| First Author | Nagy MA | Year | 2024 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 121 |
| Issue | 49 | Pages | e2418024121 |
| PubMed ID | 39602276 | Mgi Jnum | J:367134 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:8207347 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.2418024121 |
| Citation | Nagy MA, et al. (2024) Cis-regulatory elements driving motor neuron-selective viral payload expression within the mammalian spinal cord. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121(49):e2418024121 |
| abstractText | Spinal motor neuron (MN) dysfunction is the cause of a number of clinically significant movement disorders. Despite the recent approval of gene therapeutics targeting these MN-related disorders, there are no viral delivery mechanisms that achieve MN-restricted transgene expression. In this study, chromatin accessibility profiling of genetically defined mouse MNs was used to identify candidate cis-regulatory elements (CREs) capable of driving MN-selective gene expression. Subsequent testing of these candidates identified two CREs that confer MN-selective gene expression in the spinal cord as well as reduced off-target expression in dorsal root ganglia. Within one of these candidate elements, we identified a compact core transcription factor (TF)-binding region that drives MN-selective gene expression. Finally, we demonstrated that selective spinal cord expression driven by this mouse CRE is preserved in non-human primates. These findings suggest that cell-type-selective viral reagents in which cell-type-selective CREs drive restricted gene expression will be valuable research tools in mice and other mammalian species, with potentially significant therapeutic value in humans. |
