PUBLICATION
Zebrafish models of candidate human epilepsy-associated genes provide evidence of hyperexcitability
- Authors
- LaCoursiere, C.M., Ullmann, J.F.P., Koh, H.Y., Turner, L., Baker, C.M., Robens, B., Shao, W., Rotenberg, A., McGraw, C.M., Poduri, A.H.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-240718-17
- Date
- 2024
- Source
- iScience 27: 110172110172 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Poduri, Annapurna, Ullmann, Jeremy
- Keywords
- Biological sciences, Molecular biology, Neuroscience
- MeSH Terms
- none
- PubMed
- 39021799 Full text @ iScience
Citation
LaCoursiere, C.M., Ullmann, J.F.P., Koh, H.Y., Turner, L., Baker, C.M., Robens, B., Shao, W., Rotenberg, A., McGraw, C.M., Poduri, A.H. (2024) Zebrafish models of candidate human epilepsy-associated genes provide evidence of hyperexcitability. iScience. 27:110172110172.
Abstract
Hundreds of novel candidate human epilepsy-associated genes have been identified thanks to advancements in next-generation sequencing and large genome-wide association studies, but establishing genetic etiology requires functional validation. We generated a list of >2,200 candidate epilepsy-associated genes, of which 48 were developed into stable loss-of-function (LOF) zebrafish models. Of those 48, evidence of seizure-like behavior was present in 5 (arfgef1, kcnd2, kcnv1, ubr5, and wnt8b). Further characterization provided evidence for epileptiform activity via electrophysiology in kcnd2 and wnt8b mutants. Additionally, arfgef1 and wnt8b mutants showed a decrease in the number of inhibitory interneurons in the optic tectum of larval animals. Further, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed convergent transcriptional abnormalities between mutant lines, consistent with their developmental defects and hyperexcitable phenotypes. These zebrafish models provide strongest experimental evidence supporting the role of ARFGEF1, KCND2, and WNT8B in human epilepsy and further demonstrate the utility of this model system for evaluating candidate human epilepsy genes.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping