CK2 variant function and disease modelling in Drosophila reveal allelic heterogeneity and Wnt/β-catenin-mediated phenotypes

Abstract

Heterozygous pathogenic variants in CSNK2A1 or CSNK2B encoding the Casein Kinase 2 (CK2) protein complex, lead to pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders, Okur-Chung Neurodevelopmental Syndrome (OCNDS) and Poirier-Bienvenu Neurodevelopmental Syndrome (POBINDS). OCNDS and POBINDS are characterized by a range of symptoms, including developmental delay, intellectual disability, facial dysmorphism, and seizures. Despite over 250 reported cases of OCNDS and POBINDS, we do not fully understand how specific alterations in CK2 relate to the heterogeneity observed in patients. To investigate this, we used the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model system. To assess variant impact, we co-expressed human CSNK2A1 and CSNK2B reference or disease-causing variants in flies. In parallel, we determined the role of Drosophila CkII in the developing and mature nervous system, specifically in neurons and glia. We found that 12/13 variants tested act as full or partial loss-of-function with one CSNK2A1 variant showing gain-of-function. Phospho-proteomic studies in neurons revealed separate signatures for loss- and gain-of-function variants. We found that neuronal and glial CkII is critical for organismal development. Reduction of neuronal CkII in the adult nervous system causes motor and seizure-like phenotypes. Finally, given the known role of CK2 in potentiating Wnt/β-catenin signalling, we show that Wnt agonists partially rescue phenotypes associated with adult-specific neuronal reduction of CkII. This work generates Drosophila models of CSNK2A1 and CSNK2B expression to functionally assess variant impact, as well as an adult-specific neuronal loss-of-function model for drug screening and mechanistic studies.