Scientists discover inherited neurodegenerative disease in monkeys


Date:
August 5, 2021
Source:
Oregon Health & Science University
Summary:
Scientists have identified a naturally occurring mutation in
nonhuman primates that closely resembles a rare neurodegenerative
disease in people. The discovery could lead to the development
of new therapies to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease and is
the latest in a trove of discoveries made possible by a massive
genomic database.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have identified a
naturally occurring mutation in nonhuman primates that closely resembles
a rare neurodegenerative disease in people.


==========================================================================
The discovery could lead to the development of new therapies to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease and is the latest in a trove of discoveries
made possible by a massive genomic database established at OHSU's Oregon National Primate Research Center.

The latest study was published today in the journal Neurobiology of
Disease.

"This is a condition that is caused by a single mutation in a single
gene," said senior author Larry Sherman, Ph.D., professor in the
Division of Neuroscience at the primate center. "This really sets us up
for the possibility of doing gene therapies, or neural stem cell-based therapies in the developing brain." Sherman said scientists at OHSU
are already looking forward to collaborating with scientists who have
developed experimental gene therapies in mice. The discovery of the
genetic mutation in three young rhesus macaques provides the opportunity
to apply therapies to an animal model that's much closer to humans.

The study also included new findings revealing how Pelizaeus-Merzbacher
and related diseases develop.



==========================================================================
The discovery came when veterinarians at the primate center noticed three
young rhesus macaques displaying symptoms including tremors and motor dysfunction consistent with a loss of myelin, the protective sheath that
covers nerve fibers in the central nervous system.

That work was led by Anne Lewis, D.V.M., Ph.D., head of the pathology
services unit at the primate center, who is corresponding author on the
study along with Sherman.

Subsequent genetic analysis revealed that the three animals were related
to one another and that their parents carried a rare mutation of the
PLP1 gene that causes Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease.

Affecting an estimated 1 in 100,000 people, it is a progressive,
degenerative disease of the central nervous system with severity and
onset that varies widely. Severe forms result in motor, sensory and
cognitive deficits in infants that become progressively worse with age
and are often fatal in childhood, according to the National Organization
for Rare Disorders.

The genomic database at the primate center made the discovery possible.



==========================================================================
"In the past, it just wouldn't have been identified," Sherman said. "Now
we have this amazing ability to figure out the lineage of these animals
and their genetic background." It marks the latest in a series of
discoveries made possible by sequencing the genomes of nonhuman primates
at the Oregon National Primate Research Center.

It's known as the Macaque Genotype and Phenotype Resource, or mGAP.

Co-author Betsy Ferguson, Ph.D., professor of genetics at the primate
center and of molecular and medical genetics in the OHSU School of
Medicine, initiated the database beginning in 2016 with a $4 million
grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The grant allowed her
to sequence the genomes of 2,000 rhesus macaques housed at the primate
center, enabling researchers at OHSU and around the world to identify
thousands of genetic variants that are identical to those known to cause
human disorders.

Advances in gene editing technology raise the possibility of new avenues
to prevent and treat inherited disease.

"Ten years ago, our findings wouldn't have the same impact, because
we didn't have the technology in place to address disease-causing
mutations," Ferguson said, describing the work in 2018. "Now, we do."
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant
awards R24 OD021324, R24 NS104161 and P51 OD011092.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Oregon_Health_&_Science_University. Original written by Erik
Robinson. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Larry S. Sherman, Weiping Su, Amanda L. Johnson, Samuel M. Peterson,
Cassandra Cullin, Tiffany Lavinder, Betsy Ferguson, Anne D. Lewis. A
novel non-human primate model of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease.

Neurobiology of Disease, 2021; 105465 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105465 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210805180644.htm

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