Targeting PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling in rodent models of PMP22 gene-dosage diseases

Abstract Haplo-insufficiency of the gene encoding the myelin protein PMP22 leads to focal myelin overgrowth in the peripheral nervous system and hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP). Conversely, duplication of PMP22 causes Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A), characterized by hypomyelination of medium to large caliber axons. The molecular mechanisms of abnormal myelin growth regulation by PMP22 have remained obscure. Here, we show in rodent models of HNPP and CMT1A that the PI3K/Akt/mTOR-pathway inhibiting phosphatase PTEN is correlated in abundance with PMP22 in peripheral nerves, without evidence for direct protein interactions. Indeed, treating DRG neuron/Schwann cell co-cultures from HNPP mice with PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors reduced focal hypermyelination. When we treated HNPP mice in vivo with the mTOR inhibitor Rapamycin, motor functions were improved, compound muscle amplitudes were increased and pathological tomacula in sciatic nerves were reduced. In contrast, we found Schwann cell dedifferentiation in CMT1A uncoupled from PI3K/Akt/mTOR, leaving partial PTEN ablation insufficient for disease amelioration. For HNPP, the development of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors may be considered as the first treatment option for pressure palsies.