Transient muscle expression of mitoARCUS in mice leads to sustained reductions in pathogenic mtDNA and reduces fatigability

Abstract

Mitochondrial myopathies are often caused by heteroplasmic mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In muscle, biochemical, pathological, and clinical impairments are observed only when the ratios of mutant/wild-type mtDNA are high. Because reductions in mutant mtDNA loads are essentially permanent, we reasoned that transient expression of a therapeutic mitochondrial nuclease could be sufficient to permanently alter heteroplasmy. We expressed a mitochondrial targeted gene editing nuclease (mitoARCUS) via intramuscular injection of lipid nanoparticle (LNP)/mRNA complexes in a mouse model of mtDNA disease (m.5024C>T in the mt-tRNA^Ala gene). Transient expression of mitoARCUS in the tibialis anterior (TA) led to a robust decrease in mtDNA mutation load, which was maintained up to 42 weeks after injection. A molecular marker of the mitochondrial defect in this model, namely low levels of mt-tRNA^Ala, were markedly improved in treated muscles. Muscle force assessment in situ after repeated stimulation showed that fatigability was improved in the treated TA. Finally, we showed that multi-muscle injections can alter mtDNA heteroplasmy essentially in whole limbs. These results demonstrate that transient expression of mitoARCUS via LNP/mRNA intramuscular injections have long-lasting positive effects in muscles afflicted with mitochondrial myopathy.

Keywords: LNP; mitochondrial myopathy; mtDNA; mtDNA editing.