Biology subjects

Veeraragavan, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Veeraragavan, S..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Sequential intra-articular HCAd-NFκB-IL-1Ra delivery improves therapeutic efficacy in post-traumatic osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease for which disease-modifying therapies remain unavailable. Intra-articular gene delivery of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) using high-capacity adenovirus (HCAd) has shown therapeutic promise; however, the duration of therapeutic benefit and the feasibility of repeat dosing under anti-adenoviral immunity remain unresolved. Using the murine anterior cruciate ligament transection model of osteoarthritis, we show that a single intraarticular injection of HCAd5-NF{kappa}B-IL-1Ra provides structural preservation and functional improvement in early-stage osteoarthritis but fails to sustain cartilage protection as disease progresses. However, HCAd5 transduction following repeated treatment is limited due to pre-existing immunity against this serotype. Notably, exchanging serotypes for repeated treatments effectively restores vector transduction and transgene expression in both healthy and osteoarthritic joints. Leveraging this strategy, we demonstrate that sequential intra-articular HCAd-NF{kappa}B-IL-1Ra administration does not further improve pain or motor function compared to the initial treatment, but preserves cartilage as assessed by histopathology and phase-contrast CT, irrespective of serotype. These findings establish HCAd serotype switching as a feasible approach to overcome immune barriers to repeat intra-articular gene therapy. Importantly, sequential HCAd-NF{kappa}B-IL-1Ra administration enhances therapeutic durability in post-traumatic osteoarthritis, providing a translational framework for repeat intra-articular gene delivery strategies aimed at long-term disease modification in osteoarthritis.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Functional divergence of Capicua isoforms explains differential tissue vulnerability in neurological disease

Many neurological diseases impact specific brain regions despite widespread expression of the disease-related protein. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) primarily affects the cerebellum, though Ataxin-1 (ATXN1) is widely expressed. We previously showed that intensified interaction between mutant ATXN1 and Capicua (CIC) drives SCA1 pathogenesis in the cerebellum, whereas ATXN1 loss augments amyloid beta production in the hippocampus and cortex. CIC, however, forms a complex with ATXN1 and its paralog, Ataxin-1-like (ATXN1L)--yet knockout of either yields completely different phenotypes. To determine whether this could be due to CIC having two isoforms, we generated mice bearing either the long (CIC-L) or short (CIC-S) isoform. Loss of CIC-L led to cognitive deficits, whereas loss of CIC-S caused perinatal lethality, phenocopying, ATXN1 and ATXN1L knockout mice, respectively. Furthermore, CIC-L preferentially interacts with ATXN1, and CIC-S with ATXN1L. Our data underscore the importance of isoform-paralog interplay in studying regional vulnerability in neurodegenerative diseases.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2024

MEK signaling represents a viable therapeutic vulnerability of KRAS-driven somatic brain arteriovenous malformations

Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) are direct connections between arteries and veins that remodel into a complex nidus susceptible to rupture and hemorrhage. Most sporadic bAVMs feature somatic activating mutations within KRAS, and endothelial-specific expression of the constitutively active variant KRASG12D models sporadic bAVM in mice. By leveraging 3D-based micro-CT imaging, we demonstrate that KRASG12D-driven bAVMs arise in stereotypical anatomical locations within the murine brain, which coincide with high endogenous Kras expression. We extend these analyses to show that a distinct variant, KRASG12C, also generates bAVMs in predictable locations. Analysis of 15,000 human patients revealed that, similar to murine models, bAVMs preferentially occur in distinct regions of the adult brain. Furthermore, bAVM location correlates with hemorrhagic frequency. Quantification of 3D imaging revealed that G12D and G12C alter vessel density, tortuosity, and diameter within the mouse brain. Notably, aged G12D mice feature increased lethality, as well as impaired cognition and motor function. Critically, we show that pharmacological blockade of the downstream kinase, MEK, after lesion formation ameliorates KRASG12D-driven changes in the murine cerebrovasculature and may also impede bAVM progression in human pediatric patients. Collectively, these data show that distinct KRAS variants drive bAVMs in similar patterns and suggest MEK inhibition represents a non-surgical alternative therapy for sporadic bAVM.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Elastohydrodynamic mechanisms govern beat pattern transitions in eukaryotic flagella

