Augmented Reticular Thalamic Bursting and Seizures in Scn1a-Dravet Syndrome.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ritter-Makinson S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6555418 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Augmented Reticular Thalamic Bursting and Seizures in Scn1a-Dravet Syndrome.
Ritter-Makinson Stefanie S Clemente-Perez Alexandra A Higashikubo Bryan B Cho Frances S FS Holden Stephanie S SS Bennett Eric E Chkhaidze Ana A Eelkman Rooda Oscar H J OHJ Cornet Marie-Coralie MC Hoebeek Freek E FE Yamakawa Kazuhiro K Cilio Maria Roberta MR Delord Bruno B Paz Jeanne T JT
Cell reports 20190101 1
Loss of function in the Scn1a gene leads to a severe epileptic encephalopathy called Dravet syndrome (DS). Reduced excitability in cortical inhibitory neurons is thought to be the major cause of DS seizures. Here, in contrast, we show enhanced excitability in thalamic inhibitory neurons that promotes the non-convulsive seizures that are a prominent yet poorly understood feature of DS. In a mouse model of DS with a loss of function in Scn1a, reticular thalamic cells exhibited abnormally long burs ...[more]
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Project description:Dravet syndrome (DS) is a severe epileptic encephalopathy caused mainly by heterozygous loss-of-function mutations of the SCN1A gene, indicating haploinsufficiency as the pathogenic mechanism. Here we tested whether catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9)-mediated Scn1a gene activation can rescue Scn1a haploinsufficiency in a mouse DS model and restore physiological levels of its gene product, the Nav1.1 voltage-gated sodium channel. We screened single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) for their ability to stimulate Scn1a transcription in association with the dCas9 activation system. We identified a specific sgRNA that increases Scn1a gene expression levels in cell lines and primary neurons with high specificity. Nav1.1 protein levels were augmented, as was the ability of wild-type immature GABAergic interneurons to fire action potentials. A similar enhancement of Scn1a transcription was achieved in mature DS interneurons, rescuing their ability to fire. To test the therapeutic potential of this approach, we delivered the Scn1a-dCas9 activation system to DS pups using adeno-associated viruses. Parvalbumin interneurons recovered their firing ability, and febrile seizures were significantly attenuated. Our results pave the way for exploiting dCas9-based gene activation as an effective and targeted approach to DS and other disorders resulting from altered gene dosage.
| S-EPMC6952031 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), or Dravet syndrome (DS), is a catastrophic pediatric epilepsy with severe intellectual disability, impaired social development, and persistent drug-resistant seizures. One of its primary monogenic causes is a mutation in SCN1A (Nav1.1), a type I voltage-gated sodium channel. In mice, Nav1.1 mutation is associated with reduced sodium current, altered interneuron firing, cognitive deficits, autistic-like traits and seizures. Here we describe a larval zebrafish Nav1.1 mutant that recapitulates salient features of the human SCN1A mutation phenotype. Between three and seven days post-fertilization, Nav1.1 mutants exhibit spontaneous abnormal electrographic activity, hyperactivity and convulsive behaviors. Transcriptomic analysis of Nav1.1 mutants was remarkable for the relatively small fraction of genes that were differentially expressed (~2%) and the lack of compensatory changes in expression for other SCN subunits. Pharmacological studies confirmed an antiepileptic action for the ketogenic diet, benzodiazepine, valproate, potassium bromide and stiripentol in Nav1.1 mutants; acetazolamide, phenytoin, ethosuximide had no effect, carbamazepine and vigabatrin made seizures worse. Using this mutant, we screened a chemical library of 320 compounds and identified four compounds that reduced spontaneous seizure-like behavior and one compound (clemizole) that inhibited convulsive behavior and electrographic seizures. Drug-resistant scn1a zebrafish mutants described here represent a new direction in modeling pediatric epilepsy and could be used to identify novel lead compounds for DS patients 4 Control sibling samples (sample= 10 pooled larvae) and 4 Nav1.1 mutants (sample= 10 pooled larvae) were collected at 6 dpf (days post fertilization). The Nav1.1 mutants were selected based on phenotype (dark color).
