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Glycine decarboxylase deficiency–induced motor dysfunction in zebrafish is rescued by counterbalancing glycine synaptic level
Raphaëlle Riché, … , Pierre Drapeau, Éric Samarut
Raphaëlle Riché, … , Pierre Drapeau, Éric Samarut
Published November 2, 2018
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2018;3(21):e124642. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.124642.
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Research Article Genetics Neuroscience

Glycine decarboxylase deficiency–induced motor dysfunction in zebrafish is rescued by counterbalancing glycine synaptic level

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Abstract

Glycine encephalopathy (GE), or nonketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH), is a rare recessive genetic disease caused by defective glycine cleavage and characterized by increased accumulation of glycine in all tissues. Here, based on new case reports of GLDC loss-of-function mutations in GE patients, we aimed to generate a zebrafish model of severe GE in order to unravel the molecular mechanism of the disease. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we knocked out the gldc gene and showed that gldc–/– fish recapitulate GE on a molecular level and present a motor phenotype reminiscent of severe GE symptoms. The molecular characterization of gldc–/– mutants showed a broad metabolic disturbance affecting amino acids and neurotransmitters other than glycine, with lactic acidosis at stages preceding death. Although a transient imbalance was found in cell proliferation in the brain of gldc–/– zebrafish, the main brain networks were not affected, thus suggesting that GE pathogenicity is mainly due to metabolic defects. We confirmed that the gldc–/– hypotonic phenotype is due to NMDA and glycine receptor overactivation, and demonstrated that gldc–/– larvae depict exacerbated hyperglycinemia at these synapses. Remarkably, we were able to rescue the motor dysfunction of gldc–/– larvae by counterbalancing pharmacologically or genetically the level of glycine at the synapse.

Authors

Raphaëlle Riché, Meijiang Liao, Izabella A. Pena, Kit-Yi Leung, Nathalie Lepage, Nicolas D.E. Greene, Kyriakie Sarafoglou, Lisa A. Schimmenti, Pierre Drapeau, Éric Samarut

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