Utrophin up-regulation by artificial transcription factors induces muscle rescue and impacts the neuromuscular junction in mdx mice.

Up-regulation of the dystrophin-related gene utrophin represents a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). In order to re-program the utrophin expression level in muscle, we engineered artificial zinc finger transcription factors (ZF-ATFs) that target the utrophin 'A' promoter. We have previously shown that the ZF-ATF "Jazz", either by transgenic manipulation or by systemic adeno-associated viral delivery, induces significant rescue of muscle function in dystrophic "mdx" mice. We present the full characterization of an upgraded version of Jazz gene named "JZif1" designed to minimize any possible host immune response. JZif1 was engineered on the Zif268 gene-backbone using selective amino acid substitutions to address JZif1 to the utrophin 'A' promoter. Here, we show that JZif1 induces remarkable amelioration of the pathological phenotype in mdx mice. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying Jazz and JZif1 induced muscle functional rescue, we focused on utrophin related pathways. Coherently with utrophin subcellular localization and role in neuromuscular junction (NMJ) plasticity, we found that our ZF-ATFs positively impact the NMJ. We report on ZF-ATF effects on post-synaptic membranes in myogenic cell line, as well as in wild type and mdx mice. These results candidate our ZF-ATFs as novel therapeutic molecules for DMD treatment.

Multi-hallmark long noncoding RNA maps reveal non-small cell lung cancer vulnerabilities.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are widely dysregulated in cancer, yet their functional roles in cancer hallmarks remain unclear. We employ pooled CRISPR deletion to perturb 831 lncRNAs detected in KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and measure their contribution to proliferation, chemoresistance, and migration across two cell backgrounds. Integrative analysis of these data outperforms conventional "dropout" screens in identifying cancer genes while prioritizing disease-relevant lncRNAs with pleiotropic and background-independent roles. Altogether, 80 high-confidence oncogenic lncRNAs are active in NSCLC, which tend to be amplified and overexpressed in tumors. A follow-up antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) screen shortlisted two candidates, Cancer Hallmarks in Lung LncRNA 1 (CHiLL1) and GCAWKR, whose knockdown consistently suppressed cancer hallmarks in two- and three-dimension tumor models. Molecular phenotyping reveals that CHiLL1 and GCAWKR control cellular-level phenotypes via distinct transcriptional networks. This work reveals a multi-dimensional functional lncRNA landscape underlying NSCLC that contains potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.