New animal model may help develop new treatments for RP

Developing new treatments for diseases such as RP have been difficult for many reasons. Apart from the fact that it was difficult to pinpoint the genetic defect in the disease, lack of an adequate animal model that could be used to test any new treatment to study its effect and follow the effect for a few months has been an underlying problem for many years now.   

Hence the recent publication in IOVS of success in creating a genetically modified mini-pig may help in the development of newer and improved treatment paradigms, and may eventually help lead us to a cure diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which is the most common inherited retinal disease in India. The researchers used miniature pigs, weighing about 150 pounds at full growth, instead of the larger pig, since managing the smaller pigs was much more easier. 

This model has been developed by researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Louisville, along with researchers from the National Swine Resource and Research Center, University of Missouri.

For those from the scientific background, here's the abstract from IOVS. " ... describes the creation of an inbred, transgenic mini-pig that carries a mutant human rhodopsin gene which is expressed in the retina and is associated with progressive loss of light-evoked ERG responses. This is a significant achievement of considerable practical value in an era in which translational activity for retinal diseases is burgeoning. The rationale for generating this pig is laid out well, and the design appears to have multiple advantages over the existing retinal dystrophic pig. There are many rodent models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and conditions resembling RP, but what has been lacking is a large animal model that more accurately mimics the situations encountered when treating human patients. One potential animal model is the pig. There is an existing pig model of retinal degeneration (RD); however, a number of factors have made this model difficult to use, including the large size of the animals at the time of degeneration as well as molecular genetic considerations. The article describes the successful development of a genetically accurate RP-like condition in a mini-pig.

This model should prove quite valuable to people working on treatment of RD, including traditional pharmacologic approaches and regenerative strategies, such as stem cell transplantation. The authors evaluated six transgenic founders whose retinal function was studied with full-field electroretinography from three months through two years. Progeny from one founder were generated and genotyped to determine the transgene inheritance pattern. Retinal mRNA was isolated and the ratio of P23H to wild-type pig RHO measured. The result is a powerful new tool for retinal degeneration research that should be of interest to a wide range of workers in that field."

The Pro23His (P23H) rhodopsin (RHO) mutation is the cause for the most common form of human autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP), with a high propensity for disease characteristics to pass to the next generation. This study was focused on establishing a transgenic miniature swine model of RP using this human P23H RHO gene. 

Animal models are used to screen for safety and efficacy of new treatment paradigms for diseases such as RP, which includes newer treatment modalities such as medications, stem cell therapies, gene therapy, and the artificial retinal prosthesis.

The prevalence of RP in India is considered to be significantly higher compared to other nations. With some small sample studies indicating that RP may affect about 1 in 1000 in some areas, to almost 1 in 500 in some rural areas in India, we potentially have a population of about a million RP patients. 

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Researchers develop snapshot of powerful retinal pigment and its partners

In a Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Berlin-based team reports that it has uncovered surprising new details about a key protein-protein interaction in the retina that contributes to the exquisite sensitivity of vision. Additionally, they say, the proteins involved represent the best-studied model of how other senses and countless other physiological functions are controlled.

"Nearly a thousand different types of these proteins are present in the human body, and nearly half of pharmaceutical drugs are targeted to them," explains Martha E. Sommer, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Medicinal Physics and Biophysics at Charité Medical School.

The retina, which is located at the back of the eye, is considered an outgrowth of the brain and is, thus, a part of the central nervous system. Embedded in the retina's 150 million rod-shaped photoreceptor cells are purplish pigment molecules called rhodopsin. It is the rhodopsin protein that is activated by the first glimmer – or photon – of light. Upon activation, the purple molecule binds another protein, known as transducin, to set off a cascade of biochemical reactions that ultimately results in vision.

"After this signaling event, rhodopsin must be shut off. This task is achieved by a third molecule called arrestin, which binds to light-activated rhodopsin and blocks further signaling," Sommer says. When rhodopsin is not properly shut off, overactive signaling can lead to a decrease in sensitivity to light and ultimately cell death. People who lack arrestin have a form of night blindness called Oguchi disease. "They are essentially blind in low light and can suffer retinal degeneration over time."

It is believed that the arrestin molecule silences rhodopsin's signaling by embracing it and elbowing out transducin.

"Since arrestin was first discovered more than 20 years ago, it was assumed that a single arrestin binds a single light-activated rhodopsin," Sommer says. "However, when the molecular structure of arrestin was solved using X-ray crystallography about 10 years ago, it was observed that arrestin is composed of two near-symmetrical parts – like an open clam shell."

The diameter of each side of the arrestin shell is about equal to that of one rhodopsin, she says, so some researchers wondered if a single arrestin might be able to bind to two rhodopsins.

It seemed like a simple enough question: To how many rhodopsins can a single arrestin bind? But, Sommer explains, little experimental work had been published about the topic, and the few studies that had been done seemed to support the one-arrestin-to-one-rhodopsin theory. That is, until now.

Using photoreceptor cells from cows, Sommer's team set out to shine a light on the rhodopsin-arrestin mystery once and for all. They exposed the rhodopsin molecules to low light and to bright light and managed to count how many arrestin molecules bound with them. In the end, it took three to tango.

"Increasing the light intensity increases the percentage of rhodopsins that are activated. Although the number of arrestins that bound per activated rhodopsin appeared to change with the percentage of activated rhodopsins -- with one-to-one binding in very low light and one-to-two binding in very bright light -- we hypothesize that arrestin always interacts with two rhodopsin molecules," Sommer says. "In low light, arrestin interacts with one active rhodopsin and with one inactive rhodopsin; whereas, in bright light, arrestin interacts with two active rhodopsins."

It's just a matter of probability, Sommer says: In brighter light, arrestin interacts with two activated receptors simply because there are more of them around.

"Although there were two fairly clear-cut theories regarding how arrestin binds rhodopsin, what was totally unexpected is that both can occur," she says.

But what does this mean for the other senses and physiological functions controlled by other rhodopsin-like proteins? Rhodopsin is the most-studied member of the large family of G-protein coupled receptors, or GPCRs, and many well-known drugs target GPCRs. For example, when morphine binds to a GPCR, it affects the release of neurotransmitters in the brain and thus reduces pain signals. Meanwhile, beta-blockers, which are used to treat cardiac conditions and hypertension, block the activation of GPCRs by standing in the way of natural activating molecules.

"Nearly all GPCRs are normally bound by arrestin, and arrestin can greatly influence what happens to the GPCRs when they are acted on by drugs," says Sommer. "For example, many GPCR-targeted drugs become less effective with continued use. Part of this is because of arrestin. Arrestin binds to the activated GPCR and tells the cell to remove it from the cell surface. In other words, arrestin causes the cell to become less sensitive to the drug because it loses the receptors that normally catch the drug molecules."

By understanding how arrestin interacts with receptors like rhodopsin under healthy conditions, she says, researchers will be able to design better drugs that avoid such problems as desensitization.

More information: The resulting "Paper of the Week" appears in the March 4 print issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Breakthrough in possible treatment for dominant form of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Scientists have made a breakthrough in tackling a common form of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which can eventually lead to blindness.

The breakthrough tackles the rhodopsin gene alteration that causes this inherited form of RP. Rhodopsin-linked RP is variable and at least 150 different alterations in the gene have been identified in RP families worldwide. This makes developing a gene-based therapy very complex, if not impossible, if the treatment targets the specific alteration.

Researchers in the Smurfit Institute of Genetics at the Trinity College of Dublin have been working for 20 years to identify the genes and find a potential treatment for RP. The paper has been published in the Molecular Therapy. The research is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, Fighting Blindness Ireland and the National Neurovision Research Institute, USA.

The rhodopsin-linked form of RP is caused by a mutant form of the rhodopsin gene. The therapy works by switching off both copies of the gene, the normal and the altered copies. Simultaneously, a replacement rhodopsin gene is introduced which has been subtly altered so it cannot be suppressed. It encodes normal protein, which allows the photoreceptors to work normally. The research restored visual function in mice with a dominant rhodopsin-linked form of RP exactly replicating the form of the disease, which affects humans.

The scientists hope that this basic research will move into more preclinical work, including a larger mammal, and eventually move on to human clinical trials.

The scientists believe that the research’s implications stretched far beyond RP, and may be applicable to a lot of dominant diseases. The key to finding a cure is to suppress the mutant gene causing the problems. Since this is the dominant gene, it is harder to treat, and hence the success of this research is important to treat those dominant diseases where the mutant protein drives the disease process.

Physician scientists and researchers can access the article here.