2026-04-29 | Short-Term Oral Spermidine Supplementation Modifies Aspects of Neurodegenerative Disease in Flies and Mice With MPS III.
Mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III) is a group of autosomal recessive neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders that causes progressive cognitive and physical impairment, predominantly in child/early adulthood. The median age of death is 17 years as there is no safe, effective treatment approved. Using faithful Drosophila and murine models of MPS III, we have characterised the MPS IIIA and MPS IIIC fly metabolome, explored the ability of oral spermidine supplementation to ameliorate clinical disease in the fly models and explored its mechanism of action in MPS IIIA mice. Spermidine is a polyamine naturally synthesised by the body. Its manufacture decreases with age. Supplementation has been reported to stimulate autophagy, reduce cell senescence and increase health/lifespan. The metabolomic evaluation confirmed that whole MPS IIIA and MPS IIIC flies exhibit a progressively deranged metabolome. Significantly up-regulated metabolites were those involved in nucleotide and purine metabolism. The most significantly down-regulated metabolites were those involved in ascorbate and aldarate metabolism. Further, spermidine levels decreased significantly in all fly genotypes with age. In short-term studies, food enriched with 5 mM spermidine improved overall fly activity and climbing ability. A 4-week study in pre-symptomatic MPS IIIA mice (3- or 6-mM spermidine, supplemented in drinking water) revealed no improvement in microgliosis or lysosomal compartment size; however, we observed a significant reduction in the astroglial response in the brain, which is believed to drive disease progression. Longer-term confirmatory studies in larger cohorts of MPS III animals are now warranted to determine whether spermidine supplementation is of benefit in preventing or slowing clinical disease in this and other childhood dementias.
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2026-04-08 | Modelling synaptic dysfunction in childhood dementia using human iPSC-derived cortical networks.
Alterations in synaptic homeostasis are linked to cognitive and behavioural impairments in brain disorders. However, synaptic dysfunction in childhood dementia is poorly understood. Here, we generate human cortical circuits from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from donors with Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IIIA (MPS IIIA), also known as Sanfilippo syndrome, a common form of childhood-onset dementia. Action potential firing capacity and morphology of MPS IIIA patient neurons in culture are similar to those of neurons from neurotypical donors. However, long-term neural maturation reveals excitation/inhibition imbalances caused by hyperactive excitatory synapses, disrupted network dynamics, and dysregulated gene expression linked to synaptic homeostasis. This study validates in vitro human neural models to detect neurophysiological phenotypes in childhood dementias and supports drug discovery strategies that target synaptic dysfunction to improve cognition in MPS IIIA and related brain disorders.
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2026-03-31 | RNA-seq dataset of brain tissue from MPSIIIA (Sgsh D31N) mouse model following antisense oligonucleotide treatment
This dataset contains RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data generated from brain tissue of a murine model of mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPSIIIA). The model used was B6.Cg-Sgsh^MPSIIIA/PstJ mice (Jackson Laboratories), which harbor a missense mutation in the murine Sgsh gene (c.91G>A, p.D31N). Homozygous mice exhibit approximately 3–4% of normal SGSH enzymatic activity, resulting in extensive lysosomal accumulation of heparan sulfate (HS) and progressive neurodegeneration. RNA was extracted from brain tissue of wild-type, disease-model (Sgsh homozygous), and antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)-treated mice. RNA-seq libraries were prepared using the MARS-seq protocol and sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq platform, generating single-end reads (~26 million reads per sample). Raw sequencing data are provided as FASTQ files, along with accompanying sample metadata. This dataset enables analysis of differential gene expression and transcriptional signatures associated with MPSIIIA pathology, as well as transcriptional changes following ASO-mediated reduction of EXT1 expression. The dataset is associated with the study:“Antisense oligonucleotides mediated substrate reduction therapy ameliorates heparan sulfate accumulation in MPSIIIA models. All animal procedures were approved by the Sheba Medical Center IACUC.
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