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Nenninger AW, Willman M, Willman J, Stewart E, Mesidor P, Novoa M, Morrill NK, Alvarez L, Joly-Amado A, Peters MM, Gulick D, Nash KR. Improving Gene Therapy for Angelman Syndrome with Secreted Human UBE3A. Neurotherapeutics 2022; 19:1329-1339. [PMID: 35534672 PMCID: PMC9587189 DOI: 10.1007/s13311-022-01239-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The rare genetic neurodevelopmental disease Angelman syndrome (AS) is caused by the loss of function of UBE3A, a ubiquitin ligase. The disease results in a lifetime of severe symptoms, including intellectual disability and motor impairments for which there are no effective treatments. One avenue of treatment for AS is the use of gene therapy to reintroduce a functional copy of the UBE3A gene. Our group had previously shown that recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) expressing mouse Ube3a could rescue deficits in a mouse model of AS. Here, we expand on this work and show that this approach could be successfully replicated in a second AS model using the human UBE3A gene. Furthermore, we address the challenge of limited vector distribution in the brain by developing a novel modified form of UBE3A. This modified protein, termed STUB, was designed with a secretion signal and a cell-penetrating peptide. This allowed transduced cells to act as factories for the production of UBE3A protein that could be taken up by neighboring non-transduced cells, thus increasing the number of neurons receiving the therapeutic protein. Combining this construct with intracerebroventricular injections to maximize rAAV distribution within the brain, we demonstrate that this novel approach improves the recovery of behavioral and electrophysiological deficits in the AS rat model. More importantly, a comparison of rAAV-STUB to a rAAV expressing the normal human UBE3A gene showed that STUB was a more effective therapeutic. These data suggest that rAAV-STUB is a new potential approach for the treatment of AS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin W Nenninger
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Matthew Willman
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Jonathan Willman
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Emma Stewart
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Philippe Mesidor
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Michelle Novoa
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Nicole K Morrill
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Luis Alvarez
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Aurélie Joly-Amado
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Melinda M Peters
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Danielle Gulick
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA
| | - Kevin R Nash
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL-33612, USA.
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