudally order with an extremely variable progression rate. Mild disease and non-penetrance in families with affected individuals is common. Furthermore, 2% of the Caucasian population carries the pathological haplotype without clinical features of FSHD.In order to explain the various features of FSHD we applied Ockham's Razor to all possible scenarios and removed unnecessary complexities. We postulate that early in embryogenesis a few cells escape epigenetic silencing of the D4Z4 repeat. Their number is assumed to be roughly inversely related to the residual D4Z4 repeat size. By asymmetric cell division, they produce a rostro-caudal and medio-lateral decreasing gradient of weakly D4Z4-repressed mesenchymal stem cells. The gradient tapers towards an end as each cell-division allows renewed epigenetic silencing. Over time, this spatial gradient translates into a temporal gradient based on a decreasing number of weakly silenced stem cells. These cells contribute to a mildly abnormal myofibrillar structure of the fetal muscles. They also form a downward tapering gradient of epigenetically weakly repressed satellite cells. When activated by mechanical trauma, these satellite cells de-differentiate and express DUX4. When fused to myofibrils they contribute to muscle cell death in various ways. Over time and dependent on how far the gradient reaches the FSHD phenotype becomes progressively manifest. We thus hypothesize FSHD to be a myodevelopmental disease with a lifelong attempt to restore DUX4 repression.
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Affiliation(s)
- G W Padberg
- Department of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - B G M van Engelen
- Department of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - N C Voermans
- Department of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Caron L, Testa S, Magdinier F. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Modeling Physiological and Pathological Striated Muscle Complexity. J Neuromuscul Dis 2023; 10:761-776. [PMID: 37522215 PMCID: PMC10578229 DOI: 10.3233/jnd-230076] [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] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) are a large group of diseases associated with either alterations of skeletal muscle fibers, motor neurons or neuromuscular junctions. Most of these diseases is characterized with muscle weakness or wasting and greatly alter the life of patients. Animal models do not always recapitulate the phenotype of patients. The development of innovative and representative human preclinical models is thus strongly needed for modeling the wide diversity of NMDs, characterization of disease-associated variants, investigation of novel genes function, or the development of therapies. Over the last decade, the use of patient's derived induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) has resulted in tremendous progress in biomedical research, including for NMDs. Skeletal muscle is a complex tissue with multinucleated muscle fibers supported by a dense extracellular matrix and multiple cell types including motor neurons required for the contractile activity. Major challenges need now to be tackled by the scientific community to increase maturation of muscle fibers in vitro, in particular for modeling adult-onset diseases affecting this tissue (neuromuscular disorders, cachexia, sarcopenia) and the evaluation of therapeutic strategies. In the near future, rapidly evolving bioengineering approaches applied to hiPSC will undoubtedly become highly instrumental for investigating muscle pathophysiology and the development of therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie Caron
- Aix-Marseille Univ-INSERM, MMG, Marseille, France
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