Advances in gene therapy for muscular dystrophies

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive lethal inherited muscular dystrophy caused by mutations in the gene encoding dystrophin, a protein required for muscle fibre integrity. So far, many approaches have been tested from the traditional gene addition to newer advanced approaches based on manipulation of the cellular machinery either at the gene transcription, mRNA processing or translation levels. Unfortunately, despite all these efforts, no efficient treatments for DMD are currently available. In this review, we highlight the most advanced therapeutic strategies under investigation as potential DMD treatments

Long-term microdystrophin gene therapy is effective in a canine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an incurable X-linked muscle-wasting disease caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. Gene therapy using highly functional microdystrophin genes and recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors is an attractive strategy to treat DMD. Here we show that locoregional and systemic delivery of a rAAV2/8 vector expressing a canine microdystrophin (cMD1) is effective in restoring dystrophin expression and stabilizing clinical symptoms in studies performed on a total of 12 treated golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) dogs. Locoregional delivery induces high levels of microdystrophin expression in limb musculature and significant amelioration of histological and functional parameters. Systemic intravenous administration without immunosuppression results in significant and sustained levels of microdystrophin in skeletal muscles and reduces dystrophic symptoms for over 2 years. No toxicity or adverse immune consequences of vector administration are observed. These studies indicate safety and efficacy of systemic rAAV-cMD1 delivery in a large animal model of DMD, and pave the way towards clinical trials of rAAV-microdystrophin gene therapy in DMD patients

EMQN best practice guidelines for genetic testing in dystrophinopathies.

Dystrophinopathies are X-linked diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker muscular dystrophy, due to DMD gene variants. In recent years, the application of new genetic technologies and the availability of new personalised drugs have influenced diagnostic genetic testing for dystrophinopathies. Therefore, these European best practice guidelines for genetic testing in dystrophinopathies have been produced to update previous guidelines published in 2010.These guidelines summarise current recommended technologies and methodologies for analysis of the DMD gene, including testing for deletions and duplications of one or more exons, small variant detection and RNA analysis. Genetic testing strategies for diagnosis, carrier testing and prenatal diagnosis (including non-invasive prenatal diagnosis) are then outlined. Guidelines for sequence variant annotation and interpretation are provided, followed by recommendations for reporting results of all categories of testing. Finally, atypical findings (such as non-contiguous deletions and dual DMD variants), implications for personalised medicine and clinical trials and incidental findings (identification of DMD gene variants in patients where a clinical diagnosis of dystrophinopathy has not been considered or suspected) are discussed

Zastosowanie poprawek do obliczania współczynnika Z dla gazu na przykładzie złoża Molve

Separator gas composition and separator liquid composition and corresponding standard data (pressure, temperature, liquid density, specific gravity etc.) were measured to obtain recombined fluid composition. The results of separator gas test and recombined wellstream were grouped and observed separately to verify published methods of compressibility correction factor, Z prediction. It was found that Dranchouk-Abu-Kassem method is in good correlation with laboratory data. Critical properties of separator gas and wellstream fluid mixtures, and also C7+ fractions were correlated using a number of published correlations. The properties were found to be similar to that found in literature, characterized by an accuracy decrease with decreasing molar weight accuracy of plus the fractions. However, individual pressure vs. Z-factor curves for each observed laboratory fluid analysis, calculated using the correlations, showed acceptable match with measured and then calculated pressure versus Z data. Modified correlation was made, similar to Sutton's and Standing's correlations for calculating pseudocritical temperature and pressure as function of specific gravity and compared to published correlations.W pracy dokonano pomiaru skład gazu i płynu w separatorze oraz standardowe dane dotyczące ciśnienia, temperatury, gęstości cieczy, ciężaru właściwego w celu ustalenia nowego składu płynu. Zestawiono wyniki badania składu gazu z separatora i nowy skład strumienia, a następnie zweryfikowano opublikowane metody korekcji współczynnika ściśliwości Z. Wykazano korelację metody Dranchouk-Abu-Kassem z danymi laboratoryjnymi. Wykorzystując znane z literatury metody, skorelowano krytyczne właściwości gazu z separatora, mieszaniny płynu w otworze oraz cząstki C7+. Otrzymane właściwości były podobne do przedstawionych w literaturze i charakteryzowały się spadkiem dokładności wraz ze spadkiem dokładności ciężaru molowego cząstek dodatnich. Z analizy krzywej funkcji ciśnienia i współczynnika Z dla każdego z płynów badanych na podstawie korelacji wynika, że uzyskano akceptowalną zgodność z danymi pomiarowymi i następnie obliczono funkcję ciśnienia i współczynnika Z. Zmodyfikowano korelację, analogicznie do korelacji Suttona i Standinga na pseudokrytyczne wartości temperatury i ciśnienia jako funkcji ciężaru właściwego, a następnie porównano i przestawiono otrzymane korelacje

Efficient microbial colony growth dynamics quantification with ColTapp, an automated image analysis application

