Epileptic encephalopathy-causing

mutations in DNM1 impair synaptic vesicle endocytosis Objective: To elucidate the functional consequences of epileptic encephalopathy–causing de novo mutations in DNM1 (A177P, K206N, G359A), which encodes a large mechanochemical GTPase essential for neuronal synaptic vesicle endocytosis. Methods: HeLa and COS-7 cells transfected withwild-type andmutantDNM1 constructswere used for transferrin assays, high-content imaging, colocalization studies, Western blotting, and electron microscopy (EM). EM was also conducted on the brain sections of mice harboring a middle-domain Dnm1 mutation (Dnm1Ftfl). Results: We demonstrate that the expression of each mutant protein decreased endocytosis activity in a dominant-negative manner. One of the G-domain mutations, K206N, decreased protein levels. The G359Amutation, which occurs in the middle domain, disrupted higher-order DNM1 oligomeriza-tion. EM of mutant DNM1-transfected HeLa cells and of the Dnm1Ftfl mouse brain revealed vesicle defects, indicating that the mutations likely interfere with DNM1’s vesicle scission activity. Conclusion: Together, these data suggest that the dysfunction of vesicle scission during synaptic vesicle endocytosis can lead to serious early-onset epilepsies. Neurol Genet 2015;1:e4; doi