L-Carnitine ameliorates congenital myopathy in a tropomyosin 3 de novo mutation transgenic zebrafish.

BACKGROUND: Congenital myopathy (CM) is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous muscle disorders, characterized by muscle weakness and hypotonia from birth. Currently, no definite treatment exists for CM. A de novo mutation in Tropomyosin 3-TPM3(E151G) was identified from a boy diagnosed with CM, previously TPM3(E151A) was reported to cause CM. However, the role of TPM3(E151G) in CM is unknown. METHODS: Histopathological, swimming behavior, and muscle endurance were monitored in TPM3 wild-type and mutant transgenic fish, modelling CM. Gene expression profiling of muscle of the transgenic fish were studied through RNAseq, and mitochondria respiration was investigated. RESULTS: While TPM3(WT) and TPM3(E151A) fish show normal appearance, amazingly a few TPM3(E151G) fish display either no tail, a crooked body in both F0 and F1 adults. Using histochemical staining for the muscle biopsy, we found TPM3(E151G) displays congenital fiber type disproportion and TPM3(E151A) resembles nemaline myopathy. TPM3(E151G) transgenic fish dramatically swimming slower than those in TPM3(WT) and TPM3(E151A) fish measured by DanioVision and T-maze, and exhibit weaker muscle endurance by swimming tunnel instrument. Interestingly, L-carnitine treatment on TPM3(E151G) transgenic larvae significantly improves the muscle endurance by restoring the basal respiration and ATP levels in mitochondria. With RNAseq transcriptomic analysis of the expression profiling from the muscle specimens, it surprisingly discloses large downregulation of genes involved in pathways of sodium, potassium, and calcium channels, which can be rescued by L-carnitine treatment, fatty acid metabolism was differentially dysregulated in TPM3(E151G) fish and rescued by L-carnitine treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that TPM3(E151G) and TPM3(E151A) exhibit different pathogenicity, also have distinct gene regulatory profiles but the ion channels were downregulated in both mutants, and provides a potential mechanism of action of TPM3 pathophysiology. Our results shed a new light in the future development of potential treatment for TPM3-related CM.

Creatine and L-carnitine attenuate muscular laminopathy in the LMNA mutation transgenic zebrafish.

Lamin A/C gene (LMNA) mutations contribute to severe striated muscle laminopathies, affecting cardiac and skeletal muscles, with limited treatment options. In this study, we delve into the investigations of five distinct LMNA mutations, including three novel variants and two pathogenic variants identified in patients with muscular laminopathy. Our approach employs zebrafish models to comprehensively study these variants. Transgenic zebrafish expressing wild-type LMNA and each mutation undergo extensive morphological profiling, swimming behavior assessments, muscle endurance evaluations, heartbeat measurement, and histopathological analysis of skeletal muscles. Additionally, these models serve as platform for focused drug screening. We explore the transcriptomic landscape through qPCR and RNAseq to unveil altered gene expression profiles in muscle tissues. Larvae of LMNA(L35P), LMNA(E358K), and LMNA(R453W) transgenic fish exhibit reduced swim speed compared to LMNA(WT) measured by DanioVision. All LMNA transgenic adult fish exhibit reduced swim speed compared to LMNA(WT) in T-maze. Moreover, all LMNA transgenic adult fish, except LMNA(E358K), display weaker muscle endurance than LMNA(WT) measured by swimming tunnel. Histochemical staining reveals decreased fiber size in all LMNA mutations transgenic fish, excluding LMNA(WT) fish. Interestingly, LMNA(A539V) and LMNA(E358K) exhibited elevated heartbeats. We recognize potential limitations with transgene overexpression and conducted association calculations to explore its effects on zebrafish phenotypes. Our results suggest lamin A/C overexpression may not directly impact mutant phenotypes, such as impaired swim speed, increased heart rates, or decreased muscle fiber diameter. Utilizing LMNA zebrafish models for drug screening, we identify L-carnitine treatment rescuing muscle endurance in LMNA(L35P) and creatine treatment reversing muscle endurance in LMNA(R453W) zebrafish models. Creatine activates AMPK and mTOR pathways, improving muscle endurance and swim speed in LMNA(R453W) fish. Transcriptomic profiling reveals upstream regulators and affected genes contributing to motor dysfunction, cardiac anomalies, and ion flux dysregulation in LMNA mutant transgenic fish. These findings faithfully mimic clinical manifestations of muscular laminopathies, including dysmorphism, early mortality, decreased fiber size, and muscle dysfunction in zebrafish. Furthermore, our drug screening results suggest L-carnitine and creatine treatments as potential rescuers of muscle endurance in LMNA(L35P) and LMNA(R453W) zebrafish models. Our study offers valuable insights into the future development of potential treatments for LMNA-related muscular laminopathy.