The Capillary Morphogenesis Gene 2 Triggers the Intracellular Hallmarks of Collagen VI-Related Muscular Dystrophy

Abstract

Collagen VI-related disorders (COL6-RD) represent a severe form of congenital disease for which there is no treatment. Dominant-negative pathogenic variants in the genes encoding α chains of collagen VI are the main cause of COL6-RD. Here we report that patient-derived fibroblasts carrying a common single nucleotide variant mutation are unable to build the extracellular collagen VI network. This correlates with the intracellular accumulation of endosomes and lysosomes triggered by the increased phosphorylation of the collagen VI receptor CMG2. Notably, using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool to silence the dominant-negative mutation in patients' cells, we rescued the normal extracellular collagen VI network, CMG2 phosphorylation levels, and the accumulation of endosomes and lysosomes. Our findings reveal an unanticipated role of CMG2 in regulating endosomal and lysosomal homeostasis and suggest that mutated collagen VI dysregulates the intracellular environment in fibroblasts in collagen VI-related muscular dystrophy.