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(American Journal of Pathology. 2004;165:1731-1741.)
© 2004 American Society for Investigative Pathology

Deletion of Murine Smn Exon 7 Directed to Liver Leads to Severe Defect of Liver Development Associated with Iron Overload

Jérémie M. Vitte^*, Bénédicte Davoult, Natacha Roblot^*, Michèle Mayer, Vandana Joshi^*, Sabrina Courageot^*, François Tronche, Jacqueline Vadrot, Marie Helene Moreau^¶, François Kemeny and Judith Melki^*

From the Molecular Neurogenetics Laboratory,^* Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), E-223 Université d’Evry, Evry; the Service d’Anatomie Pathologie, Centre Hospitalier Sud-Francilien, Evry; the Hôpital Saint Vincent de Paul, Paris; CNRS FRE-2401, the Institut de Biologie, Collège de France, Paris; and the Laboratoire de Biologie Clinique,^¶ Centre Hospitalier Sud-Francilien, Evry, France

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is characterized by degeneration of lower motor neurons caused by mutations of the survival motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1). SMN is involved in various processes including the formation of the spliceosome, pre-mRNA splicing and transcription. To know whether SMN has an essential role in all mammalian cell types or an as yet unknown specific function in the neuromuscular system, deletion of murine Smn exon 7, the most frequent mutation found among SMA patients, has been restricted to liver. Homozygous mutation results in severe impairment of liver development associated with iron overload and lack of regeneration leading to dramatic liver atrophy and late embryonic lethality of mutant mice. These data strongly suggest an ubiquitous and essential role of full-length SMN protein in various mammalian cell types. In SMA patients, the residual amount of SMN allows normal function of various organs except motor neurons. However, data from mouse and human suggest that other tissues might be involved in severe form of SMA or during prolonged disease course which reinforce the need of therapeutic approaches targeted to all tissues. In addition, liver function of patients should be carefully investigated and followed up before and during therapeutic trials.

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