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Di Francesco V, Chua AJ, Huang D, D'Souza A, Yang A, Bleier BS, Amiji MM. RNA therapies for CNS diseases. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2024; 208:115283. [PMID: 38494152 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2024.115283] [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: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Neurological disorders are a diverse group of conditions that pose an increasing health burden worldwide. There is a general lack of effective therapies due to multiple reasons, of which a key obstacle is the presence of the blood-brain barrier, which limits drug delivery to the central nervous system, and generally restricts the pool of candidate drugs to small, lipophilic molecules. However, in many cases, these are unable to target key pathways in the pathogenesis of neurological disorders. As a group, RNA therapies have shown tremendous promise in treating various conditions because they offer unique opportunities for specific targeting by leveraging Watson-Crick base pairing systems, opening up possibilities to modulate pathological mechanisms that previously could not be addressed by small molecules or antibody-protein interactions. This potential paradigm shift in disease management has been enabled by recent advances in synthesizing, purifying, and delivering RNA. This review explores the use of RNA-based therapies specifically for central nervous system disorders, where we highlight the inherent limitations of RNA therapy and present strategies to augment the effectiveness of RNA therapeutics, including physical, chemical, and biological methods. We then describe translational challenges to the widespread use of RNA therapies and close with a consideration of future prospects in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Di Francesco
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 140 The Fenway Building, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Andy J Chua
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 140 The Fenway Building, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Sengkang General Hospital, 110 Sengkang E Way, 544886, Singapore
| | - Di Huang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 140 The Fenway Building, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Anisha D'Souza
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 140 The Fenway Building, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Alicia Yang
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Benjamin S Bleier
- Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Mansoor M Amiji
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 140 The Fenway Building, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 140 The Fenway Building, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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Stepankova K, Jendelova P, Machova Urdzikova L. Planet of the AAVs: The Spinal Cord Injury Episode. Biomedicines 2021; 9:613. [PMID: 34071245 PMCID: PMC8228984 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9060613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The spinal cord injury (SCI) is a medical and life-disrupting condition with devastating consequences for the physical, social, and professional welfare of patients, and there is no adequate treatment for it. At the same time, gene therapy has been studied as a promising approach for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders by delivering remedial genes to the central nervous system (CNS), of which the spinal cord is a part. For gene therapy, multiple vectors have been introduced, including integrating lentiviral vectors and non-integrating adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. AAV vectors are a promising system for transgene delivery into the CNS due to their safety profile as well as long-term gene expression. Gene therapy mediated by AAV vectors shows potential for treating SCI by delivering certain genetic information to specific cell types. This review has focused on a potential treatment of SCI by gene therapy using AAV vectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Stepankova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, 14200 Prague, Czech Republic;
- Department of Neuroscience, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 15006 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavla Jendelova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, 14200 Prague, Czech Republic;
- Department of Neuroscience, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 15006 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lucia Machova Urdzikova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, 14200 Prague, Czech Republic;
- Department of Neuroscience, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 15006 Prague, Czech Republic
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Guo M, Wu L, Song Z, Yang B. Enhancement of Neural Stem Cell Proliferation in Rats with Spinal Cord Injury by a Combination of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and Human Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hUCB-MSCs). Med Sci Monit 2020; 26:e924445. [PMID: 32814758 PMCID: PMC7453755 DOI: 10.12659/msm.924445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study was designed to explore the combined effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) transplantation on neural stem cell proliferation in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). MATERIAL AND METHODS SCI was induced in 90 rats by laminectomy at T10. Fifteen rats each were treated with 0.5 Hz rTMS or 10 Hz rTMS or underwent hUCB-MSC transplantation; 15 each were treated with 0.5 Hz rTMS+hUCB-MSCs or 10 Hz rTMS+hUCB-MSCs; and 15 were untreated (control group). The Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scores and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured, and all rats underwent biotin dextran-amine (BDA) tracing of the corticospinal tract (CST). The levels of expression of neural stem cell proliferation related proteins, including BrdU, nestin, Tuj1, Ng2+ and GFAP, were measured, and the levels of bFGF and EGF determined by Western blotting. RESULTS BBB scores and MEPs were increased after rTMS and hUCB-MSC transplantation, while histologically determined SCI-induced neuron apoptosis was attenuated. The numbers of BDA-positive fibers and Brdu-, nestin- and Tuj1-positive cells were markedly increased and the numbers of Ng2+- and GFAP-positive cells were markedly decreased following treatment with rTMS alone or rTMS plus hUCB-MSC transplantation. The levels of expression of bFGF and EGF were significantly upregulated following rTMS treatment and hUCB-MSC transplantation. Higher performance was observed after combined treatment with rTMS and hUCB-MSC transplantation than after either alone. CONCLUSIONS The combination of rTMS treatment and hUCB-MSC transplantation could attenuate SCI-induced neural stem cell apoptosis and motor dysfunction in rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengguo Guo
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China (mainland)
| | - Lixin Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China (mainland)
| | - Zhenyu Song
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China (mainland)
| | - Bo Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China (mainland)
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LncRNA FTX Involves in the Nogo-66-Induced Inhibition of Neurite Outgrowth Through Regulating PDK1/PKB/GSK-3β Pathway. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2020; 40:1143-1153. [PMID: 32107749 DOI: 10.1007/s10571-020-00803-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Nogo-66 can inhibit neurite outgrowth, while its regulation mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Recent studies prove that lncRNAs are involved in neurite outgrowth. This study was aimed to investigate whether lncRNA FTX was involved in Nogo-66-induced inhibition of neurite outgrowth and explore the potential mechanism. The expression of relative genes was detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. The function of FTX was determined by overexpression and knockdown techniques. The interaction between FTX and PDK1 was evaluated by RIP and RNA pull-down assays. FTX expression was downregulated by Nogo-66 in PC12 cells. Nogo-66-induced inhibition of neurite outgrowth was relieved by FTX overexpression. FTX bound to PDK1 protein to disturb the interaction between PDK1 and E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF126, thereby blocked the ubiquitination degradation of PDK1 and elevated PDK1 protein level. Mechanically, FTX involved in the Nogo-66-induced inhibition of neurite outgrowth through the PDK1/PKB/GSK-3β pathway. In SCI rats, FTX knockdown inhibited neurite outgrowth induced by the receptor antagonist of Nogo-66. The present results suggested that FTX took part in Nogo-66-inhibited neurite outgrowth, and FTX exerted its function through regulating PDK1/PKB/GSK-3β pathway.
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