Pathogenic variants in autophagy-tethering factor EPG5 drive neurodegeneration through mitochondrial dysfunction and innate immune activation

The autophagy-tethering factor, ectopic P-granule 5 autophagy protein (EPG5), plays a key role in autophagosome-lysosome fusion. Impaired autophagy associated with pathogenic variants inEPG5cause a rare devastating multisystem disorder known as Vici syndrome, which includes neurodevelopmental defects, severe progressive neurodegeneration and immunodeficiency. The pathophysiological mechanisms driving disease presentation and progression are not understood. In patient-derived fibroblasts and iPS cells differentiated to cortical neurons, we found that impaired mitophagy leads to mitochondrial bioenergetic dysfunction. Physiological Ca²⁺signals resulted in paradoxical mitochondrial Ca²⁺overload attributed to downregulation of MICU1/3. Ca²⁺signals caused mitochondrial depolarisation, mtDNA release and activation of the cGAS-STING pathway, reversed by pharmacological inhibition of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) or of the STING pathway. Thus, we have identified multiple potential therapeutic targets driving disease progression associated with pathogenic EPG5 mutations, including impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics, mitochondrial Ca²⁺overload, vulnerability to mPTP opening and activation of innate immune signalling.