Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), also known as Machado-Joseph Disease (MJD), is the most common dominantly inherited ataxia in the world and caused by an expansion of a polyglutamine-coding CAG repeat in the ATXN3 gene. There currently is no effective treatment for this relentlessly progressive and fatal disease. Because expression of the mutant protein is an early and necessary step in disease pathogenesis, strategies to reduce expression of the disease gene itself are high on the list of potential therapies. Our previous therapeutic studies suggested the need for broad CNS delivery of gene silencing reagents. Chemically modified ASOs can be delivered broadly to the CNS and are known to be highly stable in vivo. Prior studies employing ASOs have documented well-tolerated, long-term knockdown in mouse and non-human primate models of neurodegenerative diseases including SMA, HD and ALS. Moreover, ASO therapy in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) was recently FDA- and EMA-approved following multiple highly successful human clinical trials. We recently established ASO therapy proof-of-concept in a SCA3 mouse model, concluding that the strategy to reduce levels of the nonessential ATXN3 disease protein in patients would likely be well tolerated. This U01 discovery proposal extends from the proof-of-concept studies to characterize a final human candidate lead ASO compound for IND-enabling studies.
Aim 1 will confirm the viability of 4-6 lead ATXN3 ASOs through in vitro screens for inflammatory and off-target effects and in vivo tolerability in rodent and non-human primates that will support IND-enabling studies.
Aim 2 will assess the in vivo efficacy of the lead ATXN3 ASOs to suppress mutant ATXN3 expression and ameliorate behavioral deficits, alter disease pathology and molecular signatures in a SCA3 mouse model expressing the full-length human mutant ATXN3 transcript. The results will culminate in the selection of a single lead compound for future IND-enabling studies. Concurrent with these studies, a necessary next step for therapeutic success is the optimization of SCA3 disease biomarkers that may directly assess therapeutic target engagement and treatment response. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an ideal biological sample in which to look for therapeutic biomarkers as it is readily accessible and can be sampled repeatedly throughout disease progression and therapeutic trials. Significant advances in immunoassay technology now make it possible to quantify low abundance proteins using an ultrasensitive single molecule counting (SMC) immunoassay detection system.
In Aim 3, we will optimize a SMC immunoassay to detect ATXN3 protein levels from SCA3 patient CSF samples. Developing this novel ATXN3 SMC immunoassay will enable detection of in vivo therapeutic target engagement and efficacy during ASO treatment in SCA3 patients.
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by an expanded repeat region in the ATXN3 disease gene. The proposed research will define a potent, well-tolerated antisense oligonucleotide for treating SCA3. These studies will test efficacy of lead antisense oligonucleotides in a SCA3 mouse model expressing the full-length human disease gene, complete tolerability studies in rodent and non-human primates to support IND-enabling studies, and optimize a CSF biomarker assay to assess ATXN3 target engagement and treatment efficacy.
