Epilepsy-Associated Digenic Variants Affecting an Actin-Mitochondria-Glutamate Pathway Promote Seizure Susceptibility

Authors

• Shenzhao Lu
• Mengqi Ma
• Shabab B Hannan
• Mingxi Deng
• Hu Chen
• Zhijian Yu
• Lindsey D Goodman
• Haein Kim
• Yun Zhao
• Sandeep Kumar Dubey
• Wen-Wen Lin
• Xueyang Pan
• Debdeep Dutta
• Vishnu Anand Cuddapah
• Jill A Rosenfeld
• Xi Luo
• Zhandong Liu
• Joshua M Shulman
• Hugo J Bellen

Language

English

Publication Date

7-16-2026

Journal

Journal of Clinical Investigation

DOI

10.1172/JCI198696

PMID

42461707

Abstract

Epilepsy affects approximately 50 million people worldwide, yet more than half of individuals with a presumed genetic cause still lack a molecular diagnosis despite the identification of over 1,000 monogenic epilepsy genes. This diagnostic gap is unlikely to be resolved by improved variant detection alone, suggesting that variants affecting the same biological pathway may combine to cause disease. By studying epilepsy-associated actin regulatory genes, we identified a conserved "actin-mitochondria-glutamate (AMG) pathway". We demonstrate that reduced actin polymerization promotes DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission, increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and enhances glutamatergic transmission, leading to seizures. The glial innate immune pathway, a recently recognized contributor to epilepsy, is activated when the AMG pathway is affected. Reducing mitochondrial fission with the DRP1 inhibitor Mdivi-1, or suppressing ROS with N-acetyl-L-cysteine amide (NACA), significantly alleviates seizures. Importantly, digenic heterozygous loss‑of‑function variants in AMG‑pathway genes combine to cause seizures, and individuals with epilepsy of unknown etiology show an increased burden of such variants when compared to the controls. Modeling patient‑specific digenic combinations in Drosophila confirms that many combinations promote seizure susceptibility. Together, these findings establish the AMG pathway as a mechanistic framework for identifying digenic etiologies in epilepsy and highlight potential therapeutic targets.

Keywords

Development, Epilepsy, Genetic diseases, Genetics, Neurodevelopment, Neuroscience

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Lu, Shenzhao; Ma, Mengqi; Hannan, Shabab B; et al., "Epilepsy-Associated Digenic Variants Affecting an Actin-Mitochondria-Glutamate Pathway Promote Seizure Susceptibility" (2026). Faculty, Staff and Students Publications. 7690.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/7690