Publikationen

PURPOSE: To establish a feasible and sensitive pupillographic protocol to assess outer and inner retinal function for the first gene therapy trial in achromatopsia patients (ACHM) with mutations in CNGA3.

METHODS: Twenty-seven CNGA3-ACHM patients and 22 age-matched control subjects were tested using chromatic pupillography. Three different protocols were established to assess the pupillary light reflex parameters and to create the final protocol. In the individual protocols, various stimulus parameters (i.e., intensity, duration, wavelength, adaptation states) were applied to evaluate the impact of these stimuli on the pupillary response in untreated ACHM patients.

RESULTS: In the light-adapted conditions, CNGA3-ACHM patients showed significantly reduced maximal amplitudes compared with the control group when using a 1-second high intensity (28-lux corneal illumination) blue or red stimulus (P < 0.005). In the dark-adapted conditions, CNGA3-ACHM patients unexpectedly revealed significantly increased maximal amplitudes when stimulating with red (1 second) or blue (4 ms and 1 second) stimuli of low intensity (0.01-lux corneal illumination; P < 0.05). Pupil responses of CNGA3-ACHM patients after high intensity (28 lux) red and blue 1-second stimuli were within the normal range.

CONCLUSIONS: Chromatic pupillography demonstrated significant reduced pupil responses to stimuli addressing primarily cone function, an increased sensitivity to rod-favoring stimuli and evidence for disinhibition of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in CNGA3-ACHM patients. A final protocol was established based on these findings. These conclusions may be useful for the objective assessment of efficacy gained by gene therapy or other innovative interventions in this hereditary retinal disorder.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to clinically characterize patients with CNGA3-linked achromatopsia (CNGA3-ACHM) in preparation of a gene therapy trial.

METHODS: Thirty-six patients (age 7-56 years) with complete (cACHM) or incomplete (iACHM) CNGA3-ACHM were examined, including detailed psychophysical tests, extended electrophysiology, and assessment of morphology by fundus autofluorescence and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).

RESULTS: Mean best-corrected visual acuity was 0.78 ± 0.14 logMAR. Color vision tests were consistent with a rod-dominated function in every cACHM patient. Microperimetry indicated an overall lowered retinal sensitivity within 20° of visual field. In electroretinography (ERG), photopic responses were nondetectable in cACHM patients, but residual cone responses were observed in the iACHM patients. Scotopic responses were altered referring to anomalies of photoreceptor and postreceptor signaling, whereas in voltage versus intensity functions, Vmax was significantly below normal values (P < 0.05). In contrast, slope (n) and semisaturation intensity (K) were found to be within normal limits. Spectral-domain OCT examination showed no specific changes in 14.7%, disruption of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) at the fovea in 38.2%, absent EZ in 17.7%, a hyporeflective zone in 20.5%, and outer retinal atrophy in 8.9% of all cases and foveal hypoplasia in 29 patients (85%). No correlation of retinal morphology with visual function or with a specific genotype was found. The severity of morphologic and functional changes lacked a robust association with age.

CONCLUSIONS: Our extended investigations prove that even among such a genetically homogenous group of patients, no specific correlations regarding function and morphology severity and age can be observed. Therefore, the therapeutic window seems to be wider than previously indicated.

BACKGROUND: Gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) is currently being validated in several clinical trials and is becoming a promising therapeutic option for these previously incurable diseases.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review is to give an overview of the concept, the application and the challenges associated with gene therapy. In particular, the pertinence of gene therapy for IRDs will be highlighted along with ongoing clinical trials in the field.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic review of relevant entries on gene therapy and on gene therapy for IRDs, in particular in PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov.

RESULTS: Gene therapy is emerging not only as a therapy for monogenetic retinal diseases but also for complex genetic diseases, such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The discovery of adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) has marked a great improvement for IRD gene therapy. All clinical studies since 2006 demonstrated the safety and initial efficacy; however, not all expectations based on very successful preclinical studies were met.

CONCLUSION: In future we can expect gene therapy to continue to become more clinically relevant. More than ever, it is now essential to generate precise characterizations of the natural disease progression of IRDs through observational or retrospective studies in order to guarantee a most effective study design.

