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Am J Hum Genet 2017 11;101(5):866

Am J Hum Genet 2017 Sep;101(3):451-458

Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, 6th Floor West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford OX3 7HE, UK. Electronic address:

The metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) is abundantly expressed in the mammalian central nervous system, where it regulates intracellular calcium homeostasis in response to excitatory signaling. Here, we describe heterozygous dominant mutations in GRM1, which encodes mGluR1, that are associated with distinct disease phenotypes: gain-of-function missense mutations, linked in two different families to adult-onset cerebellar ataxia, and a de novo truncation mutation resulting in a dominant-negative effect that is associated with juvenile-onset ataxia and intellectual disability. Crucially, the gain-of-function mutations could be pharmacologically modulated in vitro using an existing FDA-approved drug, Nitazoxanide, suggesting a possible avenue for treatment, which is currently unavailable for ataxias. Read More

Eur J Med Genet 2019 Oct 15;62(10):103726. Epub 2019 Jul 15.

Department of Genetics, Groupement Hospitalier Est, Hospices Civils de Lyon, France; INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, GENDEV Team, Neurosciences Research Center of Lyon, France. Electronic address:

GRM1 gene, that is located on 6q24.3, encodes the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1 (mGluR1), a transmembrane protein highly expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells. Pathogenic variants in GRM1 have been reported only three times in humans, causing autosomal-recessive cerebellar ataxia with early-onset and intellectual disability or dominant forms of cerebellar ataxia with less severe phenotype in adults. Read More

Neurobiol Dis 2018 Jan 2;109(Pt A):44-53. Epub 2017 Oct 2.

Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DiNOGMI), University of Genoa, via Gaslini 5, 16148 Genoa, Italy; Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR), University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV 9, 16132 Genoa, Italy; Medical Genetics Unit, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, via Gaslini 5, 16148 Genoa, Italy. Electronic address:

Deleterious mutations in the glutamate receptor metabotropic 1 gene (GRM1) cause a recessive form of cerebellar ataxia, SCAR13. GRM1 and GRM5 code for the metabotropic glutamate type 1 (mGlu1) and type 5 (mGlu5) receptors, respectively. Their different expression profiles suggest they could have distinct functional roles. Read More