Proof-of-Concept: Antisense Oligonucleotide Mediated Skipping of Fibrillin-1 Exon 52

oleh: Jessica M. Cale, Kane Greer, Sue Fletcher, Steve D. Wilton

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-03-01

Deskripsi

Marfan syndrome is one of the most common dominantly inherited connective tissue disorders, affecting 2–3 in 10,000 individuals, and is caused by one of over 2800 unique <i>FBN1</i> mutations. Mutations in <i>FBN1</i> result in reduced fibrillin-1 expression, or the production of two different fibrillin-1 monomers unable to interact to form functional microfibrils. Here, we describe in vitro evaluation of antisense oligonucleotides designed to mediate exclusion of <i>FBN1</i> exon 52 during pre-mRNA splicing to restore monomer homology. Antisense oligonucleotide sequences were screened in healthy control fibroblasts. The most effective sequence was synthesised as a phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer, a chemistry shown to be safe and effective clinically. We show that exon 52 can be excluded in up to 100% of <i>FBN1</i> transcripts in healthy control fibroblasts transfected with PMO52. Immunofluorescent staining revealed the loss of fibrillin 1 fibres with ~50% skipping and the subsequent re-appearance of fibres with >80% skipping. However, the effect of exon skipping on the function of the induced fibrillin-1 isoform remains to be explored. Therefore, these findings demonstrate proof-of-concept that exclusion of an exon from <i>FBN1</i> pre-mRNA can result in internally truncated but identical monomers capable of forming fibres and lay a foundation for further investigation to determine the effect of exon skipping on fibrillin-1 function.