High-Throughput Screening to Identify Inhibitors of the Type I Interferon-Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Pathway in Skeletal Muscle.

Immunosuppressants used to treat autoimmunity are often not curative and have many side effects. Our purpose was to identify therapeutics for autoimmunity of the skeletal muscle termed idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (myositis). Recent evidence shows that the pro-inflammatory type I interferons (IFN) and a downstream product major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I are pathogenic in myositis. We conducted quantitative high-throughput screening on >4500 compounds, including all approved drugs, through a series of cell-based assays to identify those that inhibit the type I IFN-MHC class I pathway in muscle precursor cells (myoblasts). The primary screen utilized CRISPR/Cas9 genome-engineered human myoblasts containing a pro-luminescent reporter HiBit fused to the C-terminus of endogenous MHC class I. Active compounds were counter-screened for cytotoxicity and validated by MHC class I immunofluorescence, Western blot, and RT-qPCR. Actives included Janus kinase inhibitors, with the most potent being ruxolitinib, and epigenetic/transcriptional modulators like histone deacetylase inhibitors and the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 inhibitor echinomycin. Testing in animal models and clinical trials is necessary to translate these therapies to myositis patients. These robust assay technologies can be further utilized to interrogate the basic mechanisms of the type I IFN-MHC class I pathway, identify novel molecular probes, and elucidate possible environmental triggers that may lead to myositis.

Muscle Weakness in Myositis: MicroRNA-Mediated Dystrophin Reduction in a Myositis Mouse Model and Human Muscle Biopsies.

OBJECTIVE: Muscle inflammation is a feature in myositis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Autoimmune mechanisms are thought to contribute to muscle weakness in patients with myositis. However, a lack of correlation between the extent of inflammatory cell infiltration and muscle weakness indicates that nonimmune pathologic mechanisms may play a role. The present study focused on 2 microRNA (miRNA) sets previously identified as being elevated in the muscle of patients with DMD-an "inflammatory" miRNA set that is dampened with glucocorticoids, and a "dystrophin-targeting" miRNA set that inhibits dystrophin translation-to test the hypothesis that these miRNAs are similarly dysregulated in the muscle of patients with myositis, and could contribute to muscle weakness and disease severity. METHODS: A major histocompatibility complex class I-transgenic mouse model of myositis was utilized to study gene and miRNA expression and histologic features in the muscle tissue, with the findings validated in human muscle biopsy tissue from 6 patients with myositis. Mice were classified as having mild or severe myositis based on transgene expression, body weight, histologic disease severity, and muscle strength/weakness. RESULTS: In mice with severe myositis, muscle tissue showed mononuclear cell infiltration along with elevated expression of type I interferon and NF-κB-regulated genes, including Tlr7 (3.8-fold increase, P < 0.05). Furthermore, mice with severe myositis showed elevated expression of inflammatory miRNAs (miR-146a, miR-142-3p, miR-142-5p, miR-455-3p, and miR-455-5p; ~3-40-fold increase, P < 0.05) and dystrophin-targeting miRNAs (miR-146a, miR-146b, miR-31, and miR-223; ~3-38-fold increase, P < 0.05). Bioinformatics analyses of chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data identified at least one NF-κB consensus element within the promoter/enhancer regions of these miRNAs. Western blotting and immunofluorescence analyses of the muscle tissue from mice with severe myositis demonstrated reduced levels of dystrophin. In addition, elevated levels of NF-κB-regulated genes, TLR7, and miRNAs along with reduced dystrophin levels were observed in muscle biopsy tissue from patients with histologically severe myositis. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that an acquired dystrophin deficiency may occur through NF-κB-regulated miRNAs in myositis, thereby suggesting a unifying theme in which muscle injury, inflammation, and weakness are perpetuated both in myositis and in DMD.

Morpholino-induced exon skipping stimulates cell-mediated and humoral responses to dystrophin in mdx mice.

