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Vázquez-Domínguez I, Garanto A. Considerations for Generating Humanized Mouse Models to Test Efficacy of Antisense Oligonucleotides. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2022; 2434:267-279. [PMID: 35213024 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2010-6_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Over the last decades, animal models have become increasingly important in therapeutic drug development and assessment. The use of these models, mainly mice and rats, allow evaluating drugs in the real-organism environment and context. However, several molecular therapeutic approaches are sequence-dependent, and therefore, the humanization of such models is required to assess the efficacy. The generation of genetically modified humanized mouse models is often an expensive and laborious process that may not always recapitulate the human molecular and/or physiological phenotype. In this chapter, we summarize basic aspects to consider before designing and generating humanized models, especially when they are aimed to test antisense-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Vázquez-Domínguez
- Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Alejandro Garanto
- Department of Pediatrics, Amalia Children's Hospital, Radboud Institute of Molecular Life Sciences (RIMLS), Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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2
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Halloy F, Iyer P, Ćwiek P, Ghidini A, Barman-Aksözen J, Wildner-Verhey van Wijk N, Theocharides APA, Minder E, Schneider-Yin X, Schümperli D, Hall J. Delivery of oligonucleotides to bone marrow to modulate ferrochelatase splicing in a mouse model of erythropoietic protoporphyria. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:4658-4671. [PMID: 32313951 PMCID: PMC7229840 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is a rare genetic disease in which patients experience acute phototoxic reactions after sunlight exposure. It is caused by a deficiency in ferrochelatase (FECH) in the heme biosynthesis pathway. Most patients exhibit a loss-of-function mutation in trans to an allele bearing a SNP that favors aberrant splicing of transcripts. One viable strategy for EPP is to deploy splice-switching oligonucleotides (SSOs) to increase FECH synthesis, whereby an increase of a few percent would provide therapeutic benefit. However, successful application of SSOs in bone marrow cells is not described. Here, we show that SSOs comprising methoxyethyl-chemistry increase FECH levels in cells. We conjugated one SSO to three prototypical targeting groups and administered them to a mouse model of EPP in order to study their biodistribution, their metabolic stability and their FECH splice-switching ability. The SSOs exhibited distinct distribution profiles, with increased accumulation in liver, kidney, bone marrow and lung. However, they also underwent substantial metabolism, mainly at their linker groups. An SSO bearing a cholesteryl group increased levels of correctly spliced FECH transcript by 80% in the bone marrow. The results provide a promising approach to treat EPP and other disorders originating from splicing dysregulation in the bone marrow.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Halloy
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Pavithra S Iyer
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Paulina Ćwiek
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alice Ghidini
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Alexandre P A Theocharides
- Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology, University Hospital and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Daniel Schümperli
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jonathan Hall
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
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3
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Yasuda M, Desnick RJ. Murine models of the human porphyrias: Contributions toward understanding disease pathogenesis and the development of new therapies. Mol Genet Metab 2019; 128:332-341. [PMID: 30737139 PMCID: PMC6639143 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2018] [Revised: 01/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/12/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Mouse models of the human porphyrias have proven useful for investigations of disease pathogenesis and to facilitate the development of new therapeutic approaches. To date, mouse models have been generated for all major porphyrias, with the exception of X-linked protoporphyria (XLP) and the ultra rare 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase deficient porphyria (ADP). Mouse models have been generated for the three autosomal dominant acute hepatic porphyrias, acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), hereditary coproporphyria (HCP), and variegate porphyria (VP). The AIP mice, in particular, provide a useful investigative model as they have been shown to have acute biochemical attacks when induced with the prototypic porphyrinogenic drug, phenobarbital. In addition to providing important insights into the disease pathogenesis of the neurological impairment in AIP, these mice have been valuable for preclinical evaluation of liver-targeted gene therapy and RNAi-mediated approaches. Mice with severe HMBS deficiency, which clinically and biochemically mimic the early-onset homozygous dominant AIP (HD-AIP) patients, have been generated and were used to elucidate the striking phenotypic differences between AIP and HD-AIP. Mice modeling the hepatocutaneous porphyria, porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT), made possible the identification of the iron-dependent inhibitory mechanism of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD) that leads to symptomatic PCT. Mouse models for the two autosomal recessive erythropoietic porphyrias, congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP) and erythropoeitic protoporphyria (EPP), recapitulate many of the clinical and biochemical features of the severe human diseases and have been particularly useful for evaluation of bone marrow transplantation and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC)-based gene therapy approaches. The EPP mice have also provided valuable insights into the underlying pathogenesis of EPP-induced liver damage and anemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makiko Yasuda
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Robert J Desnick
