GSE121286 Evaluation of APOL1 ASO in a novel model of APOL1-associated renal disease

We describe a novel physiologically-relevant genomic mouse model of APOL1-associated renal disease that expresses human APOL1 from the endogenous human promoter, resulting in expression in similar tissues and at similar relative levels as humans. While naïve genomic APOL1 transgenic mice did not e xhibit a renal disease phenotype, a single administration of IFNγ was sufficient to robustly induce proteinuria only in APOL1 G1 transgenic mice, despite inducing kidney APOL1 expression in both G0 and G1 mice, serving as a clinically-relevant “second hit.” We also report on the discovery of th e first APOL1 inhibitor, IONIS-APOL1Rx, a Generation 2.5 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) targeting APOL1 mRNA. Treatment of APOL1 G1 mice with IONIS-APOL1Rx prior to IFNγ challenge robustly and dose-dependently inhibited kidney and liver APOL1 expression and protected against IFNγ-induced proteinu ria, indicating that the disease-relevant cell types are sensitive to ASO treatment. Collectively, these data suggest that IONIS-APOL1Rx may be an effective therapeutic for APOL1 nephropathies and warrants further development.
Source: GEO: Gene Expression Omnibus - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing Mus musculus Source Type: research