Deciphering a mechanistic basis for the pathological effect of the GNAO1 E246K variant in neurodevelopmental disorder

Pathogenic variants in the GNAO1 gene, which encodes for Gα_o, a major neuronal G protein, are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, epilepsy, and movement disorders. We identified and characterized in detail a de novo heterozygous GNAO1 E246K pathogenic variant in an Israeli female infant with complex developmental delay and substantial motor difficulties. This variant has been reported in other cases as a recurrent pathogenic variant in patients with motor dysfunction and a broad range of neurological outcomes. To investigate the molecular and functional consequences of the Gα_o E246K variant, we employed structural modeling and analysis, mass spectrometry-based proteomics, biochemical assays, and cellular functional assays. Our biochemical results show that this variant does not affect nucleotide binding, nor basal or RGS-accelerated GTP hydrolysis. Despite the E246 position location within a predicted effector binding region, mass spectrometry analysis did not identify any novel cellular partners. Instead, we demonstrate that the E246K variant disrupts the Gα_o regulatory GTPase cycle by directly impairing Gβγ dissociation. This impairment overrides the function of wild-type Gα_o, explaining the dominant effect and the severity of the neurogenetic phenotype despite a heterozygous background. These findings establish a new molecular mechanism for a GNAO1 variant with dominant-negative effects on the GTPase regulatory cycle. The insights gained from studying this mechanism of action provide a basis for developing specific and personalized therapeutic strategies based on the outcome of a missense mutation in GNAO1.