Pediatric GNAO1 encephalopathies:from molecular etiology of the disease to drug discovery

Gao is the major G protein in neurons,where it transduces signals from numerous G proteincoupled receptors(GPCRs)such as D2 dopamine,μ-opioid,M2 muscarinic,or α2-adrenergic receptors.In 2013,the first mutations in GNAO1,the gene encoding Gao,were described in pediatric patients with encephalopathies(Nakamura et al.,2013),suffering from movementdisorders,epileptic seizures。