Faced with the complex problem of discovering the elusive function of the Rett protein, RSRT set out to conduct an experiment of our own. We shook the conventional practice of laboratories working in isolation and instead convened three scientists to work collaboratively: the MECP2 Consortium. We gave them the necessary financial resources and provided infrastructure including in-person meetings. The results surprised us all.
The MECP2 Consortium was launched in 2011 with a $1 million lead gift by Tony and Kathy Schoener. RSRT has committed an additional $3.4 million of funding to the consortium. We are extremely grateful to the Schoeners for their second $1 million pledge to support this effort.
The Consortium quickly reported significant advancements. The Mandel and Bird labs showed, for the first time, a dramatic reversal of symptoms in fully symptomatic Rett mice using gene therapy techniques that could be utilized in people.
The Bird lab discovered that the function of the Rett protein, MeCP2, depends on its ability to recruit a novel binding partner, NCoR/SMRT to DNA. Disrupt that ability and the symptoms of Rett ensue.
The Greenberg lab built on the work of the Bird lab and discovered that adding a phosphate group to MeCP2 alters its ability to interact with NCoR/SMRT and affects the expression of downstream genes. While the clinical implications of the gene therapy experiments are obvious some may think “so what?” when it comes to the NCoR experiments. I suspect that in the mind of many Rett parents the best evidence of research progress is clinical trials. However, this is often not the best measure of progress.
Thomas Südhof, recent Nobel Laureate, recently commented “I strongly feel that attempts to bypass a basic understanding of disease and just to get to therapies immediately are a misguided and extremely expensive mistake. The fact is that for many of the diseases we are working on, we just don’t have an understanding at all of the pathogenesis. There really is not much to translate. So NIH and many disease foundations are pouring money into clinical trials based on the most feeble hypotheses.”
So I will argue that investing in a better understanding of MECP2 – a primary goal of this Consortium – is money well spent, as it will add to our current arsenal of strategic approaches to combat Rett.
As Rett parents will attest to the symptoms of the disorder are numerous and devastating. Whatever MECP2 is doing, it’s acting globally on many systems in the body. A repurposed drug may partially treat some of the symptoms but to achieve the kind of dramatic improvement that most parents and I ache for will likely require attacking the problem at its very root.
There are multiple ways to achieve this end goal: gene and/or protein therapy, activating the silent MECP2, modifier genes. These are all areas in which RSRT is financially and intellectually engaged with. In parallel, however, it is imperative to understand what MECP2 does. RSRT has therefore committed an additional $3.4 million of funding to the MECP2 Consortium. We are extremely grateful to Tony and Kathy Schoener for their second $1 million pledge to support this important project.
I recently discussed the experiences of the past few years and what lies ahead with the Consortium members.
Greenberg: Research in neuroscience is undergoing a revolution. We now have the technologies in hand to solve some of the most difficult neurobiological questions. However, progress towards answering these hard questions requires scientists working together. A single lab working alone doesn’t have the expertise or the resources to make significant progress when the scientific problem is particularly challenging.
The MECP2 Consortium is a model for something much bigger: how neuroscience overall needs to operate so that we can find therapies and cures for disease. We are scientists in different parts of the world, working together, sharing their results long before publication, and brainstorming openly on a regular basis. The different perspectives of the three labs allow for a wonderful exchange of ideas to advance the science. I believe this is what the Consortium is all about. We have ignored the typical barriers of geography and have brought together scientists from Edinburgh, Portland, and Boston on a regular basis. The results have been stunning. There has been much more rapid progress than would have been made by the individual labs.
Bird: I agree. An over arching goal of the Consortium is to understand the way the MECP2 protein works at the molecular level. We are at last starting to make real progress on this and will be testing some of the new ideas in cellular and animal models. Our ultimate aim is to use this new knowledge to provide rational approaches to therapy.
Mandel: Front and center is always our goal to find a therapy for Rett. This guides our experiments and keeps us focused. The fact that financial support comes from families who have a child with Rett and their networks makes us work harder.
Coenraads: In your opinion what are the elements that have made this consortium “work”?
Greenberg: Trust and openness, a willingness on the part of all three Principal Investigators to talk through any potential problems immediately as they come up. A willingness to check egos at the door so that we can work together for something that is more important than our individual advancement. Importantly the participants, Mandel, Bird, Greenberg and Coenraads like and trust each other.
Bird: We all have different backgrounds and interests, but we share a commitment to understanding Rett Syndrome. We compliment each other surprisingly well.
Mandel: The regular meetings and exchanges and the quality of the scientists involved have been key factors as well as the availability of sufficient funding for each of us to follow our scientific noses.
Coenraads: Fortunately science is not linear. There are technologies available now that weren’t available when the Consortium started. How does this impact your Rett research?
Greenberg: There are a lot of new technologies available – in particular Cre lines that will allow us to study the effect of MeCP2 loss in a relatively homogeneous population of neurons, CRISPR and Talen technology that will facilitate gene correction, and genomic technologies that are providing a new understanding of the role of methylation in the control of neuronal gene expression. Also, better equipment, such as microscopy will help.
Bird: The technologies for genetic modification have existed for a decade, but the advent of CRISPR has made this facile. Being able to edit genetic mistakes in patients is no longer a science fiction dream, but has become a real possibility. Exploring this option will be an important focus for the Consortium.
Coenraads: Harrison Gabel from Mike’s lab recently shared with me in an email: Our group meetings are essential to critically assessing our work. Each lab group has its own “world view,” and having that view shaken up every six months is very constructive. So I look forward to lots more critical assessments and worldviews getting shaken as together we get to the bottom of what MeCP2 does.
* Due to the success of the MECP2 Consortium, and its positive gene therapy findings, RSRT has just announced funding for a second consortium: the MECP2 Gene Therapy Consortium. Read more about this newly formed second collaboration.