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Hypoxia is a modifier of SMN2 splicing and disease severity in a severe SMA mouse model.

ABSTRACT: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with low levels of the essential survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. Reduced levels of SMN is due to the loss of the SMN1 gene and inefficient splicing of the SMN2 gene caused by a C>T mutation in exon 7. Global analysis of the severe SMN?7 SMA mouse model revealed altered splicing and increased levels of the hypoxia-inducible transcript, Hif3alpha, at late stages of disease progression. Severe SMA patients also develop respiratory deficiency during disease progression. We sought to evaluate whether hypoxia was capable of altering SMN2 exon 7 splicing and whether increased oxygenation could modulate disease in a severe SMA mouse model. Hypoxia treatment in cell culture increased SMN2 exon 7 skipping and reduced SMN protein levels. Concordantly, the treatment of SMN?7 mice with hyperoxia treatment increased the inclusion of SMN2 exon 7 in skeletal muscles and resulted in improved motor function. Transfection splicing assays of SMN minigenes under hypoxia revealed that hypoxia-induced skipping is dependent on poor exon definition due to the SMN2 C>T mutation and suboptimal 5' splice site. Hypoxia treatment in cell culture led to increased hnRNP A1 and Sam68 levels. Mutation of hnRNP A1-binding sites prevented hypoxia-induced skipping of SMN exon 7 and was found to bind both hnRNP A1 and Sam68. These results implicate hypoxic stress as a modulator of SMN2 exon 7 splicing in disease progression and a coordinated regulation by hnRNP A1 and Sam68 as modifiers of hypoxia-induced skipping of SMN exon 7.

SUBMITTER: Bebee TW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3441125 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hypoxia is a modifier of SMN2 splicing and disease severity in a severe SMA mouse model.

Bebee Thomas W TW Dominguez Catherine E CE Samadzadeh-Tarighat Somayeh S Akehurst Kristi L KL Chandler Dawn S DS

Human molecular genetics 20120703 19

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with low levels of the essential survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. Reduced levels of SMN is due to the loss of the SMN1 gene and inefficient splicing of the SMN2 gene caused by a C>T mutation in exon 7. Global analysis of the severe SMNΔ7 SMA mouse model revealed altered splicing and increased levels of the hypoxia-inducible transcript, Hif3alpha, at late stages of disease progression. Severe SMA patients also ...[more]

PMID: 22763238

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Project description:Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe, debilitating neuromuscular condition characterised by loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. SMA is caused by a loss of expression of SMN1 that encodes the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein necessary for the survival of motor neurons. Restoration of SMN expression through increased inclusion of SMN2 exon 7 is known to ameliorate symptoms in SMA patients. As a consequence, regulation of pre-mRNA splicing of SMN2 could provide a potential molecular therapy for SMA. In this study, we explored if splice switching antisense oligonucleotides could redirect the splicing repressor hnRNPA1 to the hnRNPA1b isoform and restore SMN expression in fibroblasts from a type I SMA patient. Antisense oligonucleotides (AOs) were designed to promote exon 7b retention in the mature mRNA and induce the hnRNPA1b isoform. RT-PCR and western blot analysis were used to assess and monitor the efficiency of different AO combinations. A combination of AOs targeting multiple silencing motifs in hnRNPA1 pre-mRNA led to robust hnRNPA1b induction, which, in turn, significantly increased expression of full-length SMN (FL-SMN) protein. A combination of PMOs targeting the same motifs also strongly induced hnRNPA1b isoform, but surprisingly SMN2 exon 5 skipping was detected, and the PMO cocktail did not lead to a significant increase in expression of FL-SMN protein. We further performed RNA sequencing to assess the genome-wide effects of hnRNPA1b induction. Some 3244 genes were differentially expressed between the hnRNPA1b-induced and untreated SMA fibroblasts, which are functionally enriched in cell cycle and chromosome segregation processes. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that expression of the master regulator of these enrichment pathways, MYBL2 and FOXM1B, were reduced in response to PMO treatment. These findings suggested that induction of hnRNPA1b can promote SMN protein expression, but not at sufficient levels to be clinically relevant.

Dataset Information

Hypoxia is a modifier of SMN2 splicing and disease severity in a severe SMA mouse model.

Publications

Hypoxia is a modifier of SMN2 splicing and disease severity in a severe SMA mouse model.

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