Cited by 232Retinal Development and DisordersVirus-based gene therapy researchGlaucoma and retinal disorders

Bilateral visual improvement with unilateral gene therapy injection for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy

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Yu-Wai-Man, Patrick, Newman, Nancy J., Carelli, Valerio, Moster, Mark L., Biousse, Valerie, Sadun, Alfredo A., Klopstock, Thomas, Vignal-Clermont, Catherine +15 more·2020·Science Translational Medicine

Abstract

At 96 weeks after unilateral intravitreal injection of rAAV2/2- ND4 , vision improved in both eyes in 78% of subjects affected with LHON.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaz7423

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44 of 44 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Among RESCUE subjects, BCVA evolution was comparable in both rAAV2/2-ND4-treated and sham-treated eyes, similar to the bilateral changes seen among subjects in the REVERSE study.

    “Among RESCUE subjects, BCVA evolution was comparable in both rAAV2/2-ND4etreated and shamtreated eyes, similar to the bilateral changes seen among subjects in the REVERSE study.18”

    From Efficacy and Safety of Intravitreal Gene Therapy for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy Treated within 6 Months of Disease Onset (2021) · cites this paper as [18]

    The Efficacy Data at Week 96 section reports similar BCVA changes in treated and sham-treated eyes for most REVERSE subjects, including bilateral improvement in 78%. The Introduction says the paper reports REVERSE results; it names RESCUE as a separate trial but gives no BCVA results for RESCUE subjects. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • In the REVERSE study, 78% of patients experienced some bilateral improvement of BCVA from baseline, 81% experienced a clinically relevant recovery from nadir in at least 1 eye, and 76% had an improvement of at least -0.3 logMAR (15 ETDRS letters equivalent) from nadir in at least 1 eye.

    “A total of 78% of patients experienced some bilateral improvement of BCVA from baseline; 81% experienced a CRR from nadir in at least 1 eye, and 76% had an improvement of at least À0.3 logMAR (15 ETDRS letters equivalent) from nadir in at least 1 eye.”

    From Efficacy and Safety of Intravitreal Gene Therapy for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy Treated within 6 Months of Disease Onset (2021) · cites this paper as [18]

    The Efficacy Data at Week 96 section reports bilateral BCVA improvement from baseline in 29 subjects (78%), supporting the first figure. It reports clinically relevant recovery from nadir in 78%, not 81%, and does not report that 76% improved by at least −0.3 logMAR from nadir in at least one eye. The responder analysis instead reports 41% meeting a related threshold assessed from baseline. (LLM, conf=0.91)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • REFLECT is the first clinical study assessing the efficacy of bilateral IVT of lenadogene nolparvovec, while in the three previous clinical studies lenadogene nolparvovec was exclusively administered as unilateral IVT.

    “It is also the first clinical study assessing the efficacy of a bilateral IVT of lenadogene nolparvovec, while in the three previous clinical studies REVEAL,21 REVERSE16–18 and RESCUE,17–19 lenadogene nolparvovec was exclusively administered as unilateral IVT.”

    From Randomized trial of bilateral gene therapy injection for m.11778G&amp;gt;A <i>MT-ND4</i> Leber optic neuropathy (2023) · cites this paper as [16]

    The Introduction and trial description confirm that REVERSE used unilateral intravitreal rAAV2/2-ND4, with the fellow eye receiving a sham treatment (page unavailable). The Introduction names REFLECT and RESCUE but does not describe their injection designs; our copy also does not establish that REFLECT was the first bilateral-injection study or that all three earlier studies used unilateral injections. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The REVERSE, RESCUE, and REFLECT Phase III studies in LHON all reported a similar incidence of intraocular inflammation with the same construct and dose of AAV vector despite different prophylaxis regimes.

    “The REVERSE (NCT02652780), RESCUE (NCT02652767), and REFLECT (NCT03293524) Phase III studies in LHON all reported a similar inci­ dence of intraocular inflammation with the same construct and dose of AAV vector despite different prophylaxis regimes.”

    From Gene Therapy-Associated Uveitis (GTAU): Understanding and mitigating the adverse immune response in retinal gene therapy (2025) · cites this paper as Yu-Wai-Man et al., 2020

    The Introduction identifies REVERSE, RESCUE, and REFLECT as LHON trials examining the same rAAV2/2-ND4 vector. Safety Data at Week 96 reports intraocular inflammation in 34 of 37 treated eyes (92%) in REVERSE, without prophylactic steroids. Our copy does not report inflammation rates, doses, or prophylaxis regimens for RESCUE and REFLECT, so it cannot support the claimed similarity across all three studies. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • In the REVERSE trial, LHON subjects had loss of vision in both eyes of 6 months to 1 year at study enrollment, and a bilateral visual improvement was observed over the 96 weeks after treatment administration.

    “In the REVERSE trial, LHON subjects had loss of vision in both eyes of 6 months to 1 year at study enrollment, and a bilateral visual improvement was observed over the 96 weeks after treatment administration.18”

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Authors
Yu-Wai-Man, P., Newman, N. J., Carelli, V., Moster, M. L., Biousse, V., Sadun, A. A., Klopstock, T., Vignal-Clermont, C., Sergott, R. C., Rudolph, G., La Morgia, C., Karanjia, R., Taiel, M., Blouin, L., Burguière, P., Smits, G., Chevalier, C., Masonson, H., Salermo, Y., Katz, B., Picaud, S., Calkins, D. J., & Sahel, J.-A.
Affiliations
  • Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair and MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0PY, UK.
  • Emory University (US)
  • IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, UOC Clinica Neurologica, 40139 Bologna, Italy.
  • Thomas Jefferson University (US)
  • Departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology and Neurological Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DE)
  • Department of Neuro-Ophthalmology and Emergencies, Rothschild Foundation Hospital, 75019 Paris, France.
  • LMU Klinikum (DE)
  • University of Ottawa (CA)
  • GenSight Biologics (France) (FR)
  • GenSight Biologics, New York, NY 10016, USA.
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • Vanderbilt University Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Sahel, José-Alain
Venue
Science Translational Medicine
Published
2020-12-09
Volume
12
Issue
573
ISSN
  • 1946-6234 (ISSN-L)
  • 1946-6242
OpenAlex
W3112356895
Cited by
232
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 5
FWCI
10.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Science Translational Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nd)
  • DZNE Pub (submittedVersion)
  • Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion)
  • Apollo
Funders
GenSight Biologics
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Retinal Development and Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Virus-based gene therapy research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Glaucoma and retinal disorders
Keywords
Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, gene therapy, unilateral injection, nonhuman primate model, visual recovery, optic nerve, retina, anterior segment
MeSH terms
Dependovirus, Animals, Humans, NADH Dehydrogenase, Visual Acuity, Visual Fields, Genetic Therapy, Optic Atrophy, Hereditary, Leber, Tomography, Optical Coherence

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