PUBLICATION

A TALEN-Exon Skipping Design for a Bethlem Myopathy Model in Zebrafish

Authors
Radev, Z., Hermel, J.M., Elipot, Y., Bretaud, S., Arnould, S., Duchateau, P., Ruggiero, F., Joly, J.S., Sohm, F.
ID
ZDB-PUB-150730-1
Date
2015
Source
PLoS One   10: e0133986 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Joly, Jean-Stephane, Sohm, Frédéric
Keywords
Fishes, Zebrafish, Collagens, Mitochondria, Embryos, Animal behavior, Mutation, TALENs
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Collagen Type VI*/biosynthesis
  • Collagen Type VI*/genetics
  • Contracture
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Exons*
  • Heterozygote
  • Homozygote
  • Humans
  • Muscular Dystrophies/congenital
  • Mutation*
  • RNA Splice Sites*
  • Zebrafish/genetics*
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
PubMed
26221953 Full text @ PLoS One
Abstract
Presently, human collagen VI-related diseases such as Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD) and Bethlem myopathy (BM) remain incurable, emphasizing the need to unravel their etiology and improve their treatments. In UCMD, symptom onset occurs early, and both diseases aggravate with ageing. In zebrafish fry, morpholinos reproduced early UCMD and BM symptoms but did not allow to study the late phenotype. Here, we produced the first zebrafish line with the human mutation frequently found in collagen VI-related disorders such as UCMD and BM. We used a transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) to design the col6a1ama605003-line with a mutation within an essential splice donor site, in intron 14 of the col6a1 gene, which provoke an in-frame skipping of exon 14 in the processed mRNA. This mutation at a splice donor site is the first example of a template-independent modification of splicing induced in zebrafish using a targetable nuclease. This technique is readily expandable to other organisms and can be instrumental in other disease studies. Histological and ultrastructural analyzes of homozygous and heterozygous mutant fry and 3 months post-fertilization (mpf) fish revealed co-dominantly inherited abnormal myofibers with disorganized myofibrils, enlarged sarcoplasmic reticulum, altered mitochondria and misaligned sarcomeres. Locomotion analyzes showed hypoxia-response behavior in 9 mpf col6a1 mutant unseen in 3 mpf fish. These symptoms worsened with ageing as described in patients with collagen VI deficiency. Thus, the col6a1ama605003-line is the first adult zebrafish model of collagen VI-related diseases; it will be instrumental both for basic research and drug discovery assays focusing on this type of disorders.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping