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Emerging strategies for cell and gene therapy of the muscular dystrophies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2009

Lindsey A. Muir
Affiliation:
Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Jeffrey S. Chamberlain*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center, Department of Biochemistry, and Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: Jeffrey S. Chamberlain, Department of Neurology, University of Washington School of Medicine, HSB Room K233, Box 357720, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. Tel: +1 206 616 6645; Fax: +1 206 616 8272; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The muscular dystrophies are a heterogeneous group of over 40 disorders that are characterised by muscle weakness and wasting. The most common are Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker muscular dystrophy, which result from mutations within the gene encoding dystrophin; myotonic dystrophy type 1, which results from an expanded trinucleotide repeat in the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase gene; and facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, which is associated with contractions in the subtelomeric region of human chromosome 1. Currently the only treatments involve clinical management of symptoms, although several promising experimental strategies are emerging. These include gene therapy using adeno-associated viral, lentiviral and adenoviral vectors and nonviral vectors, such as plasmid DNA. Exon-skipping and cell-based therapies have also shown promise in the effective treatment and regeneration of dystrophic muscle. The availability of numerous animal models for Duchenne muscular dystrophy has enabled extensive testing of a wide range of therapeutic approaches for this type of disorder. Consequently, we focus here on the therapeutic developments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy as a model of the types of approaches being considered for various types of dystrophy. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each therapeutic strategy, as well as prospects and recent successes in the context of future clinical applications.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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Further reading, resources and contacts

Blake, D.J. et al. (2002) Function and genetics of dystrophin and dystrophin-related proteins in muscle. Physiological Reviews 82, 291-329CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Abmayr, S. and Chamberlain, J.S. (2006) The structure and function of dystrophin. In The Molecular Mechanisms in Muscular Dystrophy (Winder, S.J., eds), Landes Biosciences, Georgetown.Google Scholar
Chamberlain, J.S. and Rando, T.A., eds (2006) Duchenne muscular dystrophy: advances in therapeutics. Taylor & Francis Group, New York.Google Scholar
Odom, G. L., Gregorevic, P. and Chamberlain, J. S. (2007) Viral-mediated gene therapy for the muscular dystrophies: Successes, limitations and recent advances. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease 1772, 243-262Google Scholar
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) information on the dystrophin gene (DMD), available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), no. 300377:Google Scholar
Blake, D.J. et al. (2002) Function and genetics of dystrophin and dystrophin-related proteins in muscle. Physiological Reviews 82, 291-329CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Abmayr, S. and Chamberlain, J.S. (2006) The structure and function of dystrophin. In The Molecular Mechanisms in Muscular Dystrophy (Winder, S.J., eds), Landes Biosciences, Georgetown.Google Scholar
Chamberlain, J.S. and Rando, T.A., eds (2006) Duchenne muscular dystrophy: advances in therapeutics. Taylor & Francis Group, New York.Google Scholar
Odom, G. L., Gregorevic, P. and Chamberlain, J. S. (2007) Viral-mediated gene therapy for the muscular dystrophies: Successes, limitations and recent advances. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease 1772, 243-262Google Scholar
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) information on the dystrophin gene (DMD), available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), no. 300377:Google Scholar