Allele-specific targeting of mutant ataxin-3 by antisense oligonucleotides in SCA3-iPSC-derived neurons

Autor: Stefan Hauser, Jacob Helm, Melanie Kraft, Milena Korneck, Jeannette Hübener-Schmid, Ludger Schöls
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acids, Vol 27, Iss , Pp 99-108 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2162-2531
DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2021.11.015
Popis: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is caused by an expanded polyglutamine stretch in ataxin-3. While wild-type ataxin-3 has important functions, e.g., as a deubiquitinase, downregulation of mutant ataxin-3 is likely to slow down the course of this fatal disease. We established a screening platform with human neurons of patients and controls derived from induced pluripotent stem cells to test antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) for their effects on ataxin-3 expression. We identified an ASO that suppressed mutant and wild-type ataxin-3 levels by >90% after a singular treatment. Next, we screened pairs of ASOs designed to selectively target the mutant or the wild-type allele by taking advantage of a SNP (c.987G > C) in ATXN3 that is present in most SCA3 patients. We found ASOmut4 to reduce levels of mutant ataxin-3 by 80% after 10 days while leaving expression of wild-type ataxin-3 largely unaffected. In a long-term study we proved this effect to last for about 4 weeks after a single treatment without signs of neurotoxicity. This study provides proof of principle that allele-specific lowering of poly(Q)-expanded ataxin-3 by selective ASOs is feasible and long lasting, with sparing of wild-type ataxin-3 expression in a human cell culture model that is genetically identical to SCA3 patients.
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