Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33068777›Full record

ArticleMolecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy2021

DUX4 Transcript Knockdown with Antisense 2'-O-Methoxyethyl Gapmers for the Treatment of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy.

Kenji Rowel Q Lim, Adam Bittel, Rika Maruyama, Yusuke Echigoya, Quynh Nguyen, Yiqing Huang, Kasia Dzierlega, Aiping Zhang, Yi-Wen Chen, Toshifumi Yokota

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids · 2026
    Article
  3. IncreasedInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Article
  4. Muscular Dystrophies.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Molecular and Phenotypic Changes in FLExDUX4 Mice.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Kenji Rowel Q LimDepartment of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2H7, Canada.
Adam BittelCenter for Genetic Medicine Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Rika MaruyamaDepartment of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2H7, Canada.
Yusuke EchigoyaLaboratory of Biomedical Science, Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0880, Japan.
Quynh NguyenDepartment of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2H7, Canada.
Yiqing HuangDepartment of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2H7, Canada.
Kasia DzierlegaDepartment of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2H7, Canada.
Aiping ZhangCenter for Genetic Medicine Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Yi-Wen ChenCenter for Genetic Medicine Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC 20010, USA; Department of Genomics and Precision Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Science, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. Electronic address: ychen@childrensnational.org.
Toshifumi YokotaDepartment of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2H7, Canada; Muscular Dystrophy Canada Research Chair, Edmonton, AB T6G2H7, Canada. Electronic address: toshifumi.yokota@ualberta.ca.
University of Alberta · CAChildren's National · USGeorge Washington University · USMuscular Dystrophy Canada · CANihon University · JP

Funding

A Long-read Sequencing Approach for Investigating Repeat Number and DNA Methylation of the D4Z4 RegionR03NS116444 · NINDS · CHILDREN'S RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI CHEN, YI-WEN · 2020 to 2021
$179k
CIHR 143251NINDS NIH HHS R03 NS116444
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by a progressive, asymmetric weakening of muscles, starting with those in the upper body. It is caused by aberrant expression of the double homeobox protein 4 gene (DUX4) in skeletal muscle. FSHD is currently incurable. We propose to develop a therapy for FSHD using antisense 2'-O-methoxyethyl (2'-MOE) gapmers, to knock down DUX4 mRNA expression. Using immortalized patient-derived muscle cells and local intramuscular injections in the FLExDUX4 FSHD mouse model, we showed that our designed 2'-MOE gapmers significantly reduced DUX4 transcript levels in vitro and in vivo, respectively. Furthermore, in vitro, we observed significantly reduced expression of DUX4-activated downstream targets, restoration of FSHD signature genes by RNA sequencing, significant improvements in myotube morphology, and minimal off-target activity. This work facilitates the development of a promising candidate therapy for FSHD and lays down the foundation for in vivo systemic treatment studies.

Indexed as

Gene Knockdown TechniquesGene SilencingGenetic TherapyOligonucleotides, AntisenseAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalHomeodomain ProteinsHumansMiceMice, KnockoutMuscle, SkeletalMuscular Dystrophy, FacioscapulohumeralDux4 protein, mouseHomeodomain ProteinsOligonucleotides, Antisense2’-MOE gapmersantisense therapyDUX4facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophyFLExDUX4 miceFSHDgenetic disorderimmortalized FSHD patient-derived cell linemRNA knockdownskeletal muscle

Identifiers

PMID33068777
PMCPMC7854280
OpenAlexW3093284546

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.