Lentiviral delivery of human erythropoietin attenuates hippocampal atrophy and improves cognition in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease.

In this study, the therapeutic potential of EPO was evaluated in female R6/2 transgenic mice. A single bilateral injection of a lentivirus encoding human EPO (LV-hEPO) was performed into the lateral ventricles of R6/2 mice at disease onset (8 weeks of age). Control groups were either untreated or injected with a lentivirus encoding green fluorescent protein (LV-GFP). Thirty days after virus administration, hEPO mRNA and protein were present in injected R6/2 brains. Compared to control R6/2 mice, LV-hEPO-treated R6/2 mice exhibited reduced hippocampal atrophy, increased neuroblast branching towards the dentate granular cell layer, and improved spatial cognition. Our results suggest that LV-hEPO administration may be a promising strategy to reduce cognitive impairment in HD. PMID: 32702387 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32702387?dopt=Abstract

Source: Neurobiology of Disease - July 19, 2020 Category: Neurology Authors: Rolfes S, Munro DAD, Lyras EM, Matute E, Ouk K, Harms C, Böttcher C, Priller J Tags: Neurobiol Dis Source Type: research