The Genetics and Epigenetics of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charis L. Himeda ◽  
Peter L. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Muscle Pathology ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Aberrant Expression ◽  
Early Human Development ◽  
Pioneer Transcription Factor ◽  
Chromatin Relaxation ◽  
Early Human

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a progressive myopathy that afflicts individuals of all ages, provides a powerful model of the complex interplay between genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of chromatin regulation. FSHD is caused by dysregulation of a macrosatellite repeat, either by contraction of the repeat or by mutations in silencing proteins. Both cases lead to chromatin relaxation and, in the context of a permissive allele, aberrant expression of the DUX4 gene in skeletal muscle. DUX4 is a pioneer transcription factor that activates a program of gene expression during early human development, after which its expression is silenced in most somatic cells. When misexpressed in FSHD skeletal muscle, the DUX4 program leads to accumulated muscle pathology. Epigenetic regulators of the disease locus represent particularly attractive therapeutic targets for FSHD, as many are not global modifiers of the genome, and altering their expression or activity should allow correction of the underlying defect.

scholarly journals Homozygous nonsense variant in LRIF1 associated with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (23) ◽  
pp. e2441-e2447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kohei Hamanaka ◽  
Darina Šikrová ◽  
Satomi Mitsuhashi ◽  
Hiroki Masuda ◽  
Yukari Sekiguchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Target Gene ◽  
Disease Gene ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Target Gene Expression ◽  
D4z4 Repeat ◽  
Biopsy Examination ◽  
Chromatin Relaxation

ObjectiveFacioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a heterogenetic disorder predominantly characterized by progressive facial and scapular muscle weakness. Patients with FSHD either have a contraction of the D4Z4 repeat on chromosome 4q35 or mutations in D4Z4 chromatin modifiers SMCHD1 and DNMT3B, both causing D4Z4 chromatin relaxation and inappropriate expression of the D4Z4-encoded DUX4 gene in skeletal muscle. In this study, we tested the hypothesis whether LRIF1, a known SMCHD1 protein interactor, is a disease gene for idiopathic FSHD2.MethodsClinical examination of a patient with idiopathic FSHD2 was combined with pathologic muscle biopsy examination and with genetic, epigenetic, and molecular studies.ResultsA homozygous LRIF1 mutation was identified in a patient with a clinical phenotype consistent with FSHD. This mutation resulted in the absence of the long isoform of LRIF1 protein, D4Z4 chromatin relaxation, and DUX4 and DUX4 target gene expression in myonuclei, all molecular and epigenetic hallmarks of FSHD. In concordance, LRIF1 was shown to bind to the D4Z4 repeat, and knockdown of the LRIF1 long isoform in muscle cells results in DUX4 and DUX4 target gene expression.ConclusionLRIF1 is a bona fide disease gene for FSHD2. This study further reinforces the unifying genetic mechanism, which postulates that FSHD is caused by D4Z4 chromatin relaxation, resulting in inappropriate DUX4 expression in skeletal muscle.

scholarly journals Overexpression of Galgt2 in skeletal muscle prevents injury resulting from eccentric contractions in both mdx and wild-type mice

2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (3) ◽  
pp. C476-C488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul T. Martin ◽  
Rui Xu ◽  
Louise R. Rodino-Klapac ◽  
Elaine Oglesbay ◽  
Marybeth Camboni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Eccentric Contractions ◽  
Cytotoxic T Cell ◽  
Muscle Pathology ◽  
Mdx Mice ◽  
Specific Force ◽  
Wild Type

The cytotoxic T cell (CT) GalNAc transferase, or Galgt2, is a UDP-GalNAc:β1,4- N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase that is localized to the neuromuscular synapse in adult skeletal muscle, where it creates the synaptic CT carbohydrate antigen {GalNAcβ1,4[NeuAc(orGc)α2, 3]Galβ1,4GlcNAcβ-}. Overexpression of Galgt2 in the skeletal muscles of transgenic mice inhibits the development of muscular dystrophy in mdx mice, a model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Here, we provide physiological evidence as to how Galgt2 may inhibit the development of muscle pathology in mdx animals. Both Galgt2 transgenic wild-type and mdx skeletal muscles showed a marked improvement in normalized isometric force during repetitive eccentric contractions relative to nontransgenic littermates, even using a paradigm where nontransgenic muscles had force reductions of 95% or more. Muscles from Galgt2 transgenic mice, however, showed a significant decrement in normalized specific force and in hindlimb and forelimb grip strength at some ages. Overexpression of Galgt2 in muscles of young adult mdx mice, where Galgt2 has no effect on muscle size, also caused a significant decrease in force drop during eccentric contractions and increased normalized specific force. A comparison of Galgt2 and microdystrophin overexpression using a therapeutically relevant intravascular gene delivery protocol showed Galgt2 was as effective as microdystrophin at preventing loss of force during eccentric contractions. These experiments provide a mechanism to explain why Galgt2 overexpression inhibits muscular dystrophy in mdx muscles. That overexpression also prevents loss of force in nondystrophic muscles suggests that Galgt2 is a therapeutic target with broad potential applications.

