Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; UCL Queen Square Motor Neuron Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Alexandra Kourgiantaki
Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; UCL Queen Square Motor Neuron Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Dai Jiang
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Andreas Demosthenous
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; UCL Queen Square Motor Neuron Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Breakdown of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) is an early pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that blocks neuromuscular transmission, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and, ultimately, premature death. Currently, no therapies exist that can prevent progressive motor neuron degeneration, muscle denervation, or paralysis in ALS. Here, we report important advances in the development of an optogenetic, neural replacement strategy that can effectively restore innervation of severely affected skeletal muscles in the aggressive SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS, thus providing an interface to selectively control the function of targeted muscles using optical stimulation. We also identify a specific approach to confer complete survival of allogeneic replacement motor neurons. Furthermore, we demonstrate that an optical stimulation training paradigm can prevent atrophy of reinnervated muscle fibers and results in a tenfold increase in optically evoked contractile force. Together, these advances pave the way for an assistive therapy that could benefit all ALS patients.
