Sex-split analysis of pathology and motor-behavioral outcomes in a mouse model of CLN8-Batten disease reveals an increased disease burden and trajectory in female Cln8 mnd mice

• Published in: Orphanet journal of rare diseases Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 411
• Main Authors: Holmes, Andrew D, White, Katherine A, Pratt, Melissa A, Johnson, Tyler B, Likhite, Shibi, Meyer, Kathrin, Weimer, Jill M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 11-11-2022
• Subjects: Animals; Cost of Illness; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Male; Membrane Glycoproteins; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Mice; Molecular Chaperones; Neuronal Ceroid-Lipofuscinoses - genetics; AAV9 gene therapy; Lysosomal storage disorders; Disease progression; Sex differences; CLN8; Batten disease
• ISSN: 1750-1172

CLN8-Batten disease (CLN8 disease) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized phenotypically by progressive deterioration of motor and cognitive abilities, visual symptoms, epileptic seizures, and premature death. Mutations in CLN8 results in characteristic Batten disease symptoms and brain-wide pathology including accumulation of lysosomal storage material, gliosis, and neurodegeneration. Recent investigations of other subforms of Batten disease (CLN1, CLN3, CLN6) have emphasized the influence of biological sex on disease and treatment outcomes; however, little is known about sex differences in the CLN8 subtype. To determine the impact of sex on CLN8 disease burden and progression, we utilized a Cln8
mouse model to measure the impact and progression of histopathological and behavioral outcomes between sexes.
Several notable sex differences were observed in the presentation of brain pathology, including Cln8
female mice consistently presenting with greater GFAP
astrocytosis and CD68
microgliosis in the somatosensory cortex, ventral posteromedial/ventral posterolateral nuclei of the thalamus, striatum, and hippocampus when compared to Cln8
male mice. Furthermore, sex differences in motor-behavioral assessments revealed Cln8
female mice experience poorer motor performance and earlier death than their male counterparts. Cln8
mice treated with an AAV9-mediated gene therapy were also examined to assess sex differences on therapeutics outcomes, which revealed no appreciable differences between the sexes when responding to the therapy.
Taken together, our results provide further evidence of biologic sex as a modifier of Batten disease progression and outcome, thus warranting consideration when conducting investigations and monitoring therapeutic impact.