The DDOD/DOORS-Associated p.Arg506* Variant Causes Hyperactivity and Seizures in Mice.

The vacuolar H-ATPase is a multisubunit enzyme which plays an essential role in the acidification and functions of lysosomes, endosomes, and synaptic vesicles. Many genes encoding subunits of V-ATPases, namely and , have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and epilepsy. The autosomal dominant p.Arg506* variant can cause both congenital deafness with onychodystrophy, autosomal dominant (DDOD) and deafness, onychodystrophy, osteodystrophy, mental retardation, and seizures syndromes (DOORS). Some but not all individuals with this truncating variant have intellectual disability and/or epilepsy, suggesting incomplete penetrance and/or variable expressivity. To further explore the impact of the p.Arg506* variant in neurodevelopment and epilepsy, we generated mutant mice and performed standardized phenotyping using the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) pipeline. In addition, we assessed the EEG profile and seizure susceptibility of mice. Behavioral tests revealed that the mice present locomotor hyperactivity and show less anxiety-associated behaviors. Moreover, EEG analyses indicate that mutant mice have interictal epileptic activity and that both heterozygous (like patients) and homozygous mice have reduced seizure thresholds to pentylenetetrazol. Our results confirm that variants in can cause seizures and that the heterozygous mouse model is a valuable tool to further explore the pathophysiology and potential treatments for vacuolar ATPases-associated epilepsy and disorders.