OSCR

Pathological disruption of CELF2 shuttling causes neuronal hyperactivity, learning deficits, and seizures.

Overview

Authors: Michelle Hua1, Mohamad-Reza Aghanoori2, Melissa J MacPherson3, Yi Ren4, Shehani V Siripala5, Yifan Yang2, Yvonne Yan Yan Or2, Malea Nguyen4, Robert Duba-Kiss2,6,7, Daniel Feng4,7, Laura Williams2, Christopher J Gafuik6,8, GengYi Wang9, Chloe Quelin10, Boris Keren11,12, Sarah Schuhmann13, Georgia Vasileiou13,14, Alexia Bourgois15, Antonio Vitobello16, Christophe Philippe17
and 33 other authorsZornitza Stark18,19, Richard J Leventer18,19, George McGillivray18, Frederic Tran Mau-Them16, Marine Tessarech20,21, Clément Prouteau22, Phillis Lakeman23,24, Mahdi M Motazacker23, Donald R Latner25, Raymond C Caylor26, Yvette van Ierland27, Eloise Prijoles26, Angie Lichty26, Evangelos Theodorou28, David A Sweetser28, Edward Steel29, Jan Cobben30, Majed J Dasouki31, Daniel G Calame32,33,34, Bertrand Isidor35,36, Benjamin Cogné35,36, Mitchell Kesler2,6,7, Brooke Rackel2, Isabel Clark2, Deborah M Kurrasch2,6,7, G Campbell Teskey4, James Ellis37, Guiqiong He9, Scott D Ryan5, Douglas J Mahoney1,6,8,38, A Micheil Innes2,6, Jonathan R Epp4,7, Guang Yang1,2,6,7,39
39 affiliations
  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and
  2. Department of Medical Genetics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  3. Department of Medical Genetics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
  4. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
  5. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Cumming School of Medicine
  6. Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute
  7. Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine; and
  8. Annie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  9. Center for Neuroscience Research, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
  10. Service de Génétique Clinique, Centre de Référence «Anomalies du Développement et Syndromes Malformatifs» de l’Inter-région Ouest, CHU Rennes Hôpital Sud, Rennes, France
  11. Department of Genetics, La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Assistance Publique Hospital of Paris, Paris, France
  12. Sorbonne University, Paris, France
  13. Institute of Human Genetics, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
  14. Department of Human Genetics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
  15. Service de Génétique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen, Caen, Basse-Normandie, France
  16. Université Bourgogne Europe, CHU Dijon Bourgogne, Laboratoire de Génomique Médicale, Centre Neomics, FHU TRANSLAD, Centre de recherche Translationnelle en Médecine moléculaire – INSERM UMR1231, équipe GAD, Dijon, France
  17. Laboratoire de Génétique, Hôpital de Mercy, CHR Metz-Thionville, Metz, France
  18. Victorian Clinical Genetics Services, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  19. Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  20. Department of Medical Genetics, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France
  21. Mitovasc Unit, UMR CNRS 6015 INSERM 1083, University of Angers, Angers, France
  22. Service de Génétique Médicale, CHU d’Angers, Angers, France
  23. Amsterdam UMC, Department of Human Genetics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  24. Amsterdam Reproduction & Development Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  25. HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
  26. Greenwood Genetic Center, Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
  27. Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  28. Center for Genomic Medicine, Divisions of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Medical Genetics and Metabolism, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  29. Clinical Genetics, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, United Kingdom
  30. Section of Genomics and Genetics, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
  31. AdventHealth Genomics & Personalized Health at Orlando, Department of Medical Genetics & Genomics, Orlando, Florida, USA
  32. Section of Pediatric Neurology and Developmental Neurosciences, Department of Pediatrics, and
  33. Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
  34. Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA
  35. Nantes Université, CHU de Nantes, CNRS, INSERM, l’institut du thorax, Nantes, France
  36. Nantes Université, CHU de Nantes, Service de Génétique médicale, Nantes, France
  37. Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  38. Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, and
  39. Owerko Center, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Institutions: University of Calgary (Canada); University of Alberta (Canada); Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute; Hotchkiss Brain Institute (Canada); Chongqing Medical University (China); Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes (France); Sorbonne Université (France); Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (France); Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (France); Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany); Universitätsklinikum Erlangen (Germany); Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (Germany); Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen Normandie (France); Inserm (France); CHU Dijon Bourgogne (France); Centre de recherche Translationnelle en Médecine moléculaire (France); Université Bourgogne Europe (France); Centre Hospitalier Régional de Metz-Thionville (France); The University of Melbourne (Australia); Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (Australia); Murdoch Children's Research Institute (Australia); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France); Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d'Angers (France); Mitochondrial and Cardiovascular Physiopathology (France); Université d'Angers (France); Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Netherlands); Amsterdam Reproduction Development (Netherlands); University of Amsterdam (Netherlands); HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (United States); Greenwood Genetic Center (United States); Erasmus MC (Netherlands); Massachusetts General Hospital (United States); Great Ormond Street Hospital (United Kingdom); Imperial College London (United Kingdom); AdventHealth Orlando (United States); AdventHealth (United States); Baylor College of Medicine (United States); Texas Children's Hospital (United States); Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes (France); Institut du Thorax (France); Nantes Université (France); University of Toronto (Canada)
Journal: The Journal of clinical investigation, volume 136, issue 14, article e199698
Dates: received 11 September 2025; accepted 28 May 2026; published online 11 June 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.1172/jci199698 · PMID 42275152 · PMCID PMC13367967 · OpenAlex W7164407873
Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: data only
Categories: human (organism), mouse (organism), epilepsy (population)
Keywords: Clinical Research, Development, Genetics, Genetic diseases, Neurodevelopment, Seizures
MeSH: CELF Proteins*, Learning Disabilities*, Nerve Tissue Proteins*, Neurons*, Seizures*, Animals, Female, Humans, Male, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt (* major topic)
Topic: Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms (Developmental Neuroscience, Neuroscience), according to OpenAlex
Funding: NINDS NIH HHS (K12 NS098482); ACHRI Postdoctoral Fellowship (NA); One Child Every Child Strategic Catalyst Award (NA); CSM Postdoctoral Fellowship (NA); Canadian Gene Cure Advanced Therapies for Rare Diseases (NA); University of Calgary (NA); NHGRI NIH HHS (U01 HG007301); Azrieli Foundation (G-2101-15624); Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research Consortium (NICHD 1R01HD112437,NHGRI U01HG007301); National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (K12NS098482); CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship (NA); Canadian Institutes of Health Research (OGB-192250,202309OGB-512979-G-CBBA-256658); NICHD NIH HHS (R01 HD112437); Canada Research Chairs (Tier II in Gene Regulation in Brain Development); ACHRI Graduate Scholarship (NA); University of Calgary Owerko Centre (Small Equipment Grant)
Citations: cited by 1 paper (Europe PMC); 97 references in the paper

