Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37021550›Full record

ArticleNucleic acids research2023

WDR5 is required for DUX4 expression and its pathological effects in FSHD muscular dystrophy.

Emanuele Mocciaro, Roberto Giambruno, Stefano Micheloni, Filippo M Cernilogar, Annapaola Andolfo, Cristina Consonni, Maria Pannese, Giulia Ferri, Valeria Runfola, Gunnar Schotta and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nucleic acids research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 8% 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

16 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The isolated HEPN domain of SACSIN exhibits RNA-binding activity.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026
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  13. Deciphering Facioscapulohumeral Dystrophy in the clinical trials era: where are we now?Acta myologica : myopathies and cardiomyopathies : official journal of the Mediterranean Society of Myology · 2025
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
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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

11 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Emanuele MocciaroGene Expression and Muscular Dystrophy Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
Roberto GiambrunoGene Expression and Muscular Dystrophy Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
Stefano MicheloniGene Expression and Muscular Dystrophy Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
Filippo M CernilogarDivision of Molecular Biology, Biomedical Center (BMC), Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-2814-3436
Annapaola AndolfoProMeFa, Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
Cristina ConsonniGene Expression and Muscular Dystrophy Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
Maria PanneseGene Expression and Muscular Dystrophy Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
Giulia FerriGene Expression and Muscular Dystrophy Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
Valeria RunfolaGene Expression and Muscular Dystrophy Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
Gunnar SchottaDivision of Molecular Biology, Biomedical Center (BMC), Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4940-6135
Davide GabelliniGene Expression and Muscular Dystrophy Unit, Division of Genetics and Cell Biology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-3811-4121
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University · ITLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DE

Funding

Regulation of human endogenous retroviruses in the context of cancer immunotherapyR21CA249378 · NCI · SAN RAFFAELE HOSPITAL · PI GABELLINI, DAVIDE · 2020 to 2020
$278k
NCI NIH HHS R21 CA249378
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is one of the most prevalent neuromuscular disorders. The disease is linked to copy number reduction and/or epigenetic alterations of the D4Z4 macrosatellite on chromosome 4q35 and associated with aberrant gain of expression of the transcription factor DUX4, which triggers a pro-apoptotic transcriptional program leading to muscle wasting. As today, no cure or therapeutic option is available to FSHD patients. Given its centrality in FSHD, blocking DUX4 expression with small molecule drugs is an attractive option. We previously showed that the long non protein-coding RNA DBE-T is required for aberrant DUX4 expression in FSHD. Using affinity purification followed by proteomics, here we identified the chromatin remodeling protein WDR5 as a novel DBE-T interactor and a key player required for the biological activity of the lncRNA. We found that WDR5 is required for the expression of DUX4 and its targets in primary FSHD muscle cells. Moreover, targeting WDR5 rescues both cell viability and myogenic differentiation of FSHD patient cells. Notably, comparable results were obtained by pharmacological inhibition of WDR5. Importantly, WDR5 targeting was safe to healthy donor muscle cells. Our results support a pivotal role of WDR5 in the activation of DUX4 expression identifying a druggable target for an innovative therapeutic approach for FSHD.

Indexed as

Muscular Dystrophy, FacioscapulohumeralGene Expression RegulationHomeodomain ProteinsHumansIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsMuscle CellsMuscle, SkeletalTranscription FactorsDUX4L1 protein, humanHomeodomain ProteinsIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsTranscription FactorsWDR5 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID37021550
PMCPMC10250208
OpenAlexW4362657305

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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.