%0 Journal Article
%T Natural History of Cone Disease in the Murine Model of Leber Congenital Amaurosis Due to CEP290 Mutation: Determining the Timing and Expectation of Therapy
%A Shannon E. Boye
%A Wei-Chieh Huang
%A Alejandro J. Roman
%A Alexander Sumaroka
%A Sanford L. Boye
%A Renee C. Ryals
%A Melani B. Olivares
%A Qing Ruan
%A Budd A. Tucker
%A Edwin M. Stone
%A Anand Swaroop
%A Artur V. Cideciyan
%A William W. Hauswirth
%A Samuel G. Jacobson
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2014
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0092928
%X Background Mutations in the CEP290 (cilia-centrosomal protein 290 kDa) gene in Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) cause early onset visual loss but retained cone photoreceptors in the fovea, which is the potential therapeutic target. A cone-only mouse model carrying a Cep290 gene mutation, rd16;Nrl£¿/£¿, was engineered to mimic the human disease. In the current study, we determined the natural history of retinal structure and function in this murine model to permit design of pre-clinical proof-of-concept studies and allow progress to be made toward human therapy. Analyses of retinal structure and visual function in CEP290-LCA patients were also performed for comparison with the results in the model. Methods Rd16;Nrl£¿/£¿ mice were studied in the first 90 days of life with optical coherence tomography (OCT), electroretinography (ERG), retinal histopathology and immunocytochemistry. Structure and function data from a cohort of patients with CEP290-LCA (n = 15; ages 7¨C48) were compared with those of the model. Results CEP290-LCA patients retain a central island of photoreceptors with normal thickness at the fovea (despite severe visual loss); the extent of this island declined slowly with age. The rd16;Nrl£¿/£¿ model also showed a relatively slow photoreceptor layer decline in thickness with ~80% remaining at 3 months. The number of pseudorosettes also became reduced. By comparison to single mutant Nrl£¿/£¿ mice, UV- and M-cone ERGs of rd16;Nrl£¿/£¿ were at least 1 log unit reduced at 1 month of age and declined further over the 3 months of monitoring. Expression of GNAT2 and S-opsin also decreased with age. Conclusions The natural history of early loss of photoreceptor function with retained cone cell nuclei is common to both CEP290-LCA patients and the rd16;Nrl£¿/£¿ murine model. Pre-clinical proof-of-concept studies for uniocular therapies would seem most appropriate to begin with intervention at P35¨C40 and re-study after one month by assaying interocular difference in the UV-cone ERG.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092928