Gene therapy for targeting a prenatally enriched potassium channel associated with severe childhood epilepsy and premature death

Dysfunction of the sodium-activated potassium channel K(Na)1.1 (encoded by KCNT1) is associated with a severe condition characterized by frequent seizures (up to hundreds per day) and is often fatal by age three years. We defined the early developmental onset of K(Na)1.1 channels in prenatal and neonatal brain tissue, establishing a timeline for pathophysiology and a window for therapeutic intervention. Using patch-clamp electrophysiology, we observed age-dependent increases in K(Na)1.1 K(+) conductance. In neurons derived from a child with a gain-of-function KCNT1 pathogenic variant (p.R474H), we detected abnormal excitability and action potential afterhyperpolarization kinetics. In a clinical trial, two individuals with the p.R474H variant showed dramatic reductions in seizure occurrence and severity with a first-in-human antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) RNA therapy. ASO-treated p.R474H neurons in vitro exhibited normalized spiking and burst properties. Finally, we demonstrated the feasibility of ASO knockdown of K(Na)1.1 in mid-gestation human neurons, suggesting potential for early therapeutic intervention before the onset of epileptic encephalopathy.