scholarly journals Identification of the hyaluronic acid pathway as a therapeutic target for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. eaaw7099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alec M. DeSimone ◽  
John Leszyk ◽  
Kathryn Wagner ◽  
Charles P. Emerson
Keyword(s):  
Hyaluronic Acid ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Transcriptional Activity ◽  
Cell Model ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Muscle Pathology ◽  
Limited Effect ◽  
Central Function ◽  
Rna Granules ◽  
Acid Pathway

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is linked to epigenetic derepression of the germline/embryonic transcription factor DUX4 in skeletal muscle. However, the etiology of muscle pathology is not fully understood, as DUX4 misexpression is not tightly correlated with disease severity. Using a DUX4-inducible cell model, we show that multiple DUX4-induced molecular pathologies that have been observed in patient-derived disease models are mediated by the signaling molecule hyaluronic acid (HA), which accumulates following DUX4 induction. These pathologies include formation of RNA granules, FUS aggregation, DNA damage, caspase activation, and cell death. We also observe previously unidentified pathologies including mislocalization of mitochondria and the DUX4- and HA-binding protein C1QBP. These pathologies are prevented by 4-methylumbelliferone, an inhibitor of HA biosynthesis. Critically, 4-methylumbelliferone does not disrupt DUX4-C1QBP binding and has only a limited effect on DUX4 transcriptional activity, establishing that HA signaling has a central function in pathology and is a target for FSHD therapeutics.

scholarly journals DUX4 Signalling in the Pathogenesis of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Rowel Q. Lim ◽  
Quynh Nguyen ◽  
Toshifumi Yokota
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Signalling Pathways ◽  
Progressive Muscle Weakness ◽  
Homeobox Protein

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a disabling inherited muscular disorder characterized by asymmetric, progressive muscle weakness and degeneration. Patients display widely variable disease onset and severity, and sometimes present with extra-muscular symptoms. There is a consensus that FSHD is caused by the aberrant production of the double homeobox protein 4 (DUX4) transcription factor in skeletal muscle. DUX4 is normally expressed during early embryonic development, and is then effectively silenced in all tissues except the testis and thymus. Its reactivation in skeletal muscle disrupts numerous signalling pathways that mostly converge on cell death. Here, we review studies on DUX4-affected pathways in skeletal muscle and provide insights into how understanding these could help explain the unique pathogenesis of FSHD.

scholarly journals Effects of CaMKII activity on cardiac and skeletal muscle pathology in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (1102.3)

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolette Johnson ◽  
Jennifer Levy ◽  
Isabella Grumbach ◽  
Mark Anderson ◽  
Kevin Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Muscle Pathology

P.41Extra-skeletal muscle manifestations of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. S53
Author(s):  
C. Kelly ◽  
J. Saw ◽  
P. Thapa ◽  
J. Mandrekar ◽  
E. Naddaf
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

Abstract 13: Central Sympathoinhibition Abrogates Skeletal Muscle Fibrosis, Oxidative Stress and Autonomic Dysregulation in a Mouse Model of Muscular Dystrophy

Hypertension ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasna Sabharwal ◽  
Mark W Chapleau
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Muscle Pathology ◽  
Autonomic Dysregulation ◽  
Muscle Fibrosis ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Fibrosis ◽  
The Brain

Sarcoglycan mutations cause muscular dystrophy in humans. We recently demonstrated that sarcoglycan delta deficient (Sgcd-/-) mice with muscular dystrophy exhibit autonomic dysregulation [Hypertension 2010]. We hypothesized that excessive sympathetic activity contributes to skeletal muscle pathology, decreased locomotor activity and autonomic dysregulation in young (10-12 wks) Sgcd-/- mice. The centrally-acting sympathoinhibitory drug rilmenidine (RIL) was infused into the brain of control C57BL6 and Sgcd-/- mice by osmotic pump for 7-9 wks beginning at 3 wks of age (42 ng/g/hr, ICV). Separate groups of mice were infused with saline vehicle (VEH). Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and locomotor activity were measured by telemetry. Cardiac (HR responses to propranolol) and vasomotor (BP response to ganglionic blockade) sympathetic tone were increased in VEH-treated Sgcd-/- mice, and normalized by RIL (Table). The RIL-induced sympathoinhibition in Sgcd-/- mice was accompanied by increases in baroreflex sensitivity (BRS, sequence technique), cardiovagal tone (HR response to atropine) and activity, with no change in BP (Table). RIL also decreased oxidative stress (superoxide) by 56% and fibrosis in Sgcd-/- skeletal muscle. RIL did not affect measured variables in control mice (Table). In summary, RIL-induced sympathoinhibition decreased skeletal muscle pathology, increased locomotor activity and improved autonomic regulation in young Sgcd-/- mice. The results implicate increased sympathetic activity in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy, and suggest that targeting the brain to inhibit sympathetic activity may provide a novel therapeutic approach.

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