# Analysis of Inhibitory Synaptic Proteins Associated with Brain Disorders

> **NIH NIH R01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $489,385

## Abstract

Epilepsy affects approximately 2.3 million adults and 450,000 children in the US. Each
year, 150,000 citizens are newly diagnosed with epilepsy. The estimated cost
associated with epilepsies is approximately 15.5 billion in medical expenses and lost
earnings (NINDS). Progress in treating disorders associated with epilepsies is severely
hampered by our lack of basic knowledge related to the molecular mechanisms
underlying the disorder. Our recently published work in Science, used a novel in vivo
chemico-genetic approach to identify the proteome of the inhibitory postsynapse (iPSD).
This study was supported by an R21 and identified a large complex of proteins that are
enriched at the iPSD of GABAergic synapses of excitatory neurons. Several of these are
novel proteins encoded by genes for which human mutations are known to cause
epilepsies. The specific aims of this grant build on these exciting findings and follow up
on our recent study by focusing on the testable hypothesis that epilepsy-associated
mutations in genes encoding proteins of the iPSD lead to seizures by impairing
inhibition. We anticipate the results of these aims will bridge our knowledge gap
regarding molecular mechanisms of how epilepsies emerge in vivo from abnormalities of
inhibition, leading to new future directions for the prevention and possible treatments of
these disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10176611
- **Project number:** 5R01NS102456-05
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SCOTT H SODERLING
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $489,385
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10176611

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10176611, Analysis of Inhibitory Synaptic Proteins Associated with Brain Disorders (5R01NS102456-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10176611. Licensed CC0.

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