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Inhibition of ceramide biosynthesis preserves photoreceptor structure and function in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa.

ABSTRACT: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disease causing progressive apoptotic death of photoreceptors and, ultimately, incurable blindness. Using the retinal degeneration 10 (rd10) mouse model of RP, we investigated the role of ceramide, a proapoptotic sphingolipid, in retinal degeneration. We also tested the possibility that photoreceptor loss can be slowed or blocked by interfering with the ceramide signaling pathway of apoptosis in vivo. Retinal ceramide levels increased in rd10 mice during the period of maximum photoreceptor death. Single intraocular injections of myriocin, a powerful inhibitor of serine palmitoyl-CoA transferase, the rate-limiting enzyme of ceramide biosynthesis, lowered retinal ceramide levels to normal values and rescued photoreceptors from apoptotic death. Noninvasive treatment was achieved using eye drops consisting of a suspension of solid lipid nanoparticles loaded with myriocin. Short-term noninvasive treatment lowered retinal ceramide in a manner similar to intraocular injections, indicating that nanoparticles functioned as a vector permitting transcorneal drug administration. Prolonged treatment (10-20 d) with solid lipid nanoparticles increased photoreceptor survival, preserved photoreceptor morphology, and extended the ability of the retina to respond to light as assessed by electroretinography. In conclusion, pharmacological targeting of ceramide biosynthesis slowed the progression of RP in a mouse model, and therefore may represent a therapeutic approach to treating this disease in humans. Transcorneal administration of drugs carried in solid lipid nanoparticles, as experimented in this study, may facilitate continuous, noninvasive treatment of patients with RP and other retinal pathologies.

SUBMITTER: Strettoi E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2972949 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Epigenetic modifiers are increasingly being investigated as potential therapeutics to modify and overcome disease phenotypes. Diseases of the nervous system present a particular problem as neurons are postmitotic and demonstrate relatively stable gene expression patterns and chromatin organization. We have explored the ability of epigenetic modifiers to prevent degeneration of rod photoreceptors in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), using rd10 mice of both sexes. The histone modification eraser enzymes lysine demethylase 1 (LSD1) and histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) are known to have dramatic effects on the development of rod photoreceptors. In the RP mouse model, inhibitors of these enzymes blocked rod degeneration, preserved vision, and affected the expression of multiple genes including maintenance of rod-specific transcripts and downregulation of those involved in inflammation, gliosis, and cell death. The neuroprotective activity of LSD1 inhibitors includes two pathways. First, through targeting histone modifications, they increase accessibility of chromatin and upregulate neuroprotective genes, such as from the Wnt pathway. We propose that this process is going in rod photoreceptors. Second, through nonhistone targets, they inhibit transcription of inflammatory genes and inflammation. This process is going in microglia, and lack of inflammation keeps rod photoreceptors alive.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Retinal degenerations are a leading cause of vision loss. RP is genetically very heterogeneous, and the multiple pathways leading to cell death are one reason for the slow progress in identifying suitable treatments for patients. Here we demonstrate that inhibition of LSD1and HDAC1 in a mouse model of RP leads to preservation of rod photoreceptors and visual function, retaining of expression of rod-specific genes, and with decreased inflammation, cell death, and Müller cell gliosis. We propose that these epigenetic inhibitors cause more open and accessible chromatin, allowing expression of neuroprotective genes. A second mechanism that allows rod photoreceptor survival is suppression of inflammation by epigenetic inhibitors in microglia. Manipulation of epigenetic modifiers is a new strategy to fight neurodegeneration in RP.

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Inhibition of ceramide biosynthesis preserves photoreceptor structure and function in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa.

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