| First Author | Wasala NB | Year | 2018 |
| Journal | Hum Gene Ther | Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 737-748 |
| PubMed ID | 29433343 | Mgi Jnum | J:328189 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6873857 | Doi | 10.1089/hum.2017.144 |
| Citation | Wasala NB, et al. (2018) Cardiac-Specific Expression of DeltaH2-R15 Mini-Dystrophin Normalized All Electrocardiogram Abnormalities and the End-Diastolic Volume in a 23-Month-Old Mouse Model of Duchenne Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Hum Gene Ther 29(7):737-748 |
| abstractText | Heart disease is a major health threat for Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy patients and carriers. Expression of a 6-8 kb mini-dystrophin gene in the heart holds promise to change the disease course dramatically. However, the mini-dystrophin gene cannot be easily studied with adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene delivery because the size of the minigene exceeds AAV packaging capacity. Cardiac protection of the DeltaH2-R19 minigene was previously studied using the cardiac-specific transgenic approach. Although this minigene fully normalized skeletal muscle force, it only partially corrected electrocardiogram and heart hemodynamics in dystrophin-null mdx mice that had moderate cardiomyopathy. This study evaluated the DeltaH2-R15 minigene using the same transgenic approach in mdx mice that had more severe cardiomyopathy. In contrast to the DeltaH2-R19 minigene, the DeltaH2-R15 minigene carries dystrophin spectrin-like repeats 16 to 19 (R16-19), a region that has been suggested to protect the heart in clinical studies. Cardiac expression of the DeltaH2-R15 minigene normalized all aberrant electrocardiogram changes and improved hemodynamics. Importantly, it corrected the end-diastolic volume, an important diastolic parameter not rescued by DeltaH2-R19 mini-dystrophin. It is concluded that that DeltaH2-R15 mini-dystrophin is a superior candidate gene for heart protection. This finding has important implications in the design of the mini/micro-dystrophin gene for Duchenne cardiomyopathy therapy. |
