Biology subjects

Sho, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Sho, J..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Mutation-agnostic gene insertion therapy for RHO-associated autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa using zinc finger nucleases

PurposeAutosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa caused by mutations in the rhodopsin gene (RHO-adRP) is among the most prevalent inherited retinal dystrophies. With nearly 100 distinct pathogenic variants identified to date, the mutational heterogeneity of RHO-adRP severely limits the clinical utility of mutation-specific therapeutic strategies. We aimed to develop a mutation-agnostic gene insertion therapy using homology-independent targeted integration (HITI) mediated by zinc finger nuclease ZF-ND1 targeting the human RHO 5'-UTR, and to validate its preclinical efficacy, safety, proof-of-concept, and proof-of-mechanism. MethodsWe developed two AAV serotype 5 (AAV5) vectors: one encoding the ZF-ND1 pair (AAV5-ZFN) and one carrying the therapeutic donor cassette (AAV5-RHO), delivered by subretinal co-injection. ZF pairs targeting the RHO 5'-UTR were arranged and refined by in vitro validation; AAV vector optimization and mechanistic verification were performed in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived retinal organoids-derived retinal organoids; longitudinal proof-of-concept efficacy and safety were assessed in a humanized RHO-T17M rat disease model by 6-month optical coherence tomography (OCT); and proof-of-mechanism was evaluated in non-human primate retina. ResultsWe identified a ZF-ND1 pair achieving cleavage efficiency comparable to the SpCas9 RNP previously validated for HITI-mediated editing in mouse retina, and optimized the ZF array composition and NLS configuration for efficient editing especially in post-mitotic photoreceptors. HITI-mediated donor integration was confirmed across multiple cell types and ZFN:donor ratios. In the humanized rat disease model, the therapeutic vector provided outer nuclear layer (ONL) preservation by 6 months, with AAV5-ZFN:AAV5-RHO ratios of 1:1 and 1:2 maintaining ONL thickness above the preservation threshold. In the non-human primate retina, the fraction of HITI-edited rod photoreceptors exceeded the 20% therapeutic correction threshold in the successfully treated individual. ConclusionsThese findings support the advancement of this therapeutic vector to first-in-human trials as a mutation-agnostic insertion therapy applicable to all patients with RHO-adRP, irrespective of the specific causative variant.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2023

Efficient workflow for validating homology-independent targeted integration-mediated gene insertion in rod photoreceptor cells to treat dominant-negative mutations causing retinitis pigmentosa

Among the genome-editing methods for repairing disease-causing mutations resulting in dominant inhibition, homology-independent targeted integration (HITI)-mediated gene insertion of the normal form of the causative gene is useful because it allows the development of mutation-agnostic therapeutic products. For the rapid optimization and validation of highly effective HITI-treatment gene constructs against dominant-negative inheritance of inherited retinal dystrophy, we improved the gene constructs available in both plasmid and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, and established a workflow that uses in vivo electroporation to verify the in vivo efficacy. By targeting the mouse Rhodopsin gene, we derived a construct in which HITI-mediated gene insertion occurs in 80%-90% of transduced mouse rod photoreceptor cells. This construct suppressed degeneration and induced visual restoration in the mutant mice. The HITI-treatment constructs for the rhodopsin gene were shown to be effective in AAV vectors, and this construction is available for the mouse Peripherin 2 gene. These findings suggest that the workflow reported here may be useful for the generation of HITI-treatment constructs for various target genes and for the development of gene therapy products.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Self-organization, quality control, and preclinical studies of human iPSC-derived retinal sheets for tissue-transplantation therapy

Three-dimensional retinal organoids (3D-retinas) are a promising graft source for transplantation therapy. We previously developed self-organizing culture for 3D-retina generation from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Here we present a quality control method and preclinical studies for tissue-sheet transplantation. Self-organizing hPSCs differentiated into both retinal and off-target tissues. Gene expression analyses identified the major off-target tissues as eye-related, cortex-like, and spinal cord-like tissues. For quality control, we developed a qPCR-based test in which each hPSC-derived neuroepithelium was dissected into two tissue-sheets: inner-central sheet for transplantation and outer-peripheral sheet for qPCR to ensure retinal tissue selection. During qPCR, tissue-sheets were stored for 3-4 days using a newly developed preservation method. In a rat tumorigenicity study, no transplant-related adverse events were observed. In retinal degeneration model rats, retinal transplants differentiated into mature photoreceptors and exhibited light responses in electrophysiology assays. These results demonstrate our rationale toward self-organizing retinal sheet transplantation therapy.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Genetically engineered retina for improved retinal reconstruction after transplantation

ES/iPS-retinal sheet transplantation, which supplies photoreceptors as well as other retinal cells, has been shown able to restore visual function in mice with end-stage retinal degeneration. Here, by introducing a novel type of genetically engineered ES/iPS-retinal sheet with reduced numbers of secondary retinal neurons but intact photoreceptor cell layer structure, we reinforced the evidence that ES/iPS-retinal sheet transplantation can establish synaptic connections with the host, restore light responsiveness and reduce aberrant RGC spiking. Furthermore, we show that genetically engineered grafts can substantially improve the outcome of the treatment by improving neural integration. We speculate that this leads to reduced spontaneous activity in the host which in turn contributes to a better visual recovery.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Inducing Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium-like Cells from Somatic Tissue

Regenerative medicine relies on basic research to find safe and useful outcomes that are only practical when cost-effective. The human eyeball requires the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) for support and maintenance that interfaces the neural retina and the choroid at large. Nearly 200 million people suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a blinding multifactor genetic disease among other retinal pathologies related to RPE degradation. Recently, autologous pluripotent stem cell-derived RPE cells were prohibitively expensive due to time, therefore we developed a new simplified cell reprogramming system. We stably induced RPE-like cells (iRPE) from human fibroblasts by conditional overexpression of broad plasticity and lineage-specific pioneering transcription factors. iRPE cells showed features of modern RPE benchmarks and significant in-vivo integration in transplanted chimeric hosts. Herein, we detail the iRPE system with comprehensive modern single-cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing profiling to interpret and characterize its best cells. We anticipate that our system may enable robust retinal cell induction for regenerative medicine research and affordable autologous human RPE tissue for cell therapy.

bioengineering↗