Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in <i>Crb1</i>

Mutations in the Crumbs homologue 1 (<i>CRB1</i>) gene cause inherited retinal dystrophies, such as early-onset retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis. A Brown Norway rat strain was reported with a spontaneous insertion-deletion (indel) mutation in exon 6 of <i>Crb1<...

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Main Authors: Nanda Boon, C. Henrique Alves, Aat A. Mulder, Charlotte A. Andriessen, Thilo M. Buck, Peter M. J. Quinn, Rogier M. Vos, Abraham J. Koster, Carolina R. Jost, Jan Wijnholds
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/7/3563
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author Nanda Boon
C. Henrique Alves
Aat A. Mulder
Charlotte A. Andriessen
Thilo M. Buck
Peter M. J. Quinn
Rogier M. Vos
Abraham J. Koster
Carolina R. Jost
Jan Wijnholds
author_facet Nanda Boon
C. Henrique Alves
Aat A. Mulder
Charlotte A. Andriessen
Thilo M. Buck
Peter M. J. Quinn
Rogier M. Vos
Abraham J. Koster
Carolina R. Jost
Jan Wijnholds
author_sort Nanda Boon
collection DOAJ
description Mutations in the Crumbs homologue 1 (<i>CRB1</i>) gene cause inherited retinal dystrophies, such as early-onset retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis. A Brown Norway rat strain was reported with a spontaneous insertion-deletion (indel) mutation in exon 6 of <i>Crb1</i>. It has been reported that these <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats show vascular abnormalities associated with retinal telangiectasia and possess an early-onset retinal degenerative phenotype with outer limiting membrane breaks and focal loss of retinal lamination at 2 months of age. Here, we further characterized the morphological phenotype of new-born and adult <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats in comparison with age-matched Brown Norway rats without a mutation in <i>Crb1</i>. A significantly decreased retinal function and visual acuity was observed in <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats at 1 and 3 months of age, respectively. Moreover, in control rats, the subcellular localization of canonical CRB1 was observed at the subapical region in Müller glial cells while CRB2 was observed at the subapical region in both photoreceptors and Müller glial cells by immuno-electron microscopy. CRB1 localization was lost in the <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats, whereas CRB2 was still observed. In addition, we determined the tropism of subretinal or intravitreally administered AAV5-, AAV9- or AAV6-variant ShH10<sup>Y445F</sup> vectors in new-born control and <i>Crb1</i> mutant rat retinas. We showed that subretinal injection of AAV5 and AAV9 at postnatal days 5 (P5) or 8 (P8) predominantly infected the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and photoreceptor cells; while intravitreal injection of ShH10<sup>Y445F</sup> at P5 or P8 resulted in efficient infection of mainly Müller glial cells. Using knowledge of the subcellular localization of CRB1 and the ability of ShH10<sup>Y445F</sup> to infect Müller glial cells, canonical h<i>CRB1</i> and h<i>CRB2</i> AAV-mediated gene therapy were explored in new-born <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats. Enhanced retinal function after gene therapy delivery in the <i>Crb1</i> rat was not observed. No timely rescue of the retinal phenotype was observed using retinal function and visual acuity, suggesting the need for earlier onset of expression of recombinant hCRB proteins in Müller glial cells to rescue the severe retinal phenotype in <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats.
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spelling doaj.art-19cb45c2cd354af3848af7cf84caed6e2023-11-21T13:21:39ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672021-03-01227356310.3390/ijms22073563Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in <i>Crb1</i>Nanda Boon0C. Henrique Alves1Aat A. Mulder2Charlotte A. Andriessen3Thilo M. Buck4Peter M. J. Quinn5Rogier M. Vos6Abraham J. Koster7Carolina R. Jost8Jan Wijnholds9Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Cell & Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), 2300 RC Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Cell & Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), 2300 RC Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Cell & Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), 2300 RC Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The NetherlandsMutations in the Crumbs homologue 1 (<i>CRB1</i>) gene cause inherited retinal dystrophies, such as early-onset retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis. A Brown Norway rat strain was reported with a spontaneous insertion-deletion (indel) mutation in exon 6 of <i>Crb1</i>. It has been reported that these <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats show vascular abnormalities associated with retinal telangiectasia and possess an early-onset retinal degenerative phenotype with outer limiting membrane breaks and focal loss of retinal lamination at 2 months of age. Here, we further characterized the morphological phenotype of new-born and adult <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats in comparison with age-matched Brown Norway rats without a mutation in <i>Crb1</i>. A significantly decreased retinal function and visual acuity was observed in <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats at 1 and 3 months of age, respectively. Moreover, in control rats, the subcellular localization of canonical CRB1 was observed at the subapical region in Müller glial cells while CRB2 was observed at the subapical region in both photoreceptors and Müller glial cells by immuno-electron microscopy. CRB1 localization was lost in the <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats, whereas CRB2 was still observed. In addition, we determined the tropism of subretinal or intravitreally administered AAV5-, AAV9- or AAV6-variant ShH10<sup>Y445F</sup> vectors in new-born control and <i>Crb1</i> mutant rat retinas. We showed that subretinal injection of AAV5 and AAV9 at postnatal days 5 (P5) or 8 (P8) predominantly infected the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and photoreceptor cells; while intravitreal injection of ShH10<sup>Y445F</sup> at P5 or P8 resulted in efficient infection of mainly Müller glial cells. Using knowledge of the subcellular localization of CRB1 and the ability of ShH10<sup>Y445F</sup> to infect Müller glial cells, canonical h<i>CRB1</i> and h<i>CRB2</i> AAV-mediated gene therapy were explored in new-born <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats. Enhanced retinal function after gene therapy delivery in the <i>Crb1</i> rat was not observed. No timely rescue of the retinal phenotype was observed using retinal function and visual acuity, suggesting the need for earlier onset of expression of recombinant hCRB proteins in Müller glial cells to rescue the severe retinal phenotype in <i>Crb1</i> mutant rats.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/7/3563CRB1CRB2Crumbs homologue 1retinitis pigmentosaAAV tropismAAV-mediated gene therapy
spellingShingle Nanda Boon
C. Henrique Alves
Aat A. Mulder
Charlotte A. Andriessen
Thilo M. Buck
Peter M. J. Quinn
Rogier M. Vos
Abraham J. Koster
Carolina R. Jost
Jan Wijnholds
Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in <i>Crb1</i>
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
CRB1
CRB2
Crumbs homologue 1
retinitis pigmentosa
AAV tropism
AAV-mediated gene therapy
title Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in <i>Crb1</i>
title_full Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in <i>Crb1</i>
title_fullStr Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in <i>Crb1</i>
title_full_unstemmed Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in <i>Crb1</i>
title_short Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in <i>Crb1</i>
title_sort defining phenotype tropism and retinal gene therapy using adeno associated viral vectors aavs in new born brown norway rats with a spontaneous mutation in i crb1 i
topic CRB1
CRB2
Crumbs homologue 1
retinitis pigmentosa
AAV tropism
AAV-mediated gene therapy
url https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/7/3563
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