scholarly journals Gene Therapy for ALS—A Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 4388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Cappella ◽  
Chiara Ciotti ◽  
Mathilde Cohen-Tannoudji ◽  
Maria Grazia Biferi
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Viral Vectors ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Adeno Associated Virus ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Promising Avenue

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disease (MND) with no cure. Recent advances in gene therapy open a new perspective to treat this disorder—particularly for the characterized genetic forms. Gene therapy approaches, involving the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides into the central nervous system (CNS) are being tested in clinical trials for patients with mutations in SOD1 or C9orf72 genes. Viral vectors can be used to deliver therapeutic sequences to stably transduce motor neurons in the CNS. Vectors derived from adeno-associated virus (AAV), can efficiently target genes and have been tested in several pre-clinical settings with promising outcomes. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zolgensma, an AAV-mediated treatment for another MND—the infant form of spinal muscular atrophy. Given the accelerated progress in gene therapy, it is potentially a promising avenue to develop an efficient and safe cure for ALS.

scholarly journals Planet of the AAVs: The Spinal Cord Injury Episode

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 613
Author(s):  
Katerina Stepankova ◽  
Pavla Jendelova ◽  
Lucia Machova Urdzikova
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Adeno Associated Virus ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Transgene Delivery

The spinal cord injury (SCI) is a medical and life-disrupting condition with devastating consequences for the physical, social, and professional welfare of patients, and there is no adequate treatment for it. At the same time, gene therapy has been studied as a promising approach for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders by delivering remedial genes to the central nervous system (CNS), of which the spinal cord is a part. For gene therapy, multiple vectors have been introduced, including integrating lentiviral vectors and non-integrating adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. AAV vectors are a promising system for transgene delivery into the CNS due to their safety profile as well as long-term gene expression. Gene therapy mediated by AAV vectors shows potential for treating SCI by delivering certain genetic information to specific cell types. This review has focused on a potential treatment of SCI by gene therapy using AAV vectors.

scholarly journals Sterile Abscess in the Myocardium after Direct Intramyocardial Injection Related to Gene Therapy in a Swine Model

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyotake Ishikawa ◽  
Dennis Ladage ◽  
Lisa Tilemann ◽  
Yoshiaki Kawase ◽  
Roger J. Hajjar
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Viral Vectors ◽  
Swine Model ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Intramyocardial Injection ◽  
New Therapy ◽  
Sterile Abscess ◽  
Efficient Gene ◽  
Cardiac Gene

Cardiac gene therapy is one of the most promising approaches to cure patients with cardiac dysfunctions. Many ways of efficient gene transfer using viral vectors are tested, and some of them are already used in clinical settings. However, it is always important to be keenly alert to the possible complications when a new therapy is introduced. We present a case of myocardial sterile abscess in a swine model associated with a direct myocardial injection.

scholarly journals Multifaceted roles of microRNAs: From motor neuron generation in embryos to degeneration in spinal muscular atrophy

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tai-Heng Chen ◽  
Jun-An Chen
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Motor Neuron ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Spinal Motor Neurons ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Two crucial questions in neuroscience are how neurons establish individual identity in the developing nervous system and why only specific neuron subtypes are vulnerable to neurodegenerative diseases. In the central nervous system, spinal motor neurons serve as one of the best-characterized cell types for addressing these two questions. In this review, we dissect these questions by evaluating the emerging role of regulatory microRNAs in motor neuron generation in developing embryos and their potential contributions to neurodegenerative diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Given recent promising results from novel microRNA-based medicines, we discuss the potential applications of microRNAs for clinical assessments of SMA disease progression and treatment.

scholarly journals Current Status and Challenges Associated with CNS-Targeted Gene Delivery across the BBB

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1216
Author(s):  
Seigo Kimura ◽  
Hideyoshi Harashima
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Gene Delivery ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Viral Vectors ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Brain Targeting ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Targeted Gene Delivery ◽  
The Central Nervous System

The era of the aging society has arrived, and this is accompanied by an increase in the absolute numbers of patients with neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Such neurological disorders are serious costly diseases that have a significant impact on society, both globally and socially. Gene therapy has great promise for the treatment of neurological disorders, but only a few gene therapy drugs are currently available. Delivery to the brain is the biggest hurdle in developing new drugs for the central nervous system (CNS) diseases and this is especially true in the case of gene delivery. Nanotechnologies such as viral and non-viral vectors allow efficient brain-targeted gene delivery systems to be created. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive review of the current status of the development of successful drug delivery to the CNS for the treatment of CNS-related disorders especially by gene therapy. We mainly address three aspects of this situation: (1) blood-brain barrier (BBB) functions; (2) adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors, currently the most advanced gene delivery vector; (3) non-viral brain targeting by non-invasive methods.

Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors for Gene Transfer and Gene Therapy

1999 ◽  
Vol 380 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Büeler
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Gene Delivery ◽  
Viral Vectors ◽  
Delivery Systems ◽  
Adeno Associated Virus ◽  
Viral Genes ◽  
Virus Recombinant

AbstractAdeno-associated virus (AAV) is a defective, non-pathogenic human parvovirus that depends for growth on coinfection with a helper adenovirus or herpes virus. Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) have attracted considerable interest as vectors for gene therapy. In contrast to other gene delivery systems, rAAVs lack all viral genes and show long-term gene expression

scholarly journals Comparison of the efficacy of MOE and PMO modifications of systemic antisense oligonucleotides in a severe SMA mouse model

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 2853-2865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Sheng ◽  
Frank Rigo ◽  
C Frank Bennett ◽  
Adrian R Krainer ◽  
Yimin Hua
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Model ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Body Weight Gain ◽  
Target Sequence ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Extended Target ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Abstract Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a motor neuron disease. Nusinersen, a splice-switching antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), was the first approved drug to treat SMA. Based on prior preclinical studies, both 2′-O-methoxyethyl (MOE) with a phosphorothioate backbone and morpholino with a phosphorodiamidate backbone—with the same or extended target sequence as nusinersen—displayed efficient rescue of SMA mouse models. Here, we compared the therapeutic efficacy of these two modification chemistries in rescue of a severe mouse model using ASO10-29—a 2-nt longer version of nusinersen—via subcutaneous injection. Although both chemistries efficiently corrected SMN2 splicing in various tissues, restored motor function and improved the integrity of neuromuscular junctions, MOE-modified ASO10-29 (MOE10-29) was more efficacious than morpholino-modified ASO10-29 (PMO10-29) at the same molar dose, as seen by longer survival, greater body-weight gain and better preservation of motor neurons. Time-course analysis revealed that MOE10-29 had more persistent effects than PMO10-29. On the other hand, PMO10-29 appears to more readily cross an immature blood-brain barrier following systemic administration, showing more robust initial effects on SMN2 exon 7 inclusion, but less persistence in the central nervous system. We conclude that both modifications can be effective as splice-switching ASOs in the context of SMA and potentially other diseases, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

scholarly journals Gene therapy and viral vectors. Adeno-associated virus vectors and gene therapy.

Uirusu ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-230
Author(s):  
Masashi Urabe ◽  
Keiya Ozawa
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Viral Vectors ◽  
Adeno Associated Virus ◽  
Virus Vectors

scholarly journals Weighing the DNA content of Adeno-Associated Virus vectors with zeptogram precision using nanomechanical resonators

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Katsikis ◽  
Iris E Hwang ◽  
Wade Wang ◽  
Vikas S Bhat ◽  
Nicole L McIntosh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Quality Control ◽  
Viral Vectors ◽  
Analytical Ultracentrifugation ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Charge Detection ◽  
Adeno Associated Virus ◽  
Nanomechanical Resonators

Quantifying the composition of viral vectors used in vaccine development and gene therapy is critical for assessing their functionality. Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors, which are the most widely used viral vectors for in-vivo gene therapy, are typically characterized using PCR, ELISA, and Analytical Ultracentrifugation which require laborious protocols or hours of turnaround time. Emerging methods such as Charge-Detection Mass Spectroscopy, Static Light Scattering, and Mass Photometry offer turnaround times of minutes for measuring AAV mass, but mostly require purified AAV-based reference materials for calibration. Here, we demonstrate a method for using Suspended Nanomechanical Resonators (SNR) to directly measure both AAV mass and aggregation from a few microliters of sample within minutes. We achieve a resolution near 10 zeptograms which corresponds to 1% of the genome holding capacity of the AAV capsid. Our results show the potential of our method for providing real-time quality control of viral vectors during biomanufacturing.

scholarly journals Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita in Aberdeen Angus cattle in Uruguay

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 426-429
Author(s):  
Agustín Romero ◽  
Carolina Briano ◽  
Fernando Dutra Quintela
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Peripheral Nerves ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita ◽  
Angus Cattle ◽  
Fiber Size ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
First Time

ABSTRACT: Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita is reported for the first time in the Aberdeen Angus (AA) breed in Uruguay. In a commercial herd of 30 purebred Aberdeen Angus cows, two calves with severe musculoskeletal malformations died at birth. The cows had been inseminated using semen imported from Argentina from one elite AA sire only. At necropsy, one calf showed severe muscular atrophy, arthrogryposis affecting all four limbs and the spine, kyphoscoliosis and torticollis. Histopathology showed muscular atrophy with marked fiber size variation and abundant fibroadipose fibers. The central nervous system only showed congestion and edema due to dystocia, whereas the peripheral nerves and the number of motor neurons in the spinal appeared normal. DNA analysis confirmed arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. It is concluded that disease in Aberdeen Angus cattle is due to failure in the neuromuscular junction.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document