Three-Year Longitudinal Analysis of Splicing Changes in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1
- 1Université Laval
Abstract
Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is caused by a CTG expansion in the 3' untranslated region of the DMPK gene that results in the expression of expanded CUG RNA which trap splicing factors resulting in widespread alternative splicing dysregulation. A panel of these splicing events, or splicing index (SI), is currently used to measure splicing dysregulation in DM1 patients. Despite significant interest in splicing, little is known about its progression over time in DM1. The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in SI over 3 years in a well-phenotyped cohort of DM1 participants and identify factors contributing to these changes. RNA was extracted from vastus lateralis (VL) biopsies of 20 DM1 participants taken 3 years apart and the SI score was measured using targeted RNA sequencing. Baseline SI scores correlated with percent predicted muscle strength of the ankle dorsiflexors, knee extensors and hand grip. On average, SI scores worsened over 3 years, but the progression varied markedly among participants. Adult/juvenile phenotypes and lower baseline SI scores were among the factors associated with higher progression of SI scores over time. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating clinical phenotype and baseline molecular severity when interpreting longitudinal SI change, particularly in the context of clinical trials.
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BibTeX
@misc{legare2026threeyear,
title = {{Three-Year Longitudinal Analysis of Splicing Changes in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1}},
author = {C. Legare and L. Planco and R. Merritt and J. Ripollone and S. Conner and L. Desrochers and F. Nigim and M.-P. Roussel and C. Gagnon and J. D. Cleary and A. Berglund and E. Duchesne},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.25.754454},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754454v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Three-Year Longitudinal Analysis of Splicing Changes in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1
AU - C. Legare
AU - L. Planco
AU - R. Merritt
AU - J. Ripollone
AU - S. Conner
AU - L. Desrochers
AU - F. Nigim
AU - M.-P. Roussel
AU - C. Gagnon
AU - J. D. Cleary
AU - A. Berglund
AU - E. Duchesne
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.25.754454
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754454v1
AB - Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is caused by a CTG expansion in the 3' untranslated region of the DMPK gene that results in the expression of expanded CUG RNA which trap splicing factors resulting in widespread alternative splicing dysregulation. A panel of these splicing events, or splicing index (SI), is currently used to measure splicing dysregulation in DM1 patients. Despite significant interest in splicing, little is known about its progression over time in DM1. The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in SI over 3 years in a well-phenotyped cohort of DM1 participants and identify factors contributing to these changes. RNA was extracted from vastus lateralis (VL) biopsies of 20 DM1 participants taken 3 years apart and the SI score was measured using targeted RNA sequencing. Baseline SI scores correlated with percent predicted muscle strength of the ankle dorsiflexors, knee extensors and hand grip. On average, SI scores worsened over 3 years, but the progression varied markedly among participants. Adult/juvenile phenotypes and lower baseline SI scores were among the factors associated with higher progression of SI scores over time. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating clinical phenotype and baseline molecular severity when interpreting longitudinal SI change, particularly in the context of clinical trials.
ER -