ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc alleviates muscle dysfunction and comorbidities in murine models of neuromuscular disorders
Jia Li, … , Ravindra Kumar, Rajasekhar N.V.S. Suragani
Jia Li, … , Ravindra Kumar, Rajasekhar N.V.S. Suragani
Published February 15, 2021
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2021;131(4):e138634. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI138634.
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Research Article Muscle biology Neuroscience

ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc alleviates muscle dysfunction and comorbidities in murine models of neuromuscular disorders

Abstract

Patients with neuromuscular disorders suffer from a lack of treatment options for skeletal muscle weakness and disease comorbidities. Here, we introduce as a potential therapeutic agent a heterodimeric ligand-trapping fusion protein, ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc, which comprises extracellular domains of activin-like kinase 4 (ALK4) and activin receptor type IIB (ActRIIB), a naturally occurring pair of type I and II receptors belonging to the TGF-β superfamily. By surface plasmon resonance (SPR), ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc exhibited a ligand binding profile distinctly different from that of its homodimeric variant ActRIIB-Fc, sequestering ActRIIB ligands known to inhibit muscle growth but not trapping the vascular regulatory ligand bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9). ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc and ActRIIB-Fc administered to mice exerted differential effects — concordant with SPR results — on vessel outgrowth in a retinal explant assay. ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc induced a systemic increase in muscle mass and function in wild-type mice and in murine models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and disuse atrophy. Importantly, ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc improved neuromuscular junction abnormalities in murine models of DMD and presymptomatic ALS and alleviated acute muscle fibrosis in a DMD model. Furthermore, in combination therapy ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc increased the efficacy of antisense oligonucleotide M12-PMO on dystrophin expression and skeletal muscle endurance in an aged DMD model. ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc shows promise as a therapeutic agent, alone or in combination with dystrophin rescue therapy, to alleviate muscle weakness and comorbidities of neuromuscular disorders.

Authors

Jia Li, Maureen Fredericks, Marishka Cannell, Kathryn Wang, Dianne Sako, Michelle C. Maguire, Rosa Grenha, Katia Liharska, Lavanya Krishnan, Troy Bloom, Elitza P. Belcheva, Pedro A. Martinez, Roselyne Castonguay, Sarah Keates, Mark J. Alexander, Hyunwoo Choi, Asya V. Grinberg, R. Scott Pearsall, Paul Oh, Ravindra Kumar, Rajasekhar N.V.S. Suragani

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Figure 2

ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc provides preventive and therapeutic benefits in a mouse model of disuse atrophy.

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ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc provides preventive and therapeutic benefits in a mouse ...
(A) Experimental design depicting immobilized and remobilized cohorts of mice with hind-limb immobilization treated with ActRIIB:ALK4-Fc or vehicle (PBS) twice weekly for 14 days. (B) TA muscle mass after immobilization normalized to contralateral muscle. (C) TA muscle mass after remobilization normalized to contralateral muscle. (D) Laminin-stained sections of TA muscle. Scale bars: 250 μm. (E and F) Effect of treatment on the distribution of muscle fiber diameters in the immobilized and remobilized cohorts. (G) Peak tetanic force of the TA muscle after immobilization and remobilization normalized to contralateral muscle. Data are means ± SEM (n = 8 per group). Group differences (B, C, and G) were assessed by unpaired Student’s t test. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001.