Localizing the RPGR protein along the cilium: A new method to determine efficacies to treat RPGR mutations

Abstract

Retinal dystrophies constitute a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous diseases that cause visual impairment. As treatments are not readily available, readout assays performed in patient-derived cells can aid in the development and comparative analysis of therapeutic approaches. We describe a new method with which the localization of the retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR) protein along the cilium can be used as a measure for treatment efficacy. In a patient-derived fibroblast cell line, we found that the RPGR protein is mislocalized along the ciliary axoneme. The patient carried a point mutation that leads to skipping of RPGR exon 10. We confirmed that this skipping is causative for the impaired localization of RPGR using a U7 small nuclear RNA (U7snRNA)-based antisense approach in control cells. Treatment of the patient-derived fibroblasts with therapeutic U1snRNA significantly corrected the proteins' mislocalization. In this proof of principle study, we show that detecting the RPGR protein along the cilium provides a reliable and quantifiable readout assay to evaluate the efficacy of therapies intended to correct or silence RPGR gene mutations. This method opens the possibility to compare different therapeutic agents, and thus facilitate the identification of treatment options for the clinically and molecularly complex RPGR-associated diseases.