Abstract

De novo heterozygous variants in CUGBP Elav-like family member 2 (CELF2) have recently been associated with a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, yet the mechanisms linking specific variants to distinct clinical phenotypes remain poorly understood. Here, we reported a cohort of 18 individuals and provided evidence that variants causing CELF2 mislocalization, but not protein-null variants, were associated with seizures. Using proband-derived human cortical neurons and transgenic mouse models, we demonstrated that CELF2 underwent activity-dependent nucleocytoplasmic shuttling in excitatory neurons and that its cytoplasmic retention caused neuronal hyperactivity, elevated seizure susceptibility, and learning and memory deficits. We further found that cytoplasmic CELF2 regulated mRNAs critical for synaptic function and neuronal excitability and implicated in epileptic seizures and intellectual disability. Drug screening further identified AKT signaling as a key regulator of CELF2 nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and a candidate target for reversing neuronal hyperactivity. Together, our findings expand the clinical and genetic spectrum of CELF2-related neurodevelopmental disorders and establish a variant-specific mechanism that links CELF2 mislocalization to neuronal hyperactivity, seizures, and cognitive impairment.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

The paper links to its data, not to its authors' code: see the Data section.

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Data

Datasets cited

Data availability

RNA-sequencing data generated in this study are publicly available through the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus under the accession number GSE325228 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE325228). Values for all data points in graphs are reported in the Supporting Data Values file. Additional details can be found in Supplemental Methods. Antibodies and primer sequences used in this study are provided in Supplemental Tables 11 and 12, respectively.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 2, 28 September 2026

  • Authors: added Boris Keren (0000-0001-6172-8247); Sarah Schuhmann (0000-0002-6775-3547); Georgia Vasileiou (0000-0002-1993-1134); Zornitza Stark (0000-0001-8640-1371); Benjamin Cogné (0000-0002-5503-6292); G Campbell Teskey (0000-0002-8462-355X); A Micheil Innes (0000-0001-9881-5467); removed Boris Keren; Sarah Schuhmann; Georgia Vasileiou; Zornitza Stark; Benjamin Cogné; G Campbell Teskey; A Micheil Innes

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 53 authors, 6 keywords, 12 MeSH terms, 16 funders, 97 references.

