The motor neuron disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) results from mutations that lead to low levels of the ubiquitously expressed protein Survival of Motor Neuron (SMN). Ever-increasing data suggest that therapeutics that elevate SMN may be effective in treating SMA. We executed an image-based screen of annotated chemical libraries and discovered multiple classes of compounds that were able to increase cellular SMN. Among the most important was the RTK/PI3K/AKT/GSK-3 signaling cascade. Chemical inhibitors of GSK-3, as well as shRNAs directed against this target, elevate SMN levels primarily by stabilizing the protein. Of particular significance is that GSK-3 chemical inhibitors were also effective in motor neurons, not only in elevating SMN levels, but also in blocking the death that was produced when SMN was acutely reduced by a SMN-specific shRNA. Thus, we have established a screen capable of detecting drug-like compounds that correct the main phenotypic change that underlies SMA.

Mutations in the Survival of Motor Neuron (SMN) gene underlie the development of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which currently represents the leading genetic cause of mortality in infants and toddlers. SMA is characterized by degeneration of spinal cord motor neurons and muscle atrophy. Although SMA is often considered to be a motor neuron disease, accumulating evidence suggests that muscle cells themselves may be affected by low levels of SMN. Here, we examine satellite cells, tissue-resident stem cells that play an essential role in the growth and repair of skeletal muscle, isolated from a severe SMA mouse model (Smn−/−; SMN2+/+). We found similar numbers of satellite cells in the muscles of SMA and wild-type (Smn+/+; SMN2+/+) mice at postnatal day 2 (P2), and, when isolated from skeletal muscle using cell surface marker expression, these cells showed comparable survival and proliferative potential. However, SMA satellite cells differentiate abnormally, revealed by the premature expression of muscle differentiation markers, and, especially, by a reduced efficiency in forming myotubes. These phenotypes suggest a critical role of SMN protein in the intrinsic regulation of muscle differentiation and suggest that abnormal muscle development contributes to the manifestation of SMA symptoms.

Studies of HPE in the mouse have provided a framework for understanding key developmental events in human brain development and may provide new candidate genes for human HPE. Despite this progress, fundamental mysteries remain about how molecules that pattern ventral brain regions ultimately disrupt the formation of the cerebral hemispheres in dorsal regions.