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Developmental demands contribute to early neuromuscular degeneration in CMT2D mice

View ORCID ProfileJames N. Sleigh, Aleksandra M. Mech, View ORCID ProfileGiampietro Schiavo
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.21.106252
James N. Sleigh
1Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
2UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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  • For correspondence: j.sleigh@ucl.ac.uk
Aleksandra M. Mech
1Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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Giampietro Schiavo
1Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
2UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
3Discoveries Centre for Regenerative and Precision Medicine, University College London Campus, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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Abstract

Dominantly inherited, missense mutations in the widely expressed housekeeping gene, GARS1, cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2D (CMT2D), a peripheral neuropathy characterised by muscle weakness and wasting in limb extremities. Mice modelling CMT2D display early and selective neuromuscular junction (NMJ) pathology, epitomised by disturbed maturation and neurotransmission, leading to denervation. Indeed, the NMJ disruption has been reported in several different muscles; however, a systematic comparison of neuromuscular synapses from distinct body locations has yet to be performed. We therefore analysed NMJ development and degeneration across five different wholemount muscles to identify key synaptic features contributing to the distinct pattern of neurodegeneration in CMT2D mice. Denervation was found to occur along a distal-to-proximal gradient, providing a cellular explanation for the greater weakness observed in mutant Gars hindlimbs compared to forelimbs. Nonetheless, muscles from similar locations and innervated by axons of equivalent length showed significant differences in neuropathology, suggestive of additional factors impacting on site-specific neuromuscular degeneration. Defective NMJ development preceded and associated with degeneration, but was not linked to a delay of wild-type NMJ maturation processes. Correlation analyses indicate that muscle fibre type nor synaptic architecture explain the differential denervation of CMT2D NMJs, rather it is the extent of post-natal synaptic growth that predisposes to neurodegeneration. Together, this work improves our understanding of the mechanisms driving synaptic vulnerability in CMT2D and hints at pertinent pathogenic pathways.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted May 24, 2020.
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Developmental demands contribute to early neuromuscular degeneration in CMT2D mice
James N. Sleigh, Aleksandra M. Mech, Giampietro Schiavo
bioRxiv 2020.05.21.106252; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.21.106252
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Developmental demands contribute to early neuromuscular degeneration in CMT2D mice
James N. Sleigh, Aleksandra M. Mech, Giampietro Schiavo
bioRxiv 2020.05.21.106252; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.21.106252

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