Epileptic spasms with terror during sleep in CDKL5 encephalopathy

International audienceStudy objectives: To describe early diagnostic clues in Cyclin-Dependent Kinase-Like 5 (CDKL5) refractory encephalopathy, to improve treatment strategies.Methods: We retrospectively studied 35 patients (25 females, 10 males) with CDKL5 gene mutations or deletion, focusing on their early seizure semiology, the electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern, the effect of treatment, and developmental outcome.Results: The first seizures were recognizable and consisted of tonic, then clonic, and spasms phases, occurring in sleep at a median age of 6 weeks. Clusters of spasms were observed in quiet sleep or slow-wave sleep (SWS), with screaming, staring, and arms' extension that mimicked sleep terror in 28 of 35 patients (80%). Programmed awakening prevented these spasms in 9 of 16 patients and small doses of clonazepam given at night improved epilepsy in 14 of 23 patients.Conclusions: Peculiar seizures with spasms starting in SWS are an early diagnostic clue in infants with CDKL5 encephalopathy. Sleep video-EEG polygraphy is an easy tool to disclose these early seizures and epileptic spasms in infants during the first months of life while polysomnography is unlikely to give a contribution at that early age. While conventional antiepileptic treatment and corticosteroids are poorly, transiently, or not efficient, therapeutic strategy used for sleep terror could help, although the mechanism of spasms generation in SWS needs to be elucidated

Genotype-phenotype correlations in RHOBTB2-associated neurodevelopmental disorders.

PURPOSE Missense variants clustering in the BTB domain region of RHOBTB2 cause a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) with early-onset seizures and severe intellectual disability. METHODS By international collaboration we assembled individuals with pathogenic RHOBTB2 variants and a variable spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). By western blotting we investigated the consequences of missense variants in vitro. RESULTS In accordance with previous observations, de novo heterozygous missense variants in the BTB domain region led to a severe DEE in 16 individuals. We now identified also de novo missense variants in the GTPase domain in six individuals with apparently more variable neurodevelopmental phenotypes with or without epilepsy. In contrast to variants in the BTB domain region, variants in the GTPase domain do not impair proteasomal degradation of RHOBTB2 in vitro, indicating different functional consequences.Furthermore, we observed bi-allelic splice-site and truncating variants in nine families with variable neurodevelopmental phenotypes, indicating that complete loss of RHOBTB2 is pathogenic as well. CONCLUSION By identifying phenotype-genotype correlations regarding location and consequences of de novo missense variants in RHOBTB2 and by identifying bi-allelic truncating variants, we further delineate and expand the molecular and clinical spectrum of RHOBTB2 related disorders including both autosomal dominant and recessive NDDs

Biallelic loss of human CTNNA2, encoding αN-catenin, leads to ARP2/3 complex overactivity and disordered cortical neuronal migration.

Neuronal migration defects, including pachygyria, are among the most severe developmental brain defects in humans. Here, we identify biallelic truncating mutations in CTNNA2, encoding αN-catenin, in patients with a distinct recessive form of pachygyria. CTNNA2 was expressed in human cerebral cortex, and its loss in neurons led to defects in neurite stability and migration. The αN-catenin paralog, αE-catenin, acts as a switch regulating the balance between β-catenin and Arp2/3 actin filament activities1. Loss of αN-catenin did not affect β-catenin signaling, but recombinant αN-catenin interacted with purified actin and repressed ARP2/3 actin-branching activity. The actin-binding domain of αN-catenin or ARP2/3 inhibitors rescued the neuronal phenotype associated with CTNNA2 loss, suggesting ARP2/3 de-repression as a potential disease mechanism. Our findings identify CTNNA2 as the first catenin family member with biallelic mutations in humans, causing a new pachygyria syndrome linked to actin regulation, and uncover a key factor involved in ARP2/3 repression in neurons.11sciescopu