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Papers of the Week


Papers: 8 May 2021 - 14 May 2021


Animal Studies, Human Studies, Pharmacology/Drug Development


2021 May 08


Brain

Pharmacological SARM1 inhibition protects axon structure and function in paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Authors

Bosanac T, Hughes RO, Engber T, Devraj R, Brearley A, Danker K, Young K, Kopatz J, Hermann M, Berthemy A, Boyce S, Bentley J, Krauss R
Brain. 2021 May 08.
PMID: 33964142.

Abstract

Axonal degeneration is an early and ongoing event that causes disability and disease progression in many neurodegenerative disorders of the peripheral and central nervous systems. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a major cause of morbidity and the main cause of dose reductions and discontinuations in cancer treatment. Preclinical evidence indicates that activation of the Wallerian-like degeneration pathway driven by SARM1 is responsible for axonopathy in CIPN. SARM1 is the central driver of an evolutionarily conserved program of axonal degeneration downstream of chemical, inflammatory, mechanical or metabolic insults to the axon. SARM1 contains an intrinsic NADase enzymatic activity essential for its pro-degenerative functions, making it a compelling therapeutic target to treat neurodegeneration characterized by axonopathies of the peripheral and central nervous systems. Small molecule SARM1 inhibitors have the potential to prevent axonal degeneration in peripheral and central axonopathies and to provide a transformational disease-modifying treatment for these disorders. Using a biochemical assay for SARM1 NADase we identified a novel series of potent and selective irreversible isothiazole inhibitors of SARM1 enzymatic activity that protected rodent and human axons in vitro. In sciatic nerve axotomy (SNA), we observed that these irreversible SARM1 inhibitors decreased a rise in nerve cADPR and plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) released from injured sciatic nerves in vivo. In a mouse paclitaxel model of CIPN we determined that Sarm1 KO mice prevented loss of axonal function, assessed by sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitudes of the tail nerve, in a gene dosage-dependent manner. In that CIPN model, the irreversible SARM1 inhibitors prevented loss of intraepidermal nerve fibers induced by paclitaxel and provided partial protection of axonal function assessed by SNAP amplitude and mechanical allodynia.