Mice that express farnesylated versions of prelamin A in neurons develop achalasia

Abstract

Neurons in the brain produce lamin C but almost no lamin A, a consequence of the removal of prelamin A transcripts by miR-9, a brain-specific microRNA. We have proposed that miR-9-mediated regulation of prelamin A in the brain could explain the absence of primary neurological disease in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a genetic disease caused by the synthesis of an internally truncated form of farnesyl–prelamin A (progerin). This explanation makes sense, but it is not entirely satisfying because it is unclear whether progerin—even if were expressed in neurons—would be capable of eliciting neuropathology. To address that issue, we created a new Lmna knock-in allele, Lmna^HG-C, which produces progerin transcripts lacking an miR-9 binding site. Mice harboring the Lmna^HG-C allele produced progerin in neurons, but they had no pathology in the central nervous system. However, these mice invariably developed esophageal achalasia, and the enteric neurons and nerve fibers in gastrointestinal tract were markedly abnormal. The same disorder, achalasia, was observed in genetically modified mice that express full-length farnesyl–prelamin A in neurons (Zmpste24-deficient mice carrying two copies of a Lmna knock-in allele yielding full-length prelamin A transcripts lacking a miR-9 binding site). Our findings indicate that progerin and full-length farnesyl–prelamin A are toxic to neurons of the enteric nervous system.