- Früh, Simon;
- Boudkkazi, Sami;
- Koppensteiner, Peter;
- Sereikaite, Vita;
- Chen, Li-Yuan;
- Fernandez-Fernandez, Diego;
- Rem, Pascal;
- Ulrich, Daniel;
- Schwenk, Jochen;
- Chen, Ziyang;
- Le Monnier, Elodie;
- Fritzius, Thorsten;
- Innocenti, Sabrina;
- Besseyrias, Valérie;
- Trovò, Luca;
- Stawarski, Michal;
- Argilli, Emanuela;
- Sherr, Elliott;
- van Bon, Bregje;
- Kamsteeg, Erik-Jan;
- Iascone, Maria;
- Pilotta, Alba;
- Cutrì, Maria;
- Azamian, Mahshid;
- Hernández-García, Andrés;
- Lalani, Seema;
- Rosenfeld, Jill;
- Zhao, Xiaonan;
- Vogel, Tiphanie;
- Ona, Herda;
- Scott, Daryl;
- Scheiffele, Peter;
- Strømgaard, Kristian;
- Tafti, Mehdi;
- Gassmann, Martin;
- Fakler, Bernd;
- Shigemoto, Ryuichi;
- Bettler, Bernhard
Adherens junction-associated protein 1 (AJAP1) has been implicated in brain diseases; however, a pathogenic mechanism has not been identified. AJAP1 is widely expressed in neurons and binds to γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptors (GBRs), which inhibit neurotransmitter release at most synapses in the brain. Here, we show that AJAP1 is selectively expressed in dendrites and trans-synaptically recruits GBRs to presynaptic sites of neurons expressing AJAP1. We have identified several monoallelic AJAP1 variants in individuals with epilepsy and/or neurodevelopmental disorders. Specifically, we show that the variant p.(W183C) lacks binding to GBRs, resulting in the inability to recruit them. Ultrastructural analysis revealed significantly decreased presynaptic GBR levels in Ajap1-/- and Ajap1W183C/+ mice. Consequently, these mice exhibited reduced GBR-mediated presynaptic inhibition at excitatory and inhibitory synapses, along with impaired synaptic plasticity. Our study reveals that AJAP1 enables the postsynaptic neuron to regulate the level of presynaptic GBR-mediated inhibition, supporting the clinical relevance of loss-of-function AJAP1 variants.