ABSTRACT

Background: Peripheral nerve hyperexcitability (PNH) is characterized by muscle overactivity due to spontaneous discharges of lower motor neurons usually associated with antibodies against voltage-gated potassium channels. PNH may also occur in combination with episodic ataxia or epilepsy caused by mutations in K_V1.1 or K_V7.2 channels. Only one PNH-associated mutation has been described so far in K_V7.2 (R207W), in a family with both PNH and neonatal seizures.

Methods: PNH was characterized by video and electromyography. The KCNQ2 gene was sequenced and K_V7.2 channels were functionally characterized using two-microelectrode voltage-clamping in Xenopus oocytes.

Results: In a patient with PNH without other neurologic symptoms, we identified a novel KCNQ2 mutation predicting loss of a charged residue within the voltage sensor of K_V7.2 (R207Q). Functional analysis of both PNH-associated mutants revealed large depolarizing shifts of the conductance-voltage relationships and marked slowing of the activation time course compared to wild type (WT) channels, less pronounced for R207Q than R207W. Co-expression of both mutant with WT channels revealed a dominant negative effect reducing the relative current amplitudes after short depolarizations by >70%. The anticonvulsant retigabine, an activator of neuronal K_V7 channels, reversed the depolarizing shift.

Conclusions: Mutations in KCNQ2 can cause idiopathic PNH alone and should be considered in sporadic cases. Both K_V7.2 mutants produce PNH by changing voltage-dependent activation with a dominant negative effect on the WT channel. This distinguishes them from all hitherto examined Kv7.2 or K_V7.3 mutations which cause neonatal seizures by haploinsufficiency. Retigabine may be beneficial in treating PNH.