Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare cause of
intellectual disability primarily caused by loss-of-function mutations in
lysine-specific
methyltransferase 2D (KMT2D), which normally adds methyl marks to
lysine 4 on
histone 3. Previous studies have shown that a mouse model of KS (Kmt2d +/βGeo ) demonstrates disruption of adult neurogenesis and hippocampal memory. Proof-of-principle studies have shown postnatal rescue of neurological dysfunction following treatments that promote
chromatin opening; however, these strategies are non-specific and do not directly address the primary defect of
histone methylation. Since
lysine-specific demethylase 1A (LSD1/KDM1A) normally removes the H3K4 methyl marks added by KMT2D, we hypothesized that inhibition of KDM1A demethylase activity may ameliorate molecular and phenotypic defects stemming from KMT2D loss. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated a recently developed KDM1A inhibitor (TAK-418) in Kmt2d +/βGeo mice. We found that orally administered
TAK-418 increases the numbers of newly born doublecortin (DCX)+ cells and processes in the hippocampus in a dose-dependent manner. We also observed TAK-418-dependent rescue of
histone modification defects in hippocampus both by western blot and
chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq). Treatment rescues gene expression abnormalities including those of immediate early genes such as FBJ
osteosarcoma oncogene (Fos) and FBJ
osteosarcoma oncogene homolog B (Fosb). After 2 weeks of
TAK-418, Kmt2d +/βGeo mice demonstrated normalization of hippocampal memory defects. In summary, our data suggest that KDM1A inhibition is a plausible treatment strategy for KS and support the hypothesis that the epigenetic dysregulation secondary to KMT2D dysfunction plays a major role in the postnatal neurological disease phenotype in KS.