Abstract
Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome (AGS) is a rare neuroinflammatory condition
characterized by early-onset symptoms that extend outside the nervous
system. Due to the rarity of the disease, the pathogenesis is not well
understood and its diagnosis and treatment remain elusive. We recently
demonstrated mitochondrial abnormalities and increased reactive oxygen
species (ROS) levels in lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from
RNASEH2B- and RNASEH2A-mutated AGS patients. On this background, we
turned our attention to metformin, the first-choice drug for type 2
diabetes, as a possible treatment acting on the oxidative stress
condition in RNASEH2-mutant AGS cells. By means flow cytometry; we
reported that metformin treatment significantly decreases ROS production
in RNASEH2B- and RNASEH2A-mutated AGS LCLs. Of note, metformin treatment
reduces the green JC-1 monomeric signal and, concurrently, increases the
red JC-1 signal in both mutated LCLs, accounting for a restoration of
the mitochondrial membrane potential. Immunofluorescence staining shows
a decrease in 8-oxoG levels only in RNASEH2B- mutated AGS LCLs. Finally,
the significant upregulation of FOXO3, cytochrome C somatic (CYCS) and
superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) mRNA levels in RNASEH2B-mutated AGS LCLs
after metformin treatment, points to FOXO3 signaling as a possible
mechanism to reduce oxidative stress. In conclusion, even if these pilot
results need to be confirmed on a larger cohort, we shed light on
metformin as a valid approach to ameliorate the oxidative stress-related
inflammatory condition in AGS patients.