2014-01-04 | E-GEOD-43312 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Dravet syndrome (Dravet) is a severe congenital developmental genetic epilepsy caused by de novo mutations in the SCN1A gene. Nonsense mutations are found in ∼20% of the patients, and the R613X mutation was identified in multiple patients. Here we characterized the epileptic and non-epileptic phenotypes of a novel preclinical Dravet mouse model harboring the R613X nonsense Scn1a mutation. Scn1aWT/R613X mice, on a mixed C57BL/6J:129S1/SvImJ background, exhibited spontaneous seizures, susceptibility to heat-induced seizures, and premature mortality, recapitulating the core epileptic phenotypes of Dravet. In addition, these mice, available as an open-access model, demonstrated increased locomotor activity in the open-field test, modeling some non-epileptic Dravet-associated phenotypes. Conversely, Scn1aWT/R613X mice, on the pure 129S1/SvImJ background, had a normal life span and were easy to breed. Homozygous Scn1aR613X/R613X mice (pure 129S1/SvImJ background) died before P16. Our molecular analyses of hippocampal and cortical expression demonstrated that the premature stop codon induced by the R613X mutation reduced Scn1a mRNA and NaV1.1 protein levels to ∼50% in heterozygous Scn1aWT/R613X mice (on either genetic background), with marginal expression in homozygous Scn1aR613X/R613X mice. Together, we introduce a novel Dravet model carrying the R613X Scn1a nonsense mutation that can be used to study the molecular and neuronal basis of Dravet, as well as the development of new therapies associated with SCN1A nonsense mutations in Dravet.
| S-EPMC10191256 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), or Dravet syndrome (DS), is a catastrophic pediatric epilepsy with severe intellectual disability, impaired social development, and persistent drug-resistant seizures. One of its primary monogenic causes is a mutation in SCN1A (Nav1.1), a type I voltage-gated sodium channel. In mice, Nav1.1 mutation is associated with reduced sodium current, altered interneuron firing, cognitive deficits, autistic-like traits and seizures. Here we describe a larval zebrafish Nav1.1 mutant that recapitulates salient features of the human SCN1A mutation phenotype. Between three and seven days post-fertilization, Nav1.1 mutants exhibit spontaneous abnormal electrographic activity, hyperactivity and convulsive behaviors. Transcriptomic analysis of Nav1.1 mutants was remarkable for the relatively small fraction of genes that were differentially expressed (~2%) and the lack of compensatory changes in expression for other SCN subunits. Pharmacological studies confirmed an antiepileptic action for the ketogenic diet, benzodiazepine, valproate, potassium bromide and stiripentol in Nav1.1 mutants; acetazolamide, phenytoin, ethosuximide had no effect, carbamazepine and vigabatrin made seizures worse. Using this mutant, we screened a chemical library of 320 compounds and identified four compounds that reduced spontaneous seizure-like behavior and one compound (clemizole) that inhibited convulsive behavior and electrographic seizures. Drug-resistant scn1a zebrafish mutants described here represent a new direction in modeling pediatric epilepsy and could be used to identify novel lead compounds for DS patients
2014-01-04 | GSE43312 | GEO
Project description:ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of Dravet syndrome, an epileptic encephalopathy caused by SCN1A-mutations, often with seizure onset after vaccination, among infants reported with seizures following vaccination. To determine differences in characteristics of reported seizures after vaccination in children with and without SCN1A-related Dravet syndrome.MethodsData were reviewed of 1,269 children with seizures following immunization in the first two years of life, reported to the safety surveillance system of the Dutch national immunization program between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2006. Selective, prospective follow-up was performed of children with clinical characteristics compatible with a diagnosis of Dravet syndrome.ResultsIn 21.9% (n = 279) of children, a diagnosis of Dravet syndrome could not be excluded based on available clinical data (median age at follow-up 16 months). Additional follow-up data were obtained in 83.9% (n = 234) of these children (median age 8.5 years). 15 (1.2% of 1,269; 95%CI:0.6 to 1.8%) children were diagnosed with SCN1A-related Dravet syndrome. Of all reported seizures following vaccinations in the first year of life, 2.5% (95%CI:1.3 to 3.6%) were due to SCN1A-related Dravet syndrome, as were 5.9% of reported seizures (95%CI:3.1 to 8.7%) after 2(nd) or 3(rd) DTP-IPV-Hib vaccination. Seizures in children with SCN1A-related Dravet syndrome occurred more often with a body temperature below 38.5°C (57.9% vs. 32.6%, p = 0.020) and reoccurred more often after following vaccinations (26.7% vs. 4.0%, p = 0.003), than in children without a diagnosis of SCN1A-related Dravet Syndrome.ConclusionsAlthough Dravet syndrome is a rare genetic epilepsy syndrome, 2.5% of reported seizures following vaccinations in the first year of life in our cohort occurred in children with this disorder. Knowledge on the specific characteristics of vaccination-related seizures in this syndrome might promote early diagnosis and indirectly, public faith in vaccination safety.
