Homozygous nonsense mutation in SYNJ1 associated with intractable epilepsy and tau pathology

The tauopathies are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the shared presence of tau aggregates and neurofibrillary tangles within the central nervous system. Here, we present a child with a severe neurodegenerative disorder characterized by intractable seizures and significant tau-immunoreactive neurofibrillary degeneration localized predominantly to the substantia nigra on neuropathology with absence of beta-amyloid plaques and Lewy or Pick bodies. Whole-exome sequencing identified a homozygous truncating mutation in Synaptojanin 1 (SYNJ1). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot experiments demonstrated diminished SYNJ1 messenger RNA and protein. Knockout Synj1−/− mice have convulsions and die early in life. More recently, homozygous missense mutations have been reported in 2 families with early-onset parkinsonism and seizures. Our findings broaden the spectrum of disease associated with alteration of SYNJ1 and further implicate defects in synaptic vesicle recycling in the tauopathies.