AUTHOR=Bernal-Bermúdez Beatriz , Martínez-López Alicia , Martínez-Morcillo Francisco J. , Tyrkalska Sylwia D. , Martínez-Menchón Teresa , Mesa-del-Castillo Pablo , Cayuela María L. , Mulero Victoriano , García-Moreno Diana 

TITLE=A zebrafish model of Ifih1-driven Aicardi–Goutières syndrome reproduces the interferon signature and the exacerbated inflammation of patients

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1294766

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1294766

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Type I interferonopathies are a heterogenic group of rare diseases associated with an increase in type I interferon (IFN). The main challenge for the study of Type I interferonopathies is the lack of a well-founded animal model to better characterize the phenotype as well as to perform fast and large drug screenings to offer the best treatment options. In this study, we report the development of a transgenic zebrafish model of Type I interferonopathy overexpressing <italic>ifih1</italic> carrying the mutation p.Arg742His (<italic>Tg(ifih1_mut)</italic>), corresponding to the human mutation p.Arg779His. RNA sequence analysis from <italic>Tg(ifih1_mut)</italic> larvae revealed a systemic inflammation and IFN signature upon a suboptimal poly I:C induction compared with wild-type larvae, confirming the phenotype observed in patients suffering from Type I interferonopathies. More interestingly, the phenotype was manifested in the zebrafish inflammation and Type I IFN reporters <italic>nfkb:eGFP</italic> and <italic>isg15:eGFP</italic>, respectively, making this zebrafish model suitable for future high-throughput chemical screening (HTS). Using the unique advantages of the zebrafish model for gene editing, we have generated <italic>Tg(ifih1_mut)</italic> knocked down for <italic>mavs</italic> and <italic>ikbke</italic>, which completely abrogated the Poly I:C induction and activation of the GFP of the reporters. Finally, we used an FDA-approved drug, Baricitinib (Jak1/Jak2 inhibitor), which was able to reduce the inflammation and the ISG expression. Our results demonstrate the potential of this model to further understand AGS pathological mechanisms and to identify novel therapeutic drugs by HTS.</p>