Functional repair of a mutant chloride channel using a trans-splicing ribozyme.
RNA repair has been proposed as a novel gene-based therapeutic strategy. Modified Tetrahymena group I intron ribozymes have been used to mediate trans-splicing of therapeutically relevant RNA transcripts, but the efficiency of the ribozyme-mediated RNA repair process has not been determined precisely and subsequent restoration of protein function has been demonstrated only by indirect means. We engineered a ribozyme that targets the mRNA of a mutant canine skeletal muscle chloride channel (cClC-1) (mutation T268M in ClC-1 causing myotonia congenita) and replaces the mutant-containing 3' portion by trans-splicing the corresponding 4-kb wild-type sequence. Repair efficiency assessed by quantitative RT-PCR was 1.2% +/- 0.1% in a population of treated cells. However, when chloride channel function was examined in single cells, a wide range of electrophysiological activity was observed, with 18% of cells exhibiting significant functional restoration and some cells exhibiting complete rescue of the biophysical phenotype. These results indicate that RNA repair can restore wild-type protein activity and reveal considerable cell-to-cell variability in ribozyme-mediated trans-splicing reaction efficiency.
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Related Subject Headings
- Trans-Splicing
- Tetrahymena
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- RNA, Messenger
- RNA, Catalytic
- Protozoan Proteins
- Patch-Clamp Techniques
- Myotonia Congenita
- Mutation
- Muscle, Skeletal
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Trans-Splicing
- Tetrahymena
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- RNA, Messenger
- RNA, Catalytic
- Protozoan Proteins
- Patch-Clamp Techniques
- Myotonia Congenita
- Mutation
- Muscle, Skeletal