TDP-43 dysfunction is an early pathogenic determinant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 pathology (FTLD-TDP), a devastating disorder currently without effective therapy. Here, we exploit a blood-brain-barrier (BBB)-permeable AAV (AAV-PHP.eB) that confers broad brain biodistribution to restore TDP-43 function in a TDP-43 deficient model (CamKIIa-CreER;Tardbp mice) that mimics the early stage of TDP-43 dysfunction occurring in FTLD-TDP. Intracerebroventricular delivery by AAV-PHP.eB of CTR, our previously characterized splicing repressor, revealed its accumulation in ~40% of adult hippocampal neurons. Remarkably, treatment of adult CamKIIa-CreER;Tardbp f/f mice with AAV-PHP.eB-CTR restored TDP-43 function, attenuated neuronal aberrant activity and memory deficits, and rescued neuron loss. Importantly, we showed that TDP-43's autoregulatory element restricts CTR expression to a physiological range. No overt phenotype was observed after long-term exposure to AAV-PHP.eB-CTR in aged mice, highlighting a favorable safety profile for this gene therapy. These results validate that BBB-crossing AAVs can deliver CTR with a biodistribution in the adult brain that is broad enough to rescue FTD-like phenotypes, supporting clinical testing of this gene therapy for FTLD-TDP.
Keywords: AAV; AD-TDP; FTLD-TDP; LATE; TDP-43 dysfunction; biodistribution; cryptic exons; forebrain neuron; gene therapy; hyperactivity; memory deficit; mouse model; splicing repressor.