Publications by authors named "Zih-Liang Yang"

A G4C2 hexanucleotide repeat expansion in is the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (C9ALS/FTD). Bidirectional transcription and subsequent repeat-associated non-AUG (RAN) translation of sense and antisense transcripts leads to the formation of five dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins. These DPRs are toxic in a wide range of cell and animal models.

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Article Synopsis
  • Spastic paraplegia 47 (SPG47) results from mutations in the AP4B1 gene, leading to symptoms like progressive spastic paraplegia, developmental delays, intellectual disability, and epilepsy.
  • Researchers used a gene therapy approach with a viral vector (AAV9/hAP4B1) to deliver the correct AP4B1 gene into a mouse model, successfully correcting multiple disease symptoms and restoring protein levels.
  • Preclinical safety studies in non-human primates showed no major side effects, setting the stage for potential clinical trials to treat SPG47 patients.
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Mutations in any one of the four subunits (ɛ4, β4, μ4 and σ4) comprising the adaptor protein Complex 4 results in a complex form of hereditary spastic paraplegia, often termed adaptor protein Complex 4 deficiency syndrome. Deficits in adaptor protein Complex 4 complex function have been shown to disrupt intracellular trafficking, resulting in a broad phenotypic spectrum encompassing severe intellectual disability and progressive spastic paraplegia of the lower limbs in patients. Here we report the presence of neuropathological hallmarks of adaptor protein Complex 4 deficiency syndrome in a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-mediated -knockout mouse model.

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Hereditary spastic paraplegia type 15 (HSP15) is a neurodegenerative condition caused by the inability to produce SPG15 protein, which leads to lysosomal swelling. However, the link between lysosomal aberrations and neuronal death is poorly explored. To uncover the functional consequences of lysosomal aberrations in disease pathogenesis, we analyze human dermal fibroblasts from HSP15 patients as well as primary cortical neurons derived from an SPG15 knockout (KO) mouse model.

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