Project description:Fabry disease, an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by galactosidase alpha (GLA) gene mutations, exhibits diverse clinical manifestations, and poses significant diagnostic challenges. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for improved patient outcomes, pressing the need for reliable biomarkers. In this study, we aimed to identify miRNA candidates as potential biomarkers for Fabry disease using the KingFisher™ automated isolation method and NanoString nCounter® miRNA detection assay. Clinical serum samples were collected from both healthy subjects and Fabry disease patients. RNA extraction from the samples was performed using the KingFisher™ automated isolation method with the MagMAX mirVana™ kit or manually using the Qiagen miRNeasy kit. The subsequent NanoString nCounter® miRNA detection assay showed consistent performance and no correlation between RNA input concentration and raw count, ensuring reliable and reproducible results. Interestingly, the detection range and highly differential miRNA between the control and disease groups were found to be distinct depending on the isolation method employed. Nevertheless, enrichment analysis of miRNA-targeting genes consistently revealed significant associations with angiogenesis pathways in both isolation methods. Additionally, our investigation into the impact of enzyme replacement therapy on miRNA expression indicated that some differential miRNAs may be sensitive to treatment. Our study provides valuable insights to identify miRNA biomarkers for Fabry disease. While different isolation methods yielded various detection ranges and highly differential miRNAs, the consistent association with angiogenesis pathways suggests their significance in disease progression. These findings lay the groundwork for further investigations and validation studies, ultimately leading to the development of non-invasive and reliable biomarkers to aid in early diagnosis and treatment monitoring for Fabry disease.
Project description:the study aims to describe the modifications occurring the microglia isolated from mouse models of 2 lysosomal storage diseases: Mucolipidosis type 4 and fabry disease.
Project description:The clinical symptoms of Fabry disease are caused by progressive accumulation of unprocessed globotriaosylceramide metabolite within cells, inducing multiple organ damage. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is the only strategy to restore enzymatic activity, but a reliable biomarker to assess treatment response does not exist. Here, we identify circulating miR-184 as a sensitive marker of response to ERT and of clinical outcome for cardiac and kidney involvement.
Project description:Recent studies in non-human model systems have shown therapeutic potential of modified mRNA (modRNA) treatments for lysosomal storage diseases. Here, we assessed the efficacy of a modRNA treatment to restore the expression of the α-galactosidase (GLA) gene in a human cardiac model generated from induced-pluripotent stem cell-derived from two patients with Fabry disease. In line with the clinical phenotype, cardiomyocytes from Fabry patient’s induced pluripotent stem cells show accumulation of the glycosphinolipid Globotriaosylceramide (GB3), which is an α-galactosidase substrate. Further, the patient-specific cardiomyocytes have significant upregulation of lysosomal associated proteins. Upon modRNA treatment, a subset of lysosomal proteins were partially restored to wildtype levels, implying the rescue of the molecular phenotype associated with the Fabry genotype. Importantly, a significant reduction of GB3 levels was observed in GLA modRNA treated cardiomyocytes demonstrating that α-galactosidase enzymatic activity was restored. Together, our results validate the utility of patient IPSC-derived cardiomyocytes as a model to study disease processes in Fabry disease and the therapeutic potential of GLA modRNA treatment to reduce GB3 accumulation in the heart.
Project description:Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy is an inherited entity characterized by irregular cell-cell adhesion, cardiomyocyte death, fibro-fatty replacement of ventricular myocytes, leading to malignant ventricular arrythmias, contractile dysfunction and sudden cardiac death. Pathogenic variants in genes that encode desmosome are the predominant cause of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Moreover, signalling pathways such as Wnt/ß-catenin and transforming growth factor-β have been involved in the disease progression. However, still little is known about the molecular pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy pathogenesis. We used mRNA and small RNA sequencing to analyse the transcriptome of health and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy autopsied human hearts. Our results showed 697 differentially expressed genes, and eight differentially expressed miRNAs. Functional enrichment revealed mitochondrial respiratory-related pathways, impaired response to oxidative stress, apoptotic signalling pathway, inflammatory response-related and extracellular matrix response pathways. Furthermore, analysis of miRNA-mRNA interactome identified eleven negatively correlated miRNA-target pairs for arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Our finding revealed novel arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy-related miRNAs with important regulatory function in disease pathogenesis highlighting their value as potential key targets for therapeutic approaches.
Project description:Fabry nephropathy (FN) is a rare disorder caused by mutations in the alpha-galactosidase A gene. In this study we aim at providing a framework allowing selection of biomarkers and drug-targets. Two independent Fabry Nephropathy cohorts (FA.NO and CH.RO) were subjected to RNAseq from archival kidney biopsies taken prior and up to 10 years of Enzyme Replacement Therapy. Four compartments were laser capture microdissected (glomeruli, proximal tubuli, distal tubuli and arteries). We found several pathways that were consistently altered and that these kidney compartments’ transcriptional landscapes can be leveraged in the search for drug-targets and biomarkers.