Therapeutic efficacy of antisense oligonucleotides in mouse models of CLN3 Batten disease

CLN3 Batten disease is an autosomal recessive, neurodegenerative, lysosomal storage disease caused by mutations inCLN3, which encodes a lysosomal membrane protein(1-3). There are no disease-modifying treatments for this disease that affects up to 1 in 25,000 births, has an onset of symptoms in early childhood and typically is fatal by 20-30 years of life(4-7). Most patients with CLN3 Batten have a deletion encompassing exons 7 and 8 (CLN3 (increment ex7/8)), creating a reading frameshift(7,8). Here we demonstrate that mice with this deletion can be effectively treated using an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) that induces exon skipping to restore the open reading frame. A single treatment of neonatal mice with an exon 5-targeted ASO-induced robust exon skipping for more than a year, improved motor coordination, reduced histopathology inCln3 (increment ex7/8)mice and increased survival in a new mouse model of the disease. ASOs also induced exon skipping in cell lines derived from patients with CLN3 Batten disease. Our findings demonstrate the utility of ASO-based reading-frame correction as an approach to treat CLN3 Batten disease and broaden the therapeutic landscape for ASOs in the treatment of other diseases using a similar strategy. An antisense oligonucleotide induces exon skipping in cell lines derived from patients with CLN3 Batten disease, and reduces lysosomal impairment and ameliorates neurological phenotypes in a mouse model of the disease.