To assess the clinical impact of DEPDC5 mutations in familial temporal lobe epilepsy, we screened a collection of Italian families with either autosomal dominant lateral temporal epilepsy (ADLTE) or familial mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (FMTLE).
Molecular genetic advances in inherited focal epilepsies have pinpointed their genetic heterogeneity and the fact that they are mediated by different biological pathways: ion channel subunit genes have been linked to ADNFLE (CHRNA4, CHRNA2, CHRNB2, and KCNT1, encoding, respectively, the α4, α2, and β2 subunits of the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, and a potassium channel subunit); neuronal secreted protein (LGI1-encoding epitempin) has been linked to autosomal dominant epilepsy with auditory features; and mTORC1-repressor DEPDC5 (DEP domain-containing protein 5) gene has recently been reported in a broad spectrum of inherited focal epilepsies (ADNFLE, FTLE, FFEVF).