Wide-ranging behavioral dysfunction in two mouse models of pathological human variants in the GRIK2 kainate receptor gene

Abstract

De novo variants in a subset of ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) genes cause nonsyndromic neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in individuals. Two recurrent variants in the kainate receptor (KAR) gene GRIK2 result in the gain-of-function (GoF) substitutions p.Ala657Thr and p.Thr660Lys in a critical pore-forming domain of the GluK2 subunit. Disorders in individuals with these variants manifest as intellectual disability, developmental delay, motor impairments, and, in the case of p.Thr660Lys, epilepsy. To explore their pathogenicity and phenotypic consequences in vivo, we generated knock-in mouse models harboring orthologous Grik2 mutations. Behavioral analyses revealed a range of developmental, motor, cognitive, and naturalistic behavior impairments in both lines, with T660K mice typically exhibiting more severe phenotypes, consistent with clinical observations in humans. GluK2(T660K) mice also display interictal EEG abnormalities and handling-induced seizures. These models establish the first in vivo platforms for dissecting the underlying mechanisms of NDDs caused by a GoF mutation in the GluK2 KAR subunit and represent crucial tools for therapeutic development. HighlightsO_LIDe novo variants in the GRIK2 kainate receptor gene cause developmental disorders C_LIO_LIWe studied knockin mouse models of pathogenic p.Ala657Thr and p.Thr660Lys variants C_LIO_LIGluK2(A657T) and GluK2(T660K) mice have deficits analogous to human disorder symptoms C_LIO_LILike their human counterparts, GluK2(T660K) but not GluK2(A657T) mice have seizures C_LIO_LIGrik2 knockin mice are key tools for interrogating underlying causes of dysfunction C_LI