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SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE · MED

Bidirectional regulation of motor circuits using magnetogenetic gene therapy.

Sci Adv · 2024-10-09

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp9150PMID: 39383230

Open accessResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; research-article; Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., ExtramuralOriginal source ↗

Research overview

The text below is the source article’s original abstract under a verified reuse license. cc by

Here, we report a magnetogenetic system, based on a single anti-ferritin nanobody-TRPV1 receptor fusion protein, which regulated neuronal activity when exposed to magnetic fields. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated delivery of a floxed nanobody-TRPV1 into the striatum of adenosine-2a receptor-Cre drivers resulted in motor freezing when placed in a magnetic resonance imaging machine or adjacent to a transcranial magnetic stimulation device. Functional imaging and fiber photometry confirmed activation in response to magnetic fields. Expression of the same construct in the striatum of wild-type mice along with a second injection of an AAVretro expressing Cre into the globus pallidus led to similar circuit specificity and motor responses. Last, a mutation was generated to gate chloride and inhibit neuronal activity. Expression of this variant in the subthalamic nucleus in PitX2-Cre parkinsonian mice resulted in reduced c-fos expression and motor rotational behavior. These data demonstrate that magnetogenetic constructs can bidirectionally regulate activity of specific neuronal circuits noninvasively in vivo using clinically available devices.

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