GRIN2A and GRIN2B and Their Related Phenotypes

Abstract

Glutamate is the most relevant excitatory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system; it binds with several receptors, including N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), a subtype of ionotropic glutamate receptor that displays voltage-dependent block by Mg2+ and a high permeability to Ca2+. GRIN2A and GRIN2B genes encode the GluN2A and GluN2B subunits of the NMDARs, which play important roles in synaptogenesis, synaptic transmission, and synaptic plasticity, as well as contributing to neuronal loss and dysfunction in several neurological disorders. Recently, individuals with a range of childhood-onset drug-resistant epilepsies, such as Landau–Kleffner or Lennox–Gastaut syndrome, intellectual disability (ID), and other neurodevelopmental abnormalities have been found to carry mutations in GRIN2A and GRIN2B, with high variable expressivity in phenotype. The first one is found mainly in epilepsy-aphasia syndromes, while the second one mainly in autism, schizophrenia, and ID, such as autism spectrum disorders. Brain magnetic resonance imaging alterations are found in some patients, even if without a clear clinical correlation. At the same time, increasing data on genotype–phenotype correlation have been found, but this is still not fully demonstrated. There are no specific therapies for the treatment of correlated NMDARs epilepsy, although some evidence with memantine, an antagonist of glutamate receptor, is reported in the literature in selected cases with mutation determining a gain of function.