Immune response to adenovirus-delivered antigens upregulates utrophin and results in mitigation of muscle pathology in mdx mice.
The upregulation of endogenous utrophin in skeletal muscle may lead to a new approach to the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). We found that injection of an E1, E3-deleted adenovirus vector expressing beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) or green fluorescent protein (GFP) into the skeletal muscle of neonatal dystrophin-deficient mdx mice alleviated dystrophic pathology. In the adenovirus-infected muscles, an evaluation of sarcolemma stability showed low permeability and immunohistochemistry revealed utrophin upregulation at the extrasynaptic sarcolemma of mature muscle fibers. This utrophin upregulation was concomitant with endomysial cellular infiltration from a host immune reaction. There was no evidence of active muscle regeneration. In normal C57BL/10 mice, utrophin was also upregulated in adenovirus-injected skeletal muscles, where upregulated utrophin often coexisted with dystrophin. FK506 and anti-CD4 antibody administration decreased utrophin expression in adenovirus-injected mdx muscles and prevented the dystrophic phenotype from being mitigated, suggesting that an immune reaction is involved in utrophin upregulation. This is the first report demonstrating the improvement of the dystrophic phenotype as a result of the acquired overexpression of endogenous utrophin. Our findings provide an important clue to understanding the mechanism of utrophin expression and the development of an effective treatment for DMD.
Yamamoto
K
K
Department of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuasa
K
K
Miyagoe
Y
Y
Hosaka
Y
Y
Tsukita
K
K
Yamamoto
H
H
Nabeshima
Y I
YI
Takeda
S
S
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D004179:Cobra Cardiotoxin Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016189:Dystrophin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D012038:Regeneration; D012508:Sarcolemma / Q000187:drug effects; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000276:immunology; D015854:Up-Regulation; D049411:Utrophin; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D000941:Antigens; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D004179:Cobra Cardiotoxin Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D016189:Dystrophin; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C483600:Utrn protein, mouse; D049411:Utrophin; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; D016559:Tacrolimus