| S-EPMC3675088 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Dravet Syndrome (DS) is a severe epileptic encephalopathy caused primarily by haploinsufficiency of the SCN1A gene. While different therapeutic strategies based on the upregulation of the healthy gene copy are being developed, repetitive seizures might lead to endurable and hardly treatable neural deficits. In fact, whether and to which extent this severe pathology is reversible after symptom onset remains unknown and the lack of this knowledge prevents the development of more effective therapies. We generated a novel Scn1a conditional knock-in mouse model (Scn1aStop) where Scn1a expression could be re-activated on-demand during the mouse lifetime. Scn1a gene disruption leads to the development of seizures, often associated with SUDEP and behavioral alterations including hyperactivity, social interaction deficits and cognitive impairment starting from the second/third week of age. However, we showed that Scn1a gene reconstitution when symptoms were already manifested (P30) led to a complete rescue of both spontaneous and thermic inducible seizures and marked amelioration of behavioral abnormalities. Normalization of firing of hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons was observed after reactivation of the Scn1a mutant allele. We also identified dramatic gene expression alterations associated with astrogliosis in DS mice, rescued by Scn1a gene expression normalization at P30. Interestingly, regaining of Nav1.1 physiological levels rescued epileptic seizures also in adult DS mice (P90) after months of repetitive seizure events. These results uncover the principles governing the reversibility of a severe epileptic encephalopathy as DS and they are central for accelerating therapeutic translation, providing key insights on the timing of delivery of the disease modifying therapies in DS.
2021-11-29 | GSE171191 | GEO
Project description:Absence seizures are caused by abnormal synchronized oscillations in the thalamocortical (TC) circuit, which result in widespread spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs) on electroencephalography (EEG) as well as impairment of consciousness. Thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) and TC neurons are known to interact dynamically to generate TC circuitry oscillations during SWDs. Clinical studies have suggested the association of Plcβ1 with early-onset epilepsy, including absence seizures. However, the brain regions and circuit mechanisms related to the generation of absence seizures with Plcβ1 deficiency are unknown. In this study, we found that loss of Plcβ1 in mice caused spontaneous complex-type seizures, including convulsive and absence seizures. Importantly, TRN-specific deletion of Plcβ1 led to the development of only spontaneous SWDs, and no other types of seizures were observed. Ex vivo slice patch recording demonstrated that the number of spikes, an intrinsic TRN neuronal property, was significantly reduced in both tonic and burst firing modes in the absence of Plcβ1 . We conclude that the loss of Plcβ1 in the TRN leads to decreased excitability and impairs normal inhibitory neuronal function, thereby disrupting feedforward inhibition of the TC circuitry, which is sufficient to cause hypersynchrony of the TC system and eventually leads to spontaneous absence seizures. Our study not only provides a novel mechanism for the induction of SWDs in Plcβ1 -deficient patients but also offers guidance for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for absence epilepsy.
