Swimming in Deep Water: Zebrafish Modeling of Complicated Forms of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia and Spastic Ataxia

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) systems have evolved in bacteria and archaea as a defense mechanism to silence foreign nucleic acids of viruses and plasmids. Recent work has shown that bacterial type II CRISPR systems can be adapted to create guide RNAs (gRNAs) capable of directing site-specific DNA cleavage by the Cas9 nuclease in vitro. Here we show that this system can function in vivo to induce targeted genetic modifications in zebrafish embryos with efficiencies comparable to those obtained using ZFNs and TALENs for the same genes. RNA-guided nucleases robustly enabled genome editing at 9 of 11 different sites tested, including two for which TALENs previously failed to induce alterations. These results demonstrate that programmable CRISPR/Cas systems provide a simple, rapid, and highly scalable method for altering genes in vivo, opening the door to using RNA-guided nucleases for genome editing in a wide range of organisms.

Background: Hereditary cerebellar ataxias (HCA) and hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP) are two groups of neurodegenerative disorders that usually present with progressive gait impairment, often leading to permanent disability. Advances in genetic research in the last decades have improved their diagnosis and brought new possibilities for prevention and future treatments. Still, there is great uncertainty regarding their global epidemiology. Summary: Our objective was to assess the global distribution and prevalence of HCA and HSP by a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence studies. The MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched (1983-2013) for studies performed in well-defined populations and geographical regions. Two independent reviewers assessed the studies and extracted data and predefined methodological parameters. Overall, 22 studies were included, reporting on 14,539 patients from 16 countries. Multisource population-based studies yielded higher prevalence values than studies based primarily on hospitals or genetic centres. The prevalence range of dominant HCA was 0.0-5.6/10 5 , with an average of 2.7/10 5 (1.5-4.0/10 5 ). Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3)/Machado-Joseph disease was the most common dominant ataxia, followed by SCA2 and SCA6. The autosomal recessive (AR) HCA (AR-HCA) prevalence range was 0.0-7.2/10 5 , the average being 3.3/10 5 (1.8-4.9/10 5 ). Friedreich ataxia was the most frequent AR-HCA, followed by ataxia with oculomotor apraxia or ataxia-telangiectasia. The prevalence of autosomal dominant (AD) HSP (AD-HSP) ranged from 0.5 to 5.5/10 5 and that of AR-HSP from 0.0 to 5.3/10 5 , with pooled averages of 1.8/10 5 (95% CI: 1.0-2.7/10 5 ) and 1.8/10 5 (95% CI: 1.0-2.6/10 5 ), respectively. The most common AD-HSP form in every population was spastic paraplegia, autosomal dominant, type 4 (SPG4), followed by SPG3A, while SPG11 was the most frequent AR-HSP, followed by SPG15. In population-based studies, the number of families without genetic diagnosis after systematic testing ranged from 33 to 92% in the AD-HCA group, and was 40-46% in the AR-HCA, 45-67% in the AD-HSP and 71-82% in the AR-HSP groups. Key Messages: Highly variable prevalence values for HCA and HSP are reported across the world. This variation reflects the different genetic make-up of the populations, but also methodological heterogeneity. Large areas of the world remain without prevalence studies. From the available data, we estimated that around 1:10,000 people are affected by HCA or HSP. In spite of advances in genetic research, most families in population-based series remain without identified genetic mutation after extensive testing.

Establishment and maintenance of proper architecture is essential for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) function. Homotypic membrane fusion is required for ER biogenesis and maintenance, and has been shown to depend on GTP hydrolysis. Here we demonstrate that Drosophila Atlastin--the fly homologue of the mammalian GTPase atlastin 1 involved in hereditary spastic paraplegia--localizes on ER membranes and that its loss causes ER fragmentation. Drosophila Atlastin embedded in distinct membranes has the ability to form trans-oligomeric complexes and its overexpression induces enlargement of ER profiles, consistent with excessive fusion of ER membranes. In vitro experiments confirm that Atlastin autonomously drives membrane fusion in a GTP-dependent fashion. In contrast, GTPase-deficient Atlastin is inactive, unable to form trans-oligomeric complexes owing to failure to self-associate, and incapable of promoting fusion in vitro. These results demonstrate that Atlastin mediates membrane tethering and fusion and strongly suggest that it is the GTPase activity that is required for ER homotypic fusion.