Generation of gene-corrected iPSCs line (KEIUi001-A) from a PARK8 patient iPSCs with familial Parkinson's disease carrying the I2020T mutation in LRRK2

Gene therapy for CNS disorders: modalities, delivery and translational challenges

Gene therapy is emerging as a powerful tool to modulate abnormal gene expression, a hallmark of most CNS disorders. The transformative potentials of recently approved gene therapies for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and active cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy are encouraging further development of this approach. However, most attempts to translate gene therapy to the clinic have failed to make it to market. There is an urgent need not only to tailor the genes that are targeted to the pathology of interest but to also address delivery challenges and thereby maximize the utility of genetic tools. In this Review, we provide an overview of gene therapy modalities for CNS diseases, emphasizing the interconnectedness of different delivery strategies and routes of administration. Important gaps in understanding that could accelerate the clinical translatability of CNS genetic interventions are addressed, and we present lessons learned from failed clinical trials that may guide the future development of gene therapies for the treatment and management of CNS disorders.

CRISPR-Cas9-Based Technology and Its Relevance to Gene Editing in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other chronic and debilitating neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) impose a substantial medical, emotional, and financial burden on individuals and society. The origin of PD is unknown due to a complex combination of hereditary and environmental risk factors. However, over the last several decades, a significant amount of available data from clinical and experimental studies has implicated neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, dysregulated protein degradation, and mitochondrial dysfunction as the primary causes of PD neurodegeneration. The new gene-editing techniques hold great promise for research and therapy of NDs, such as PD, for which there are currently no effective disease-modifying treatments. As a result, gene therapy may offer new treatment options, transforming our ability to treat this disease. We present a detailed overview of novel gene-editing delivery vehicles, which is essential for their successful implementation in both cutting-edge research and prospective therapeutics. Moreover, we review the most recent advancements in CRISPR-based applications and gene therapies for a better understanding of treating PD. We explore the benefits and drawbacks of using them for a range of gene-editing applications in the brain, emphasizing some fascinating possibilities.

Gene Therapy for Neurodegenerative Disease: Clinical Potential and Directions

The pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) is complex and diverse. Over the decades, our understanding of NDD has been limited to pathological features. However, recent advances in gene sequencing have facilitated elucidation of NDD at a deeper level. Gene editing techniques have uncovered new genetic links to phenotypes, promoted the development of novel treatment strategies and equipped researchers with further means to construct effective cell and animal models. The current review describes the history of evolution of gene editing tools, with the aim of improving overall understanding of this technology, and focuses on the four most common NDD disorders to demonstrate the potential future applications and research directions of gene editing.

A new approach to analysis of intracellular proteins and subcellular localization using cellprofiler and imageJ in combination

Analytical pipeline, which is used for various analysis application, of CellProfiler, an open-source software for cell imaging analysis, is very important. In the present study, to examine whether intracellular proteins can be discriminated using a combination of CellProfiler and ImageJ, we analyzed neuroblastoma and monocytic cell lines, and disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons. This revealed that scattered puncta of Rab7 and transferrin in neuroblastoma lines were clearly detectable by created analytical pipelines in CellProfiler. We then constructed pipelines for measuring the distance from the center of the nucleus to allow investigation of the intracellular localization of Rab7 or transferrin. Using CellProfiler and ImageJ in combination, we confirmed that our pipelines were applicable both quantitatively and objectively to analysis of membrane trafficking of proteins such as Rab proteins and transferrin. In addition, when applied to quantitative measurement of phagocytosis, our pipelines clearly detected monocytic cell lines that had engulfed bioparticles. Finally, we developed new pipelines for analysis of disease phenotype using iPSCs from a patient with familial Parkinson's disease (PD), harboring the I2020T LRRK2 mutation (PARK8). These were able to successfully detect Rab5 puncta and Rab7 puncta in PARK8 patient iPSC-derived neurons. Interestingly, in long-term culture, we found that the numbers of Rab7 puncta in a single PARK8 patient iPSC-derived neurons were lower than that of control iPSC-derived neurons. On the other hands, at 14 days in vitro, the numbers of Rab5 puncta in PARK8 patient iPSC-derived neurons were lower than those of isogenic iPSC-derived neurons, but not Rab7 puncta. Furthermore, Rab5 puncta of PARK8 patient iPSC-derived neurons exhibited distinct localization pattern relative to isogenic iPSC-derived neurons. These present results suggest that this new analytical tool can be used as a supporting method for quantification of intracellular protein.