| S-EPMC9194639 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDravet syndrome is a severe form of epilepsy. Majority of patients have a mutation in SCN1A gene, which encodes a voltage-gated sodium channel. A recent study has demonstrated that 16% of SCN1A-negative patients have a mutation in PCDH19, the gene encoding protocadherin-19. Mutations in other genes account for only a very small proportion of families. TSPYL4 is a novel candidate gene within the locus 6q16.3-q22.31 identified by linkage study.ObjectiveThe present study examined the mutations in epileptic Chinese children with emphasis on Dravet syndrome.MethodsA hundred children with severe epilepsy were divided into Dravet syndrome and non-Dravet syndrome groups and screened for SCN1A mutations by direct sequencing. SCN1A-negative Dravet syndrome patients and patients with phenotypes resembling Dravet syndrome were checked for PCDH19 and TSPYL4 mutations.ResultsEighteen patients (9 males, 9 females) were diagnosed to have Dravet syndrome. Among them, 83% (15/18) had SCN1A mutations including truncating (7), splice site (2) and missense mutations (6). The truncating/splice site mutations were associated with moderate to severe degree of intellectual disability (p<0.05). During the progression of disease, 73% (11/15) had features fitting into the diagnostic criteria of autism spectrum disorder and 53% (8/15) had history of vaccination-induced seizures. A novel PCDH19 p.D377N mutation was identified in one SCN1A-negative female patient with Dravet syndrome and a known PCDH19 p.N340S mutation in a female non-Dravet syndrome patient. The former also inherited a TSPYL4 p.G60R variant.ConclusionA high percentage of SCN1A mutations was identified in our Chinese cohort of Dravet syndrome patients but none in the rest of patients. We demonstrated that truncating/splice site mutations were linked to moderate to severe intellectual disability in these patients. A de novo PCDH19 missense mutation together with an inherited TSPYL4 missense variant were identified in a patient with Dravet syndrome.
| S-EPMC3405017 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: SCN1A is one of the most common epilepsy genes. About 80% of SCN1A gene mutations cause Dravet syndrome (DS), which is a severe and catastrophic epileptic encephalopathy. More than 1,800 mutations have been identified in SCN1A. Although it is known that SCN1A is the main cause of DS and genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+), there is a dearth of information on the other related diseases caused by mutations of SCN1A. Objective: The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature associated with SCN1A and other non-DS-related disorders. Methods: We searched PubMed and SCOPUS for all the published cases related to gene mutations of SCN1A until October 20, 2021. The results reported by each study were summarized narratively. Results: The PubMed and SCOPUS search yielded 2,889 items. A total of 453 studies published between 2005 and 2020 met the final inclusion criteria. Overall, 303 studies on DS, 93 on GEFS+, three on Doose syndrome, nine on the epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS), six on the West syndrome, two on the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), one on the Rett syndrome, seven on the nonsyndromic epileptic encephalopathy (NEE), 19 on hemiplegia migraine, six on autism spectrum disorder (ASD), two on nonepileptic SCN1A-related sudden deaths, and two on the arthrogryposis multiplex congenital were included. Conclusion: Aside from DS, SCN1A also causes other epileptic encephalopathies, such as GEFS+, Doose syndrome, EIMFS, West syndrome, LGS, Rett syndrome, and NEE. In addition to epilepsy, hemiplegic migraine, ASD, sudden death, and arthrogryposis multiplex congenital can also be caused by mutations of SCN1A.
| S-EPMC8739186 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and purposeDravet syndrome is a rare and severe type of epilepsy in infants. The heterogeneity in the overall intellectual disability that these patients suffer from has been attributed to differences in genetic background and epilepsy severity.MethodsEighteen Vietnamese children diagnosed with Dravet syndrome were included in this study. SCN1A variants were screened by direct sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Adaptive functioning was assessed in all patients using the Vietnamese version of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, and the results were analyzed relative to the SCN1A variants and epilepsy severity.ResultsWe identified 13 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, including 6 that have not been reported previously. We found no correlations between the presence or type of SCN1A variants and the level of adaptive functioning impairment or severity of epilepsy. Only two of nine patients aged at least 5 years had an adaptive functioning score higher than 50. Both of these patients had a low frequency of convulsive seizures and no history of status epilepticus or prolonged seizures. The remaining seven had very low adaptive functioning scores (39 or less) despite the variability in the severity of their epilepsy confirming the involvement of factors other than the severity of epilepsy in determining the developmental outcome.ConclusionsOur study expands the spectrum of known SCN1A variants and confirms the current understanding of the role of the genetic background and epilepsy severity in determining the developmental outcome of Dravet syndrome patients.
| S-EPMC5242153 | biostudies-literature