Despite being one of the most prevalent neuromuscular disorders worldwide, there have been very few clinical trials in Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Currently there are no clinical trials and no good therapeutic options for this progressively disabling disease. One of the main impediments to the development of novel drugs for FSHD is the lack of an accepted animal model stemming from an incomplete understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. This application proposes to develop a novel animal model of FSHD which is independent of any hypothesis of pathogenesis. In this model, muscle tissue from subjects with FSHD are transplanted into the hindlimbs of immunodeficient, NOD-Rag1null IL2ry null mice. Preliminary data indicate that these xenografts are vascularized and innervated by the mouse host. Human myoblasts fully regenerate the tissue with new myofibers which survive in vivo through 20 weeks post transplantation. Feasibility has been established with dozens of recent and prospective human donors and the ability to generate approximately 20 xenografts from a single open muscle biopsy.
The first aim of this proposal is to optimize the xenograft by determining the maximal size of human graft which is viable in this model and the minimum amount of time from transplantation until full regeneration of the human graft in the mouse host. Use of nerve translocation as well as myostatin inhibition to optimize the graft will be critically assessed.
Th second aim of the proposal is to validate the xenograft as a model of FSHD and to fully characterize it for future use in preclinical studies. In this aim, grafts will be evaluated for thir histopathological, physiologic and molecular (gene expression) characteristics. FSHD xenografts will be compared to the biopsy specimen from which they originated and to xenografts of normal muscle from biologically related donors. The product of this work will be a fully characterized xenograft model of FSHD as well as standard operating procedures for evaluating this model in preclinical drug studies. Such studies are expected to facilitate entry of novel therapeutics into clinical trials for FSHD which is currently an underserved disease population.

Public Health Relevance

Animal models of disease are critical for development of novel therapeutics. Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a common neuromuscular disease which does not have an accepted animal model. In order to address this deficit, these studies propose to create a novel mouse model using muscle tissue grafts from FSHD human donors.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21NS079529-01
Application #
8354388
Study Section
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Initial Review Group (NSD)
Program Officer
Porter, John D
Project Start
2012-08-01
Project End
2014-07-31
Budget Start
2012-08-01
Budget End
2013-07-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$205,100
Indirect Cost
$61,600
Name
Hugo W. Moser Research Institute Kennedy Krieger
Department
Type
DUNS #
155342439
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21205
Chen, Jennifer Cj; King, Oliver D; Zhang, Yuanfan et al. (2016) Morpholino-mediated Knockdown of DUX4 Toward Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Therapeutics. Mol Ther 24:1405-11
Moyer, Adam L; Wagner, Kathryn R (2015) Mammalian Mss51 is a skeletal muscle-specific gene modulating cellular metabolism. J Neuromuscul Dis 2:371-385
Zhang, Yuanfan; King, Oliver D; Rahimov, Fedik et al. (2014) Human skeletal muscle xenograft as a new preclinical model for muscle disorders. Hum Mol Genet 23:3180-8