V. Katanaev

#gene editing Review Sep 2026

Novel and Emerging Therapies for Childhood-Onset Movement Disorders.

Childhood-onset movement disorders comprise a heterogeneous group of rare conditions with substantial unmet therapeutic needs. Recent advances in disease gene discovery, mechanistic modeling, and translational platforms have accelerated the development of targeted therapies and enabled innovative clinical trial designs for small patient populations. To review novel and emerging therapies for childhood-onset movement disorders, with a focus on pharmacologic strategies, disease-modifying approaches, and patient-centered precision therapies. We surveyed the literature, major conference proceedings, and expert networks to identify therapies approved, in clinical development, or supported by compelling preclinical data between 2022 and 2025. We focused on small molecules and genetic therapies for conditions in which movement disorders represent a prominent clinical feature. Small molecules were categorized as repurposed or novel drugs, whereas genetic therapies included gene replacement, gene editing, and RNA-based expression modulation. Drug repurposing approaches have shown promise in disorders related to the GNAO1, ATP1A3, ATM, and ADCY5 genes. Novel small molecules have advanced for Friedreich's ataxia and Tourette's syndrome. Gene replacement therapies have demonstrated clinical benefit in select neurotransmitter disorders, whereas gene editing strategies have entered preclinical development for ATP1A3-related disease. Antisense oligonucleotide therapies have yielded encouraging early results across several conditions with prominent movement disorder phenotypes, including KIF1A-related neurological disorder, Angelman syndrome, SCN2A-related neurodevelopmental disorder, and ataxia-telangiectasia. Precision-based therapeutic strategies are rapidly reshaping the treatment landscape for childhood-onset movement disorders. Continued progress will depend on rigorous phenotyping, careful ethical oversight, and deliberate efforts to promote equitable global access to emerging therapies. © 2026 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

C. D. de Gusmao, V. Katanaev, Laura Silveira-Moriyama et al. · Movement Disorders · 0 citations

Open access Jul 2026

Gene supplementation therapy restores motor deficits in Gnao1[C215Y] mice and proves broad efficacy in C. elegans model.

The heterotrimeric G proteins are ubiquitous membrane-bound complexes specialized in the transduction of receptor-mediated extracellular signals into intracellular responses. Mutations in the G protein subunit alpha O1 (Gαo), encoded by GNAO1, have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by prominent movement disorder with or without epilepsy. The Gnao1[C215Y]/+ mouse model recapitulates key features of the human disease, with a relatively mild phenotype, normal viability and late onset movement abnormalities, detectable in specific motor tasks. Here we report functional alterations in cortical layer V pyramidal neurons from Gnao1[C215Y]/+ mice, with reduction of the inward currents (Ih) and impairment of the GABAB-mediated outward current. We propose an adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy aimed at overexpressing the wild-type form of Gαo by intracerebroventricular injection in newborn heterozygous Gnao1[C215Y]/ + mice. Our results demonstrate that overexpression of the wild-type protein mitigates behavioral abnormalities and restores functional neuronal deficits in young adult mice, thereby supporting the development of AAV-mediated gene augmentation strategies to counteract the effects of GNAO1 variants in patients. The potential of gene supplementation therapy is further supported by data from genetically modified C. elegans strains carrying not only the relatively mild C215Y variant but also a panel of goa-1/GNAO1 mutations associated with more severe phenotypes, suggesting a broader potential of this therapeutic strategy.

Germana Cocozza, T. D’Andrea, Martina Di Rocco et al. · Acta Neuropathologica Commun... · 0 citations

Aug 2026

MYC-driven BYSL overexpression promotes hepatocellular carcinoma by suppressing nucleolar stress and inactivating the RPL5/RPL11-MDM2-p53 pathway.

BYSL gene encodes the bystin-like (BYSL) protein, a nucleolar protein involved in eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis and essential for 40S ribosomal subunit synthesis. Although BYSL upregulation has been implicated in hepatocellular carcinoma, its mechanistic contribution to tumor progression remains undefined. We observed that BYSL is consistently upregulated across multiple cancer types and is associated with adverse clinicopathological features and poor prognosis, with the strongest clinical relevance observed in hepatocellular carcinoma through the integrative transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. BYSL-knockout suppresses malignant phenotypes, including proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induced G1/S arrest and apoptosis. Mechanistically, loss of BYSL disrupts nucleolar homeostasis and reduces global protein synthesis, thereby activating the RPL5/RPL11-MDM2-p53 axis, leading to p53 stabilization and tumor suppression. Importantly, MYC directly bound to the BYSL promoter and transcriptionally activated its expression, whereas co-targeting BYSL and MYC produced more synergistic antitumor effects than either intervention alone. Collectively, our study reveals that BYSL acts as a pivotal downstream mediator of MYC-regulated ribosome biogenesis and promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression. Our findings suggest that BYSL may represent a potential therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma; nevertheless, additional in vivo preclinical studies are warranted to validate its translational prospects.

Heyuan Zhao, Huiying Liu, Xia Liu et al. · Cellular Signalling · 0 citations