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Journal articles
Rescue of a dystrophin-like protein by exon skipping normalizes synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus of the mdx mouse
Abstract : Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by the absence of dystrophin, a protein that fulfills important functions in both muscle and brain. The mdx mouse model of DMD, which also lacks dystrophin, shows a marked reduction in γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A))-receptor clustering in central inhibitory synapses and enhanced long-term potentiation (LTP) at CA3-CA1 synapses of the hippocampus. We have recently shown that U7 small nuclear RNAs modified to encode antisense sequences and expressed from recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors are able to induce skipping of the mutated exon 23 and to rescue expression of a functional dystrophin-like product both in the muscle and nervous tissue in vivo. In the brain, this rescue was accompanied by restoration of both the size and number of hippocampal GABA(A)-receptor clustering. Here, we report that 25.2±8% of re-expression two months after intrahippocampal injection of rAAV reverses the abnormally enhanced LTP phenotype at CA3-CA1 synapses of mdx mice. These results suggests that dystrophin expression indirectly influences synaptic plasticity through modulation of GABA(A)-receptor clustering and that re-expression of the otherwise deficient protein in the adult can significantly alleviate alteration of neural functions in DMD.
https://hal-normandie-univ.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02325193
Contributor : Jean-Marie Billard <>
Submitted on : Tuesday, October 22, 2019 - 10:57:49 AM
Last modification on : Thursday, January 28, 2021 - 8:16:01 AM
Contributor : Jean-Marie Billard <>
Submitted on : Tuesday, October 22, 2019 - 10:57:49 AM
Last modification on : Thursday, January 28, 2021 - 8:16:01 AM
