The neuromuscular impact of symptomatic SMN restoration in a mouse model of spinal muscular atrophy

Abstract Background Significant advances in the development of SMN-restoring therapeutics have occurred since 2010 when very effective biological treatments were reported in mouse models of spinal muscular atrophy. As these treatments are applied in human clinical trials, there is pressing need to define quantitative assessments of disease progression, treatment stratification, and therapeutic efficacy. The electrophysiological measures Compound Muscle Action Potential and Motor Unit Number Estimation are reliable measures of nerve function. In both the SMN ∆ 7 mouse and a pig model of spinal muscular atrophy, early SMN restoration results in preservation of electrophysiological measures. Currently, clinical trials are underway in patients at post-symptomatic stages of disease progression. In this study, we present results from both early and delayed SMN restoration using clinically-relevant measures including electrical impedance myography, compound muscle action potential, and motor unit number estimation to quantify the efficacy and time-sensitivity of SMN-restoring therapy. Methods SMA ∆ 7 mice were treated via intracerebroventricular injection with antisense oligonucleotides targeting ISS-N1 to increase SMN protein from the SMN2 gene on postnatal day 2, 4, or 6 and compared with sham-treated spinal muscular atrophy and control mice. Compound muscle action potential and motor unit number estimation of the triceps surae muscles were performed at day 12, 21, and 30 by a single evaluator blinded to genotype and treatment. Similarly, electrical impedance myography was measured on the biceps femoris muscle at 12 days for comparison. Results Electrophysiological measures and electrical impedance myography detected significant differences at 12 days between control and late-treated (4 or 6 days) and sham-treated spinal muscular atrophy mice, but not in mice treated at 2 days (p < 0.01). EIM findings paralleled and correlated with compound muscle action potential and motor unit number estimation (r = 0.61 and r = 0.50, respectively, p < 0.01). Longitudinal measures at 21 and 30 days show that symptomatic therapy results in reduced motor unit number estimation associated with delayed normalization of compound muscle action potential. Conclusions The incomplete effect of symptomatic treatment is accurately identified by both electrophysiological measures and electrical impedance myography. There is strong correlation between these measures and with weight and ri