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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Ferreira GC, Oberstaller J, Fonseca R, Keller TE, Adapa SR, Gibbons J, Wang C, Liu X, Li C, Pham M, Dayhoff Ii GW, Duong LM, Reyes LT, Laratelli LE, Franz D, Fatumo S, Bari AG, Freischel A, Fiedler L, Dokur O, Sharma K, Cragun D, Busby B, Jiang RHY. Iron Hack - A symposium/hackathon focused on porphyrias, Friedreich's ataxia, and other rare iron-related diseases. F1000Res 2019; 8:1135. [PMID: 31824661 PMCID: PMC6894363 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.19140.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Basic and clinical scientific research at the University of South Florida (USF) have intersected to support a multi-faceted approach around a common focus on rare iron-related diseases. We proposed a modified version of the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) Hackathon-model to take full advantage of local expertise in building “Iron Hack”, a rare disease-focused hackathon. As the collaborative, problem-solving nature of hackathons tends to attract participants of highly-diverse backgrounds, organizers facilitated a symposium on rare iron-related diseases, specifically porphyrias and Friedreich’s ataxia, pitched at general audiences. Methods: The hackathon was structured to begin each day with presentations by expert clinicians, genetic counselors, researchers focused on molecular and cellular biology, public health/global health, genetics/genomics, computational biology, bioinformatics, biomolecular science, bioengineering, and computer science, as well as guest speakers from the American Porphyria Foundation (APF) and Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) to inform participants as to the human impact of these diseases. Results: As a result of this hackathon, we developed resources that are relevant not only to these specific disease-models, but also to other rare diseases and general bioinformatics problems. Within two and a half days, “Iron Hack” participants successfully built collaborative projects to visualize data, build databases, improve rare disease diagnosis, and study rare-disease inheritance. Conclusions: The purpose of this manuscript is to demonstrate the utility of a hackathon model to generate prototypes of generalizable tools for a given disease and train clinicians and data scientists to interact more effectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria C Ferreira
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, MDC 7, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Jenna Oberstaller
- Global and Planetary Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, USF Genomics Program, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Renée Fonseca
- Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Thomas E Keller
- University of South Florida, USF Genomics Program, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Swamy Rakesh Adapa
- Global and Planetary Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, USF Genomics Program, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Justin Gibbons
- Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Chengqi Wang
- Global and Planetary Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, USF Genomics Program, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Xiaoming Liu
- Global and Planetary Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, USF Genomics Program, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Chang Li
- Global and Planetary Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, USF Genomics Program, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Minh Pham
- Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CUT100, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Guy W Dayhoff Ii
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CHE 205, Tampa, FL, 33620-5250, USA
| | - Linh M Duong
- College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 56, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.,Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Luis Tañón Reyes
- Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Ave, ISA 2015 Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Luciano Enrique Laratelli
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CHE 205, Tampa, FL, 33620-5250, USA
| | - Douglas Franz
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CHE 205, Tampa, FL, 33620-5250, USA
| | - Segun Fatumo
- MRC/UVRI and LSHTM (Uganda Research Unit), Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Atm Golam Bari
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | | | - Lindsey Fiedler
- College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC 56, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Omkar Dokur
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | | | - Deborah Cragun
- Global and Planetary Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, USF Genomics Program, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Ben Busby
- National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, 20894-6075, USA
| | - Rays H Y Jiang
- Global and Planetary Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, USF Genomics Program, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
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Maitra D, Bragazzi Cunha J, Elenbaas JS, Bonkovsky HL, Shavit JA, Omary MB. Porphyrin-Induced Protein Oxidation and Aggregation as a Mechanism of Porphyria-Associated Cell Injury. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019; 8:535-548. [PMID: 31233899 PMCID: PMC6820234 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2019.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Genetic porphyrias comprise eight diseases caused by defects in the heme biosynthetic pathway that lead to accumulation of heme precursors. Consequences of porphyria include photosensitivity, liver damage and increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, and neurovisceral involvement, including seizures. Fluorescent porphyrins that include protoporphyrin-IX, uroporphyrin and coproporphyrin, are photo-reactive; they absorb light energy and are excited to high-energy singlet and triplet states. Decay of the porphyrin excited to ground state releases energy and generates singlet oxygen. Porphyrin-induced oxidative stress is thought to be the major mechanism of porphyrin-mediated tissue damage. Although this explains the acute photosensitivity in most porphyrias, light-induced porphyrin-mediated oxidative stress does not account for the effect of porphyrins on internal organs. Recent findings demonstrate the unique role of fluorescent porphyrins in causing subcellular compartment-selective protein aggregation. Porphyrin-mediated protein aggregation associates with nuclear deformation, cytoplasmic vacuole formation and endoplasmic reticulum dilation. Porphyrin-triggered proteotoxicity is compounded by inhibition of the proteasome due to aggregation of some of its subunits. The ensuing disruption in proteostasis also manifests in cell cycle arrest coupled with aggregation of cell proliferation-related proteins, including PCNA, cdk4 and cyclin B1. Porphyrins bind to native proteins and, in presence of light and oxygen, oxidize several amino acids, particularly methionine. Noncovalent interaction of oxidized proteins with porphyrins leads to formation of protein aggregates. In internal organs, particularly the liver, light-independent porphyrin-mediated protein aggregation occurs after secondary triggers of oxidative stress. Thus, porphyrin-induced protein aggregation provides a novel mechanism for external and internal tissue damage in porphyrias that involve fluorescent porphyrin accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhiman Maitra
