Histopathological Defects in Intestine in Severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy Mice Are Improved by Systemic Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment.

Gastrointestinal (GI) defects, including gastroesophageal reflux, constipation and delayed gastric emptying, are common in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Similar GI dysmotility has been identified in mouse models with survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein deficiency. We previously des...

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Main Authors: Palittiya Sintusek, Francesco Catapano, Napat Angkathunkayul, Elena Marrosu, Simon H Parson, Jennifer E Morgan, Francesco Muntoni, Haiyan Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155032&type=printable
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author Palittiya Sintusek
Francesco Catapano
Napat Angkathunkayul
Elena Marrosu
Simon H Parson
Jennifer E Morgan
Francesco Muntoni
Haiyan Zhou
author_facet Palittiya Sintusek
Francesco Catapano
Napat Angkathunkayul
Elena Marrosu
Simon H Parson
Jennifer E Morgan
Francesco Muntoni
Haiyan Zhou
author_sort Palittiya Sintusek
collection DOAJ
description Gastrointestinal (GI) defects, including gastroesophageal reflux, constipation and delayed gastric emptying, are common in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Similar GI dysmotility has been identified in mouse models with survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein deficiency. We previously described vascular defects in skeletal muscle and spinal cord of SMA mice and we hypothesized that similar defects could be involved in the GI pathology observed in these mice. We therefore investigated the gross anatomical structure, enteric vasculature and neurons in the small intestine in a severe mouse model of SMA. We also assessed the therapeutic response of GI histopathology to systemic administration of morpholino antisense oligonucleotide (AON) designed to increase SMN protein expression. Significant anatomical and histopathological abnormalities, with striking reduction of vascular density, overabundance of enteric neurons and increased macrophage infiltration, were detected in the small intestine in SMA mice. After systemic AON treatment in neonatal mice, all the abnormalities observed were significantly restored to near-normal levels. We conclude that the observed GI histopathological phenotypes and functional defects observed in these SMA mice are strongly linked to SMN deficiency which can be rescued by systemic administration of AON. This study on the histopathological changes in the gastrointestinal system in severe SMA mice provides further indication of the complex role that SMN plays in multiple tissues and suggests that at least in SMA mice restoration of SMN production in peripheral tissues is essential for optimal outcome.
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spelling doaj-art-3f82b4e1eb4343598e834c990054bf412025-08-20T02:03:13ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01115e015503210.1371/journal.pone.0155032Histopathological Defects in Intestine in Severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy Mice Are Improved by Systemic Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment.Palittiya SintusekFrancesco CatapanoNapat AngkathunkayulElena MarrosuSimon H ParsonJennifer E MorganFrancesco MuntoniHaiyan ZhouGastrointestinal (GI) defects, including gastroesophageal reflux, constipation and delayed gastric emptying, are common in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Similar GI dysmotility has been identified in mouse models with survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein deficiency. We previously described vascular defects in skeletal muscle and spinal cord of SMA mice and we hypothesized that similar defects could be involved in the GI pathology observed in these mice. We therefore investigated the gross anatomical structure, enteric vasculature and neurons in the small intestine in a severe mouse model of SMA. We also assessed the therapeutic response of GI histopathology to systemic administration of morpholino antisense oligonucleotide (AON) designed to increase SMN protein expression. Significant anatomical and histopathological abnormalities, with striking reduction of vascular density, overabundance of enteric neurons and increased macrophage infiltration, were detected in the small intestine in SMA mice. After systemic AON treatment in neonatal mice, all the abnormalities observed were significantly restored to near-normal levels. We conclude that the observed GI histopathological phenotypes and functional defects observed in these SMA mice are strongly linked to SMN deficiency which can be rescued by systemic administration of AON. This study on the histopathological changes in the gastrointestinal system in severe SMA mice provides further indication of the complex role that SMN plays in multiple tissues and suggests that at least in SMA mice restoration of SMN production in peripheral tissues is essential for optimal outcome.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155032&type=printable
spellingShingle Palittiya Sintusek
Francesco Catapano
Napat Angkathunkayul
Elena Marrosu
Simon H Parson
Jennifer E Morgan
Francesco Muntoni
Haiyan Zhou
Histopathological Defects in Intestine in Severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy Mice Are Improved by Systemic Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment.
PLoS ONE
title Histopathological Defects in Intestine in Severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy Mice Are Improved by Systemic Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment.
title_full Histopathological Defects in Intestine in Severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy Mice Are Improved by Systemic Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment.
title_fullStr Histopathological Defects in Intestine in Severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy Mice Are Improved by Systemic Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment.
title_full_unstemmed Histopathological Defects in Intestine in Severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy Mice Are Improved by Systemic Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment.
title_short Histopathological Defects in Intestine in Severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy Mice Are Improved by Systemic Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment.
title_sort histopathological defects in intestine in severe spinal muscular atrophy mice are improved by systemic antisense oligonucleotide treatment
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155032&type=printable
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