Eukaryotic cilia and flagella exhibit complex beating patterns that change depending on environmental conditions such as fluid viscosity. The mechanism behind these beat pattern transitions remains unclear, although they are thought to arise from changes in the internal forcing provided by the axoneme. We show here that such transitions may arise universally across species via an elastohydrodynamic mechanism. We perform simulations of inextensible and unshearable but twistable Kirchhoff rods driven internally by a travelling bending-moment wave in a fixed plane in the material frame of the rods. We show that, for a large range of beating amplitudes and frequencies, the internally planar driving wave results in the growth of twist perturbations. Outside this domain, the driving leads to simple planar waveforms. Within the non-planar domain, we observe quasiplanar, helical, and complex - perhaps chaotic - beating patterns. The transitions between these states depend quantitatively on physical parameters such as the internal forcing, flagellum stiffness and length, viscosity of the ambient medium, or the presence of a plane wall. Beat pattern transitions in our simulations can be mapped to similar transitions observed in bull and sea urchin sperm when the medium viscosity is varied. Comparison of the simulation results with experimentally observed transitional viscosities in our experiments and elsewhere suggests an assay whereby one can estimate the average force exerted by dynein motors. This could potentially lead to diagnostic assays measuring the health of sperm based on their beating pattern. Significance StatementThe ability of flagella and cilia to manipulate their beating waveforms in different physical environments has important implications for human and animal health. Beat transitions in mammalian sperm flagella, for example, may help sperm navigate the complex reproductive tract to reach the egg. Abnormal beating behaviour, which may have a range of unknown underlying causes, can result in ciliopathies and reproductive disorders. This work provides insight into the physical origins of beat transitions in flagella and shows how they depend quantitatively on flagellum stiffness and length, internal driving provided by the axoneme, viscosity of the ambient medium, and the presence of a plane wall. This could allow one to diagnose the root cause of an abnormal flagellar beat and thus design appropriate treatment.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2022

A truncating mutation of Magel2 in the rat modelled for the study of Schaaf-Yang and Prader-Willi syndromes alters select behavioral and physiological outcomes

Truncating mutations of the maternally imprinted, paternally expressed MAGEL2 gene are the predicted genetic cause of several rare neurodevelopmental disorders including Schaaf-Yang (SYS), Chitayat-Hall and Opitz Trigonocephaly C syndromes. MAGEL2 is also deleted or inactivated in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Previous studies in mice have utilized Magel2 gene deletion models to examine the consequences of its absence. In this study, we report the generation, molecular validation, and phenotypic characterization of a novel rat model with a truncating Magel2 mutation generating a mutant peptide sequence more closely modeling variants associated with SYS-causing mutations. Within the hypothalamus, a brain region wherein mouse and human MAGEL2 is paternally-expressed, we demonstrate at the level of transcript and peptide detection that Magel2 in the rat exhibits a paternal, parent-of-origin effect. In the evaluation of behavioral features across several domains, juvenile Magel2 mutant rats display select alterations in anxiety-like behavior and sociability measures. Moreover, the analysis of peripheral organ systems detected alterations in body composition, cardiac structure and function, and breathing irregularities in Magel2 mutant rats. Several of these findings are concordant with reported mouse phenotypes, signifying the conservation of MAGEL2 function across rodent species for specific behavioral outcome measures. We conclude that our comprehensive analysis demonstrating impairments across multiple domains demonstrates the tractability of this model system for the study of truncating MAGEL2 mutations.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Soft Windowing Application to Improve Analysis of High-throughput Phenotyping Data

MotivationHigh-throughput phenomic projects generate complex data from small treatment and large control groups that increase the power of the analyses but introduce variation over time. A method is needed to utlize a set of temporally local controls that maximises analytic power while minimising noise from unspecified environmental factors.\n\nResultsHere we introduce \"soft windowing\", a methodological approach that selects a window of time that includes the most appropriate controls for analysis. Using phenotype data from the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC), adaptive windows were applied such that control data collected proximally to mutants were assigned the maximal weight, while data collected earlier or later had less weight. We applied this method to IMPC data and compared the results with those obtained from a standard non-windowed approach. Validation was performed using a resampling approach in which we demonstrate a 10% reduction of false positives from 2.5 million analyses. We applied the method to our production analysis pipeline that establishes genotype-phenotype associations by comparing mutant versus control data. We report an increase of 30% in significant p-values, as well as linkage to 106 versus 99 disease models via phenotype overlap with the soft windowed and non-windowed approaches, respectively, from a set of 2,082 mutant mouse lines. Our method is generalisable and can benefit large-scale human phenomic projects such as the UK Biobank and the All of Us resources.\n\nAvailability and ImplementationThe method is freely available in the R package SmoothWin, available on CRAN http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=SmoothWin.

bioinformatics↗