Elimination of myotonia improves myopathy in a muscleblind knockout model of myotonic dystrophy: Deep RNAseq of quadriceps muscle to assess myotonia dependent changes in transcript expression and splicing.

Myotonia results from mis-regulated splicing of chloride channel 1 (ClC-1), leading to loss of channel function and runs of involuntary action potentials in muscle fibers. Heralding the onset of weakness, myotonia is often the first symptom of DM1, and thus this raises the possibility that muscle hyperexcitability promotes the subsequent development of myopathy.

We used genome editing to test this possibility by deleting the alternatively spliced and frameshift inducing ClC-1 exon 7a (E7a) in the Mbnl1 knockout model of DM1. Although several ClC-1 exons exhibit mis-regulated splicing in DM1, deletion of this single cryptic exon was sufficient to restore ClC-1 function and eliminate myotonia systemically and permanently. Through direct comparison of quadriceps muscle from myotonic (Mbnl1 knockout) and non-myotonic (Mbnl1 knockout; Clcn1 delta E7a) DM1 model mice, we were able to observe significant changes in transcript expression and splicing regulated by muscle hyperexcibility.