© 2020, The Author(s). Populations of genetically identical bacteria are phenotypically heterogeneous, giving rise to population functionalities that would not be possible in homogeneous populations. For instance, a proportion of non-dividing bacteria could persist through antibiotic challenges and secure population survival. This heterogeneity can be studied in complex environmental or clinical samples by spreading the bacteria on agar plates and monitoring time to growth resumption in order to infer their metabolic state distribution. We present ColTapp, the Colony Time-lapse application for bacterial colony growth quantification. Its intuitive graphical user interface allows users to analyze time-lapse images of agar plates to monitor size, color and morphology of colonies. Additionally, images at isolated timepoints can be used to estimate lag time. Using ColTapp, we analyze a dataset of Staphylococcus aureus time-lapse images including populations with heterogeneous lag time. Colonies on dense plates reach saturation early, leading to overestimation of lag time from isolated images. We show that this bias can be corrected by taking into account the area available to each colony on the plate. We envision that in clinical settings, improved analysis of colony growth dynamics may help treatment decisions oriented towards personalized antibiotic therapies.ISSN:2045-232

In-host evolution of Staphylococcus epidermidis in a pacemaker-associated endocarditis resulting in increased antibiotic tolerance

Treatment failure in biofilm-associated bacterial infections is an important healthcare issue. In vitro studies and mouse models suggest that bacteria enter a slow-growing/non-growing state that results in transient tolerance to antibiotics in the absence of a specific resistance mechanism. However, little clinical confirmation of antibiotic tolerant bacteria in patients exists. In this study we investigate a Staphylococcus epidermidis pacemaker-associated endocarditis, in a patient who developed a break-through bacteremia despite taking antibiotics to which the S. epidermidis isolate is fully susceptible in vitro. Characterization of the clinical S. epidermidis isolates reveals in-host evolution over the 16-week infection period, resulting in increased antibiotic tolerance of the entire population due to a prolonged lag time until growth resumption and a reduced growth rate. Furthermore, we observe adaptation towards an increased biofilm formation capacity and genetic diversification of the S. epidermidis isolates within the patient

In-host evolution of Staphylococcus epidermidis in a pacemaker-associated endocarditis resulting in increased antibiotic tolerance

Treatment failure in biofilm-associated bacterial infections is an important healthcare issue. In vitro studies and mouse models suggest that bacteria enter a slow-growing/non-growing state that results in transient tolerance to antibiotics in the absence of a specific resistance mechanism. However, little clinical confirmation of antibiotic tolerant bacteria in patients exists. In this study we investigate a Staphylococcus epidermidis pacemaker-associated endocarditis, in a patient who developed a break-through bacteremia despite taking antibiotics to which the S. epidermidis isolate is fully susceptible in vitro. Characterization of the clinical S. epidermidis isolates reveals in-host evolution over the 16-week infection period, resulting in increased antibiotic tolerance of the entire population due to a prolonged lag time until growth resumption and a reduced growth rate. Furthermore, we observe adaptation towards an increased biofilm formation capacity and genetic diversification of the S. epidermidis isolates within the patient

Immortalized skin fibroblasts expressing conditional MyoD as a renewable and reliable source of converted human muscle cells to assess therapeutic strategies for muscular dystrophies: Validation of an exon-skipping approach to restore dystrophin in duchenne muscular dystrophy cells

Numerous strategies are under development for the correction of deleterious effects of mutations in muscular dystrophies, and these strategies must be validated in compelling models. Cellular models seem straightforward to set up; however, the proliferative capacity of muscle cells isolated from dystrophic patients is limited, and in addition it is difficult to envisage the use of large muscle biopsies from patients to obtain enough cells for ex vivo assessments. To overcome these problems, we have devised a strategy to obtain, from a patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), an inexhaustible source of myogenic progenitor cells with a deletion of exons 49 and 50 in the dystrophin gene. Starting material consisted of dermal fibroblasts isolated from a skin biopsy taken in a noninvasive way. These fibroblasts were first immortalized by telomerase gene transfer. Subsequent cell lines were converted into myogenic cells by means of a lentiviral vector encoding an inducible MyoD construct. Before myogenic induction, engineered DMD fibroblasts were able to proliferate infinitely. Under induction conditions, they were converted into myogenic cells, which differentiated into large multinucleated myotubes. We used these DMD fibroblast cell lines to assess dystrophin rescue by using engineered U7 small nuclear RNAs harboring antisense sequences required to restore an in-frame dystrophin mRNA by skipping exon 51. Further molecular analyses showed dystrophin rescue ex vivo as well as in vivo after engrafting of treated cells into regenerating muscles in immunodeficient mice

L'insecurite des poids lourds dans les longues descentes Le cas de la voie express du tunnel du Mont-Blanc au Fayet

Available at INIST (FR), Document Supply Service, under shelf-number : 21083, issue : a.1992 n.152 / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueSIGLEFRFranc