The Epilepsy of Infancy With Migrating Focal Seizures: Identification of de novo Mutations of the KCNT2 Gene That Exert Inhibitory Effects on the Corresponding Heteromeric KNa1.1/KNa1.2 Potassium Channel

Xiao Mao (1) , Nadine Bruneau (2) , Quwen Gao (3) , Hélène Becq (2) , Zhengjun Jia (1) , Hui Xi (1) , Li Shu (1) , Hua Wang (1) , Pierre Szepetowski (2) , Laurent Aniksztejn (2)

1 Hunan Agricultural University [Changsha]
2 INMED - INSERM U1249 - Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée [Aix-Marseille Université]
3 Guangzhou University

The epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS; previously called Malignant migrating partial seizures of infancy) are early-onset epileptic encephalopathies (EOEE) that associate multifocal ictal discharges and profound psychomotor retardation. EIMFS have a genetic origin and are mostly caused by de novo mutations in the KCNT1 gene, and much more rarely in the KCNT2 gene. KCNT1 and KCNT2 respectively encode the K Na 1.1 (Slack) and K Na 1.2 (Slick) subunits of the sodium-dependent voltage-gated potassium channel K Na. Functional analyses of the corresponding mutant homomeric channels in vitro suggested gain-of-function effects. Here, we report two novel, de novo truncating mutations of KCNT2: one mutation is frameshift (p.L48Qfs43), is situated in the N-terminal domain, and was found in a patient with EOEE (possibly EIMFS); the other mutation is nonsense (p.K564 *), is located in the C-terminal region, and was found in a typical EIMFS patient. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, we have analyzed the functional consequences of those two novel KCNT2 mutations on reconstituted K Na 1.2 homomeric and K Na 1.1/K Na 1.2 heteromeric channels in transfected chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. We report that both mutations significantly impacted on K Na function; notably, they decreased the global current density of heteromeric channels by ∼25% (p.K564 *) and ∼55% (p.L48Qfs43). Overall our data emphasize the involvement of KCNT2 in EOEE and provide novel insights into the role of heteromeric K Na channel in the severe KCNT2-related epileptic phenotypes. This may have important implications regarding the elaboration of future treatment.

Keywords: epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures; K Na channels; KCNT genes; epilepsy; encephalopathy

Domains: Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]

Xiao Mao, Nadine Bruneau, Quwen Gao, Hélène Becq, Zhengjun Jia, et al.. The Epilepsy of Infancy With Migrating Focal Seizures: Identification of de novo Mutations of the KCNT2 Gene That Exert Inhibitory Effects on the Corresponding Heteromeric KNa1.1/KNa1.2 Potassium Channel. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2020, 14, ⟨10.3389/fncel.2020.00001⟩. ⟨hal-02509029⟩