Mutations in the PDE6A gene can cause rod photoreceptors degeneration and the blinding disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP). While a number of pathogenic PDE6A mutations have been described, little is known about their impact on compound heterozygous situations and potential interactions of different disease-causing alleles. Here, we used a novel mouse model for the Pde6a R562W mutation in combination with an existing line carrying the V685M mutation to generate compound heterozygous Pde6a V685M/R562W animals, exactly homologous to a case of human RP. We compared the progression of photoreceptor degeneration in these compound heterozygous mice with the homozygous V685M and R562W mutants, and additionally with the D670G line that is known for a relatively mild phenotype. We investigated PDE6A expression, cyclic guanosine mono-phosphate accumulation, calpain and caspase activity, in vivo retinal function and morphology, as well as photoreceptor cell death and survival. This analysis confirms the severity of different Pde6a mutations and indicates that compound heterozygous mutants behave like intermediates of the respective homozygous situations. Specifically, the severity of the four different Pde6a situations may be categorized by the pace of photoreceptor degeneration: V685M (fastest) > V685M/R562W > R562W > D670G (slowest). While calpain activity was strongly increased in all four mutants, caspase activity was not. This points to the execution of non-apoptotic cell death and may lead to the identification of new targets for therapeutic interventions. For individual RP patients, our study may help to predict time-courses for Pde6a-related retinal degeneration and thereby facilitate the definition of a window-of-opportunity for clinical interventions.

Deficiencies in rod-specific cyclic guanosinemonophosphate (cGMP)phosphodiesterase-6 (PDE6) are the third most common cause of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Previously, viral gene therapy approaches on pre-clinical models with mutations in PDE6 have demonstrated that the photoreceptor cell survivalandvisual function can be rescued when the gene therapy virus is delivered into the subretinal space before the onset of disease. However, no studies have currently been published that analyze rescue effects after disease onset, a time when human RP patients are diagnosed by a clinician and would receive the treatment. We utilized the AAV2/8(Y733F)-Rho-Pde6a gene therapy virus and injected it into a pre-clinical model of RP with a mutation within the alpha subunit of PDE6: Pde6aD670G. These mice were previously shown to have long-term photoreceptor cell rescue when this gene therapy virus was delivered before the onset of disease. Now, we have determined that subretinal transduction of this rod-specific transgene at post-natal day (P) 21, when approximately half of the photoreceptor cells have undergone degeneration, is more efficient in rescuing cone than rod photoreceptor function long term. Therefore, AAV2/8(Y733F)-Rho-Pde6a is an effective gene therapy treatment that can be utilized in the clinical setting, in human patients who have lost portions of their peripheral visual field and are in the mid-stage of disease when they first present to an eye-care professional.

Achromatopsia is an autosomal recessive inherited retinal disease caused by a complete loss of cone photoreceptor function. About 80 % of achromatopsia patients show mutations in the alpha or beta subunit (A3 and B3) of the cGMP controlled cation channel CNG (cyclic nucleotide-gated channel) of cone photoreceptors. Homologous to the human disease, CNGA3 deficient mice reveal a loss of cone specific functionality leading to degeneration of affected cone photoreceptors. The Institute for Ophthalmic Research in Tübingen has now succeeded in curing achromatopsia ACHM2 in an animal model. In this article, we explain the recombinant adeno-associated virus-based approach in detail. Furthermore, applied non-invasive diagnostic techniques for quality and success control, ERG, SLO and OCT, are described. The success of the therapy is indicated by a restored cone photoreceptor function as well as the neuronal processing of retinal signals resulting in a specific, cone-mediated behaviour. The outstanding results derived from the animal model are the starting point for the first human translation of a gene therapy for achromatopsia in Germany.

Congenital absence of cone photoreceptor function is associated with strongly impaired daylight vision and loss of color discrimination in human achromatopsia. Here, we introduce viral gene replacement therapy as a potential treatment for this disease in the CNGA3−/− mouse model. We show that such therapy can restore conespecific visual processing in the central nervous system even if cone photoreceptors had been nonfunctional from birth. The restoration of cone vision was assessed at different stages along the visual pathway. Treated CNGA3−/− mice were able to generate cone photoreceptor responses and to transfer these signals to bipolar cells. In support, we found morphologically that treated cones expressed regular cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channel complexes and opsins in outer segments, which previously they did not. Moreover, expression of CNGA3 normalized cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels in cones, delayed cone cell death and reduced the inflammatory response of Müller glia cells that is typical of retinal degenerations. Furthermore, ganglion cells from treated, but not from untreated, CNGA3−/− mice displayed cone-driven, light-evoked, spiking activity, indicating that signals generated in the outer retina are transmitted to the brain. Finally, we demonstrate that this newly acquired sensory information was translated into cone-mediated, vision-guided behavior.