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An optogenetic cell therapy to restore control of target muscles in an aggressive mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Bryson, JB; Kourgiantaki, A; Jiang, D; Demosthenous, A; Greensmith, L; (2024) An optogenetic cell therapy to restore control of target muscles in an aggressive mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. eLife , 12 , Article RP88250. 10.7554/eLife.88250. Green open access

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Abstract

Breakdown of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) is an early pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that blocks neuromuscular transmission, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and, ultimately, premature death. Currently, no therapies exist that can prevent progressive motor neuron degeneration, muscle denervation, or paralysis in ALS. Here, we report important advances in the development of an optogenetic, neural replacement strategy that can effectively restore innervation of severely affected skeletal muscles in the aggressive SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS, thus providing an interface to selectively control the function of targeted muscles using optical stimulation. We also identify a specific approach to confer complete survival of allogeneic replacement motor neurons. Furthermore, we demonstrate that an optical stimulation training paradigm can prevent atrophy of reinnervated muscle fibers and results in a tenfold increase in optically evoked contractile force. Together, these advances pave the way for an assistive therapy that could benefit all ALS patients.

Type: Article
Title: An optogenetic cell therapy to restore control of target muscles in an aggressive mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.88250
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/elife.88250
Language: English
Additional information: © 2023, Bryson et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
Keywords: ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, cell transplant, motor neurons, mouse, optogenetics, paralysis, regenerative medicine, stem cells, Animals, Mice, Humans, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Optogenetics, Muscle, Skeletal, Paralysis, Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy, Disease Models, Animal
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Electronic and Electrical Eng
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Department of Neuromuscular Diseases
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10186337
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