Transcriptome-Wide Studies of RNA-Targeted Small Molecules Provide a Simple and Selective r(CUG) exp Degrader in Myotonic Dystrophy.

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is caused by a highly structured RNA repeat expansion, r(CUG) ^exp , harbored in the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of dystrophia myotonica protein kinase ( DMPK ) mRNA and drives disease through a gain-of-function mechanism. A panel of low-molecular-weight fragments capable of reacting with RNA upon UV irradiation was studied for cross-linking to r(CUG) ^exp in vitro , affording perimidin-2-amine diazirine ( 1 ) that bound to r(CUG) ^exp . The interactions between the small molecule and RNA were further studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular modeling. Binding of 1 in DM1 myotubes was profiled transcriptome-wide, identifying 12 transcripts including DMPK that were bound by 1 . Augmenting the functionality of 1 with cleaving capability created a chimeric degrader that specifically targets r(CUG) ^exp for elimination. The degrader broadly improved DM1-associated defects as assessed by RNA-seq, while having limited effects on healthy myotubes. This study (i) provides a platform to investigate molecular recognition of ligands directly in disease-affected cells; (ii) illustrates that RNA degraders can be more specific than the binders from which they are derived; and (iii) suggests that repeating transcripts can be selectively degraded due to the presence of multiple ligand binding sites.
Competing Interests: The authors declare the following competing financial interest(s): M.D.D. is a founder of Expansion Therapeutics.
(© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)