Biological Efficacy and Toxicity of Diamidines in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Models

J Med Chem. 2015 Aug 13;58(15):5770-80. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b00356. Epub 2015 Jul 21.

Abstract

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a disease characterized by errors in alternative splicing, or "mis-splicing". The causative agent of mis-splicing in DM1 is an inherited CTG repeat expansion located in the 3' untranslated region of the DM protein kinase gene. When transcribed, CUG repeat expansion RNA sequesters muscleblind-like (MBNL) proteins, which constitute an important family of alternative splicing regulators. Sequestration of MBNL proteins results in the mis-splicing of its regulated transcripts. Previous work has demonstrated that pentamidine, a diamidine which is currently FDA-approved as an antiparasitic agent, was able to partially reverse mis-splicing in multiple DM1 models, albeit at toxic concentrations. In this study, we characterized a series of pentamidine analogues to determine their ability to reverse mis-splicing and their toxicity in vivo. Experiments in cell and mouse models demonstrated that compound 13, also known as furamidine, effectively reversed mis-splicing with equal efficacy and reduced toxicity compared to pentamidine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amidines / chemistry
  • Amidines / pharmacology
  • Amidines / therapeutic use*
  • Animals
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Male
  • Myotonic Dystrophy / drug therapy*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Amidines