Exon skipping is a promising genetic therapeutic strategy for restoring dystrophin expression in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The potential for newly synthesized dystrophin to trigger an immune response in DMD patients, however, is not well established. We have evaluated the effect of chronic phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO) treatment on skeletal muscle pathology and asked whether sustained dystrophin expression elicits a dystrophin-specific autoimmune response. Here, two independent cohorts of dystrophic mdx mice were treated chronically with either 800 mg/kg/month PMO for 6 months (n = 8) or 100 mg/kg/week PMO for 12 weeks (n = 11). We found that significant muscle inflammation persisted after exon skipping in skeletal muscle. Evaluation of humoral responses showed serum-circulating antibodies directed against de novo dystrophin in a subset of mice, as assessed both by Western blotting and immunofluorescent staining; however, no dystrophin-specific antibodies were observed in the control saline-treated mdx cohorts (n = 8) or in aged (12-month-old) mdx mice with expanded 'revertant' dystrophin-expressing fibers. Reactive antibodies recognized both full-length and truncated exon-skipped dystrophin isoforms in mouse skeletal muscle. We found more antigen-specific T-cell cytokine responses (e.g. IFN-g, IL-2) in dystrophin antibody-positive mice than in dystrophin antibody-negative mice. We also found expression of major histocompatibility complex class I on some of the dystrophin-expressing fibers along with CD8+ and perforin-positive T cells in the vicinity, suggesting an activation of cell-mediated damage had occurred in the muscle. Evaluation of complement membrane attack complex (MAC) deposition on the muscle fibers further revealed lower MAC deposition on muscle fibers of dystrophin antibody-negative mice than on those of dystrophin antibody-positive mice. Our results indicate that de novo dystrophin expression after exon skipping can trigger both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses in mdx mice. Our data highlights the need to further investigate the autoimmune response and its long-term consequences after exon-skipping therapy. Copyright © 2019 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Activation of the ubiquitin proteasome pathway in a mouse model of inflammatory myopathy: a potential therapeutic target.

OBJECTIVE: Myositis is characterized by severe muscle weakness. We and others have previously shown that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays a role in the pathogenesis of myositis. The present study was undertaken to identify perturbed pathways and assess their contribution to muscle disease in a mouse myositis model. METHODS: Stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) was used to identify alterations in the skeletal muscle proteome of myositic mice in vivo. Differentially altered protein levels identified in the initial comparisons were validated using a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry spike-in strategy and further confirmed by immunoblotting. In addition, we evaluated the effect of a proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, on the disease phenotype, using well-standardized functional, histologic, and biochemical assessments. RESULTS: With the SILAC technique we identified significant alterations in levels of proteins belonging to the ER stress response, ubiquitin proteasome pathway (UPP), oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis, cytoskeleton, and muscle contractile apparatus categories. We validated the myositis-related changes in the UPP and demonstrated a significant increase in the ubiquitination of muscle proteins as well as a specific increase in ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase isozyme L1 (UCHL-1) in myositis, but not in muscle affected by other dystrophies or normal muscle. Inhibition of the UPP with bortezomib significantly improved muscle function and also significantly reduced tumor necrosis factor α expression in the skeletal muscle of mice with myositis. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that ER stress activates downstream UPPs and contributes to muscle degeneration and that UCHL-1 is a potential biomarker for disease progression. UPP inhibition offers a potential therapeutic strategy for myositis.

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: pathogenic mechanisms of muscle weakness.

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are a heterogenous group of complex muscle diseases of unknown etiology. These diseases are characterized by progressive muscle weakness and damage, together with involvement of other organ systems. It is generally believed that the autoimmune response (autoreactive lymphocytes and autoantibodies) to skeletal muscle-derived antigens is responsible for the muscle fiber damage and muscle weakness in this group of disorders. Therefore, most of the current therapeutic strategies are directed at either suppressing or modifying immune cell activity. Recent studies have indicated that the underlying mechanisms that mediate muscle damage and dysfunction are multiple and complex. Emerging evidence indicates that not only autoimmune responses but also innate immune and non-immune metabolic pathways contribute to disease pathogenesis. However, the relative contributions of each of these mechanisms to disease pathogenesis are currently unknown. Here we discuss some of these complex pathways, their inter-relationships and their relation to muscle damage in myositis. Understanding the relative contributions of each of these pathways to disease pathogenesis would help us to identify suitable drug targets to alleviate muscle damage and also improve muscle weakness and quality of life for patients suffering from these debilitating muscle diseases.