Rapamycin activates autophagy in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome: implications for normal aging and age-dependent neurodegenerative disorders.

While rapamycin has been in use for years in transplant patients as an antirejection drug, more recently it has shown promise in treating diseases of aging, such as neurodegenerative disorders and atherosclerosis. We recently reported that rapamycin reverses the cellular phenotype of fibroblasts from children with the premature aging disease Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). We found that the causative aberrant protein, progerin, was cleared through autophagic mechanisms when the cells were treated with rapamycin, suggesting a new potential treatment for HGPS. Recent evidence shows that progerin is also present in aged tissues of healthy individuals, suggesting that progerin may contribute to physiological aging. While it is intriguing to speculate that rapamycin may affect normal aging in humans, as it does in lower organisms, it will be important to identify safer analogues of rapamycin for chronic treatments in humans in order to minimize toxicity. In addition to its role in HGPS and normal aging, we discuss the potential of rapamycin for the treatment of age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases.

Rapamycin reverses cellular phenotypes and enhances mutant protein clearance in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome cells.

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a lethal genetic disorder characterized by premature aging. HGPS is most commonly caused by a de novo single-nucleotide substitution in the lamin A/C gene (LMNA) that partially activates a cryptic splice donor site in exon 11, producing an abnormal lamin A protein termed progerin. Accumulation of progerin in dividing cells adversely affects the integrity of the nuclear scaffold and leads to nuclear blebbing in cultured cells. Progerin is also produced in normal cells, increasing in abundance as senescence approaches. Here, we report the effect of rapamycin, a macrolide antibiotic that has been implicated in slowing cellular and organismal aging, on the cellular phenotypes of HGPS fibroblasts. Treatment with rapamycin abolished nuclear blebbing, delayed the onset of cellular senescence, and enhanced the degradation of progerin in HGPS cells. Rapamycin also decreased the formation of insoluble progerin aggregates and induced clearance through autophagic mechanisms in normal fibroblasts. Our findings suggest an additional mechanism for the beneficial effects of rapamycin on longevity and encourage the hypothesis that rapamycin treatment could provide clinical benefit for children with HGPS.

Temporal and tissue specific regulation of RP-associated splicing factor genes PRPF3, PRPF31 and PRPC8--implications in the pathogenesis of RP.

BACKGROUND: Genetic mutations in several ubiquitously expressed RNA splicing genes such as PRPF3, PRP31 and PRPC8, have been found to cause retina-specific diseases in humans. To understand this intriguing phenomenon, most studies have been focused on testing two major hypotheses. One hypothesis assumes that these mutations interrupt retina-specific interactions that are important for RNA splicing, implying that there are specific components in the retina interacting with these splicing factors. The second hypothesis suggests that these mutations have only a mild effect on the protein function and thus affect only the metabolically highly active cells such as retinal photoreceptors. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We examined the second hypothesis using the PRPF3 gene as an example. We analyzed the spatial and temporal expression of the PRPF3 gene in mice and found that it is highly expressed in retinal cells relative to other tissues and its expression is developmentally regulated. In addition, we also found that PRP31 and PRPC8 as well as snRNAs are highly expressed in retinal cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data suggest that the retina requires a relatively high level of RNA splicing activity for optimal tissue-specific physiological function. Because the RP18 mutation has neither a debilitating nor acute effect on protein function, we suggest that retinal degeneration is the accumulative effect of decades of suboptimal RNA splicing due to the mildly impaired protein.

Three gene-targeted mouse models of RNA splicing factor RP show late-onset RPE and retinal degeneration.

PURPOSE: Mutations in genes that produce proteins involved in mRNA splicing, including pre-mRNA processing factors 3, 8, and 31 (PRPF3, 8, and 31), RP9, and SNRNP200 are common causes of the late-onset inherited blinding disorder retinitis pigmentosa (RP). It is not known how mutations in these ubiquitously expressed genes lead to retina-specific disease. To investigate the pathogenesis of the RNA splicing factor forms of RP, the authors generated and characterized the retinal phenotypes of Prpf3-T494M, Prpf8-H2309P knockin mice. The retinal ultrastructure of Prpf31-knockout mice was also investigated. METHODS: The knockin mice have single codon alterations in their endogenous Prpf3 and Prpf8 genes that mimic the most common disease causing mutations in human PRPF3 and PRPF8. The Prpf31-knockout mice mimic the null alleles that result from the majority of mutations identified in PRPF31 patients. The retinal phenotypes of the gene targeted mice were evaluated by electroretinography (ERG), light, and electron microscopy. RESULTS: The RPE cells of heterozygous Prpf3(+/T494M) and Prpf8(+/H2309P) knockin mice exhibited loss of the basal infoldings and vacuolization, with accumulation of amorphous deposits between the RPE and Bruch[b]'s membrane at age two years. These changes were more severe in the homozygous mice, and were associated with decreased rod function in the Prpf3-T494M mice. Similar degenerative changes in the RPE were detected in Prpf31(±) mice at one year of age. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of similar degenerative changes in RPE cells of all three mouse models suggests that the RPE may be the primary cell type affected in the RNA splicing factor forms of RP. The relatively late-onset phenotype observed in these mice is consistent with the typical adult onset of disease in patients with RP.

Decreased levels of the RNA splicing factor Prpf3 in mice and zebrafish do not cause photoreceptor degeneration.

PURPOSE: Pre-mRNA processing factor 3 (PRPF3) is a spliceosomal component essential for pre-mRNA processing. Mutations in PRPF3 have been implicated in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) 18 through an unknown mechanism. The authors created and characterized Prpf3 knockout mice and zebrafish to determine whether RP18 is a result of haploinsufficiency. METHODS: Mice were produced from a Prpf3 gene trap cell line, and parameters of retinal function, structure, and RNA splicing were analyzed. The retinas of prpf3 insertional mutant zebrafish were also analyzed histologically. RESULTS: Homozygous Prpf3 knockout mice do not survive to 14 days postfertilization (dpf), implying that this allele is required for early embryonic development. Homozygous Prpf3 knockout zebrafish die by 4dpf, well beyond the mid-blastula transition at which transcription activates. Zebrafish knockout embryos reveal abnormally high levels of cell death in the developing eye. Heterozygous Prpf3 knockout mice have less than the expected 50% reduction in Prpf3 at the mRNA and protein levels, implying compensatory expression from the wild-type allele. The heterozygous mice develop normally, with no changes in retinal function, no evidence for photoreceptor degeneration at up to 23 months of age, and no decrease in pre-mRNA splicing of transcripts mutated in other forms of RP in the retina. Similarly, heterozygous prpf3 knockout zebrafish develop normally and show no retinal degeneration up to 12 months of age. CONCLUSIONS: These models suggest that RP18 is not a result of haploinsufficiency but instead arises from a toxic gain of function caused by missense mutations in PRPF3.