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Synergistically acting agonists and antagonists of G protein–coupled receptors prevent photoreceptor cell degeneration

ABSTRACT: Photoreceptor degeneration is the central event leading to visual impairment or blindness in most retinal diseases. However, the discovery of safe and effective therapeutic strategies conferring photoreceptor protection remains challenging. A systems pharmacology approach, synergistically targeting distinct cellular pathways could provide an effective strategy for evaluating, preventing or treating retinal dystrophies. Here this concept was investigated using a mouse model of light-induced retinal degeneration. We show that a combination of FDA-approved drugs acting on different G protein-coupled receptors in a synergistic manner could protect retinas against light-induced degeneration when each drug in the combination treatment was administered at a sub-therapeutic dose. Furthermore, transcriptome analyses demonstrated that such combined treatments also preserved patterns of retinal gene expression more characteristic of the normal retina than did single therapies at higher doses. The current study thus supports a new systems pharmacology approach that may extend to other complex neurodegenerative disorders in addition to retinal diseases.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE79061 | GEO | 2016/11/15

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA314841

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Retinal degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible blindness. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetically heterogenous group of diseases. In the United States, approximately one in 4000 individuals is affected. RP begins with the loss of night vision due to the loss of rod photoreceptor cells. The disease progresses slowly with the loss of peripheral vision, and eventually leads to complete debilitating and irreversible blindness. The first mutation associated with human RP was identified in the gene encoding rhodopsin, the G-protein coupled receptor of rod photoreceptor cells. Mutations within the rhodopsin gene account for significant portion of RP cases. Specifically, mutations of the proline at residue 347 in rhodopsin have been linked to human RP. We are fortunate to have access to the P347S rhodopsin mutant mice. These mice represent an excellent transgenic mouse model of retinal degeneration. The P347S rhodopsin mutation is one of the best studied mutations, yet the mechanism by which the mutation causes degeneration is still unknown. One study has demonstrated that galectin-1 plays a role in degeneration of neuronal processes (1) and another study has shown that expression level of galectin-3 is elevated in retinas of patients with age-related macular degeneration. These studies in conjunction with the availibility of the P347S mutant mice have provided impetus to examine the pathogenesis of retinal degeneration in the context of the possible role of glycans and glycan-binding proteins. The time course of photoreceptor degeneration in the P347S mouse model has been carefully studied. In these mice, degeneration is barely detectable at 1 month of age, yet biochemical evidence suggests that the rod photoreceptor cells have already begun to die. At 4 months of age, approximately half of the rod photoreceptor cells have degenerated. To distinguish involvement of glycogens at the various stages of retinal degeneration, we have collected retinas of wild type and the mutant mice at four time points (1, 2, 3, and 4 months of age). This will allow us to identify the genes that target early, mid- and late stages of the retinal degeneration process. Thus we request the analysis of total 24 samples as specified below: Age Group (months) Mice No of samples at each time point 1 Wild type 3 2 Wild type 3 3 Wild type 3 4 Wild type 3 1 P347S 3 2 P347S 3 3 P347S 3 4 P347S 3 Total 24.