AAV9-mediated gene transfer of desmin ameliorates cardiomyopathy in desmin-deficient mice.

ABSTRACT: Mutations of the human desmin (DES) gene cause autosomal dominant and recessive myopathies affecting skeletal and cardiac muscle tissue. Desmin knockout mice (DES-KO), which develop progressive myopathy and cardiomyopathy, mirror rare human recessive desminopathies in which mutations on both DES alleles lead to a complete ablation of desmin protein expression. Here, we investigated whether an adeno-associated virus-mediated gene transfer of wild-type desmin cDNA (AAV-DES) attenuates cardiomyopathy in these mice. Our approach leads to a partial reconstitution of desmin protein expression and the de novo formation of the extrasarcomeric desmin-syncoilin network in cardiomyocytes of treated animals. This finding was accompanied by reduced fibrosis and heart weights and improved systolic left-

SUBMITTER: Heckmann MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4976287 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature