Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40988335›Full record

ArticleMolecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy2025

Chimeric enzymes enhance treatment potential for globoid cell leukodystrophy through hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy.

Federica Cascino, Alessandra Ricca, Ilaria Picciotti, Erika Valeri, Giulia Unali, Veronica Saporito, Marta Freschi, Francesco Morena, Sabata Martino, Anna Kajaste-Rudnitski and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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.

Federica CascinoIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy.
Alessandra RiccaIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy.
Ilaria PicciottiIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy.
Erika ValeriIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy; Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), 1030 Vienna, Austria.
Giulia UnaliIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy; National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Veronica SaporitoIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy.
Marta FreschiIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy; Gene Therapy Program of Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorder Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Francesco MorenaDepartment of Chemistry, Biology, and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, 06122 Perugia, Italy.
Sabata MartinoDepartment of Chemistry, Biology, and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, 06122 Perugia, Italy.
Anna Kajaste-RudnitskiIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy; Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
Angela GrittiIRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), 20132 Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy. Electronic address: gritti.angela@hsr.it.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD) is a fatal lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency in the β-galactosylceramidase (GALC) enzyme, leading to severe demyelination and neurodegeneration, and often death before the age of 2 years. Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell transplantation (HSPC-T) has limited efficacy due to inadequate GALC delivery to the central (CNS) and peripheral nervous systems (PNS) and associated risks. In vivo gene therapy (GT) using adeno-associated viral vectors shows promise, but safety concerns persist. This research presents a strategy using lentiviral (LV) vector-mediated ex vivo HSPC-GT with a chimeric GALC enzyme that incorporates peptides from α-l-iduronidase (IDUA) and apolipoprotein E II (APO) to enhance expression and blood-brain barrier penetration. The chimeric IDUAsp.GALC.APO enzyme exhibited superior production and secretion compared to native GALC and previous chimeric variants in LV-transduced HSPCs, resulting in improved cross-correction and normalization of GALC activity in GLD neural cells. Proof-of-concept studies demonstrated effective enzyme production, secretion, and cross-correction capability of macrophages from GLD patients. In vivo results showed stable gene marking, sustained enzyme production, and efficient delivery of the chimeric GALC in affected organs, including the CNS and PNS. These findings highlight the potential of HSPC-GT using chimeric GALC enzymes as an innovative therapeutic approach for treating GLD.

Indexed as

GalactosylceramidaseGenetic TherapyHematopoietic Stem CellsHematopoietic Stem Cell TransplantationIduronidaseLeukodystrophy, Globoid CellRecombinant Fusion ProteinsAnimalsBlood-Brain BarrierDisease Models, AnimalGene ExpressionGenetic VectorsHumansLentivirusMiceTransduction, GeneticGalactosylceramidaseIduronidaseRecombinant Fusion Proteinschimeric enzymescross-correctiongene therapygloboid cell leukodystrophyhematopoietic stem/progenitor cellsKrabbe diseaselentiviral vectorsmetabolic diseasesstem cell transplant

Identifiers

PMID40988335
PMCPMC12703158

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Registered trials

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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.