Cite

This paper

Hua, M., Aghanoori, M.-R., MacPherson, M. J., Ren, Y., Siripala, S. V., Yang, Y., Or, Y. Y. Y., Nguyen, M., Duba-Kiss, R., Feng, D., Williams, L., Gafuik, C. J., Wang, G., Quelin, C., Keren, B., Schuhmann, S., Vasileiou, G., Bourgois, A., Vitobello, A., . . . Yang, G. (2026). Pathological disruption of CELF2 shuttling causes neuronal hyperactivity, learning deficits, and seizures. The Journal of clinical investigation, 136(14), e199698. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci199698

BibTeX

@article{hua2026pathological,
author = {Hua, Michelle and Aghanoori, Mohamad-Reza and MacPherson, Melissa J and Ren, Yi and Siripala, Shehani V and Yang, Yifan and Or, Yvonne Yan Yan and Nguyen, Malea and Duba-Kiss, Robert and Feng, Daniel and Williams, Laura and Gafuik, Christopher J and Wang, GengYi and Quelin, Chloe and Keren, Boris and Schuhmann, Sarah and Vasileiou, Georgia and Bourgois, Alexia and Vitobello, Antonio and Philippe, Christophe and Stark, Zornitza and Leventer, Richard J and McGillivray, George and Tran Mau-Them, Frederic and Tessarech, Marine and Prouteau, Clément and Lakeman, Phillis and Motazacker, Mahdi M and Latner, Donald R and Caylor, Raymond C and van Ierland, Yvette and Prijoles, Eloise and Lichty, Angie and Theodorou, Evangelos and Sweetser, David A and Steel, Edward and Cobben, Jan and Dasouki, Majed J and Calame, Daniel G and Isidor, Bertrand and Cogné, Benjamin and Kesler, Mitchell and Rackel, Brooke and Clark, Isabel and Kurrasch, Deborah M and Teskey, G Campbell and Ellis, James and He, Guiqiong and Ryan, Scott D and Mahoney, Douglas J and Innes, A Micheil and Epp, Jonathan R and Yang, Guang},
title = {{Pathological disruption of CELF2 shuttling causes neuronal hyperactivity, learning deficits, and seizures}},
journal = {The Journal of clinical investigation},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
volume = {136},
number = {14},
pages = {e199698},
publisher = {American Society for Clinical Investigation},
issn = {0021-9738},
doi = {10.1172/jci199698},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1172/jci199698},
pmid = {42275152},
pmcid = {PMC13367967}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Hua, Michelle
AU - Aghanoori, Mohamad-Reza
AU - MacPherson, Melissa J
AU - Ren, Yi
AU - Siripala, Shehani V
AU - Yang, Yifan
AU - Or, Yvonne Yan Yan
AU - Nguyen, Malea
AU - Duba-Kiss, Robert
AU - Feng, Daniel
AU - Williams, Laura
AU - Gafuik, Christopher J
AU - Wang, GengYi
AU - Quelin, Chloe
AU - Keren, Boris
AU - Schuhmann, Sarah
AU - Vasileiou, Georgia
AU - Bourgois, Alexia
AU - Vitobello, Antonio
AU - Philippe, Christophe
AU - Stark, Zornitza
AU - Leventer, Richard J
AU - McGillivray, George
AU - Tran Mau-Them, Frederic
AU - Tessarech, Marine
AU - Prouteau, Clément
AU - Lakeman, Phillis
AU - Motazacker, Mahdi M
AU - Latner, Donald R
AU - Caylor, Raymond C
AU - van Ierland, Yvette
AU - Prijoles, Eloise
AU - Lichty, Angie
AU - Theodorou, Evangelos
AU - Sweetser, David A
AU - Steel, Edward
AU - Cobben, Jan
AU - Dasouki, Majed J
AU - Calame, Daniel G
AU - Isidor, Bertrand
AU - Cogné, Benjamin
AU - Kesler, Mitchell
AU - Rackel, Brooke
AU - Clark, Isabel
AU - Kurrasch, Deborah M
AU - Teskey, G Campbell
AU - Ellis, James
AU - He, Guiqiong
AU - Ryan, Scott D
AU - Mahoney, Douglas J
AU - Innes, A Micheil
AU - Epp, Jonathan R
AU - Yang, Guang
TI - Pathological disruption of CELF2 shuttling causes neuronal hyperactivity, learning deficits, and seizures
T2 - The Journal of clinical investigation
J2 - J Clin Invest
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/11
VL - 136
IS - 14
SP - e199698
SN - 0021-9738
PB - American Society for Clinical Investigation
DO - 10.1172/jci199698
UR - https://doi.org/10.1172/jci199698
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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