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
| | - Juliana Bragazzi Cunha
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Jared S Elenbaas
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Herbert L Bonkovsky
- Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and Molecular Medicine & Translational Science, Wake Forest University School of Medicine/NC Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| | - Jordan A Shavit
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - M Bishr Omary
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Cell Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
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Slijkerman R, Goloborodko A, Broekman S, de Vrieze E, Hetterschijt L, Peters T, Gerits M, Kremer H, van Wijk E. Poor Splice-Site Recognition in a Humanized Zebrafish Knockin Model for the Recurrent Deep-Intronic c.7595-2144A>G Mutation in USH2A. Zebrafish 2018; 15:597-609. [PMID: 30281416 DOI: 10.1089/zeb.2018.1613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The frequent deep-intronic c.7595-2144A>G mutation in intron 40 of USH2A generates a high-quality splice donor site, resulting in the incorporation of a pseudoexon (PE40) into the mature transcript that is predicted to prematurely terminate usherin translation. Aberrant USH2A pre-mRNA splicing could be corrected in patient-derived fibroblasts using antisense oligonucleotides. With the aim to study the effect of the c.7595-2144A>G mutation and USH2A splice redirection on retinal function, a humanized zebrafish knockin model was generated, in which 670 basepairs of ush2a intron 40 were exchanged for 557 basepairs of the corresponding human sequence using an optimized CRISPR/Cas9-based protocol. However, in the retina of adult homozygous humanized zebrafish, only 7.4% ± 3.9% of ush2a transcripts contained the human PE40 sequence and immunohistochemical analyses revealed no differences in the usherin expression and localization between the retina of humanized and wild-type zebrafish larvae. Nevertheless, we were able to partially correct aberrant ush2a splicing using a PE40-targeting antisense morpholino. Our results indicate a clear difference in splice-site recognition by the human and zebrafish splicing machinery. Therefore, we propose a protocol in which the effect of human splice-modulating mutations is studied in a zebrafish-specific cell-based splice assay before the generation of a humanized zebrafish knockin model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph Slijkerman
- 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands .,2 Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, and Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Alexander Goloborodko
- 3 Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Sanne Broekman
- 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands .,4 Donders Institute for Brain , Cognition, and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Erik de Vrieze
- 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands .,4 Donders Institute for Brain , Cognition, and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Lisette Hetterschijt
- 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands .,4 Donders Institute for Brain , Cognition, and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Theo Peters
- 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands .,4 Donders Institute for Brain , Cognition, and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Milou Gerits
- 3 Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Hannie Kremer
- 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands .,3 Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands .,4 Donders Institute for Brain , Cognition, and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Erwin van Wijk
- 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen, the Netherlands .,4 Donders Institute for Brain , Cognition, and Behavior, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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Smith AG, Foster JR. The association between chemical-induced porphyria and hepatic cancer. Toxicol Res (Camb) 2018; 7:647-663. [PMID: 30090612 PMCID: PMC6060669 DOI: 10.1039/c8tx00019k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The haem biosynthetic pathway is of fundamental importance for cellular metabolism both for the erythroid and nonerythroid tissues. There are several genetic variants of the pathway in the human population that cause dysfunction of one or other of the enzymes resulting in porphyrias of varying severity. Serious chronic hepatic and systemic diseases may result. Some of these can be precipitated by exposure to drugs including hormones, barbiturates and antibiotics, as well as alcohol and particular chlorinated aromatic chemicals. In experimental animals some of the steps of this pathway can also be severely disrupted by a variety of environmental chemicals, potential drugs and pesticides, especially in the liver, leading to the accumulation of uroporphyrins derived from the intermediate uroporphyrinogens or protoporphyrin IX, the immediate precursor of haem. With some of these chemicals this also leads to cholestasis and liver cell injury and eventually hepatic tumours. The review evaluates the available evidence linking hepatic porphyria with carcinogenesis in naturally occurring human genetic conditions and in chemically-induced porphyrias in laboratory animals. The existing data showing gender, strain, and species differences in sensitivity to the chemical-induced porphyrias, liver injury and liver tumours are discussed and the role that transgenically altered mouse models have played in defining the varying mechanisms. Finally, the review proposes a novel, unifying hypothesis linking the hepatotoxicity induced by the accumulation of various porphyrins, with the increased risk of developing hepatic cancer as a long term consequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew G Smith
- MRC Toxicology Unit , Hodgkin Building , University of Leicester , Lancaster Road , Leicester LE2 4UA , UK .
| | - John R Foster
- ToxPath Sciences Ltd , 1 Troutbeck Avenue , Congleton , Cheshire , CW12 4JA , UK
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