Cis-regulatory elements driving motor neuron-selective viral payload expression within the mammalian spinal cord.

ABSTRACT: 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

SUBMITTER: Nagy MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11626145 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature