Genetic Research into Autism

Paternal Aging Affects Behavior in Pax6 Mutant Mice: A Gene/Environment Interaction in Understanding Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have increased over the last few decades. These neurodevelopmental disorders are characterized by a complex etiology, which involves multiple genes and gene-environmental interactions. Various genes that control specific properties of neural development exert pivotal roles in the occurrence and severity of phenotypes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Moreover, paternal aging has been reported as one of the factors that contribute to the risk of ASD and ADHD. Here we report, for the first time, that paternal aging has profound effects on the onset of behavioral abnormalities in mice carrying a mutation of Pax6, a gene with neurodevelopmental regulatory functions. We adopted an in vitro fertilization approach to restrict the influence of additional factors. Comprehensive behavioral analyses were performed in Sey/+ mice (i.e., Pax6 mutant heterozygotes) born from in vitro fertilization of sperm taken from young or aged Sey/+ fathers. No body weight changes were found in the four groups, i.e., Sey/+ and wild type (WT) mice born to young or aged father. However, we found important differences in maternal separation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations of Sey/+ mice born from young father and in the level of hyperactivity of Sey/+ mice born from aged fathers in the open-field test, respectively, compared to WT littermates. Phenotypes of anxiety were observed in both genotypes born from aged fathers compared with those born from young fathers. No significant difference was found in social behavior and sensorimotor gating among the four groups. These results indicate that mice with a single genetic risk factor can develop different phenotypes depending on the paternal age. Our study advocates for serious considerations on the role of paternal aging in breeding strategies for animal studies.

The relationship between executive functioning, central coherence, and repetitive behaviors in the high-functioning autism spectrum

This study examined the relationship between everyday repetitive behavior (primary symptoms of autism) and performance on neuropsychological tests of executive function and central coherence (secondary symptoms). It was hypothesized that the frequency and intensity of repetitive behavior would be positively correlated with laboratory measures of cognitive rigidity and weak central coherence. Participants included 19 individuals (ages 10—19) with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD group) and 18 age- and IQ-matched typically developing controls (TD group). There was partial support in the ASD group for the link between repetitive behavior and executive performance (the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task). There was no support for a link between repetitive behavior and measures of central coherence (a Gestalt Closure test and the Embedded Figures Test). Further research on repetitive behaviors in autism may benefit from a focus on narrow behavioral and cognitive constructs rather than general categories.

Plant development, auxin, and the subsystem incompleteness theorem

Plant morphogenesis (the process whereby form develops) requires signal cross-talking among all levels of organization to coordinate the operation of metabolic and genomic subsystems operating in a larger network of subsystems. Each subsystem can be rendered as a logic circuit supervising the operation of one or more signal-activated system. This approach simplifies complex morphogenetic phenomena and allows for their aggregation into diagrams of progressively larger networks. This technique is illustrated here by rendering two logic circuits and signal-activated subsystems, one for auxin (IAA) polar/lateral intercellular transport and another for IAA-mediated cell wall loosening. For each of these phenomena, a circuit/subsystem diagram highlights missing components (either in the logic circuit or in the subsystem it supervises) that must be identified experimentally if each of these basic plant phenomena is to be fully understood. We also illustrate the "subsystem incompleteness theorem," which states that no subsystem is operationally self-sufficient. Indeed, a whole-organism perspective is required to understand even the most simple morphogenetic process, because, when isolated, every biological signal-activated subsystem is morphogenetically ineffective.

Evidence that autistic traits show the same etiology in the general population and at the quantitative extremes (5%, 2.5%, and 1%)

CONTEXT

Genetic factors play an important role in the etiology of both autism spectrum disorders and autistic traits. However, little is known about the etiologic consistency of autistic traits across levels of severity.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the etiology of typical variation in autistic traits with extreme scoring groups (including top 1%) that mimicked the prevalence of diagnosed autism spectrum disorders in the largest twin study of autistic traits to date.

DESIGN

Twin study using phenotypic analysis and genetic model-fitting in the total sample and extreme scoring groups (top 5%, 2.5%, and 1%).

SETTING

A nationally representative twin sample from the general population of England.

PARTICIPANTS

The families of 5968 pairs aged 12 years old in the Twins' Early Development Study. Main Outcome Measure  Autistic traits as assessed by the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test.

RESULTS

Moderate to high heritability was found for autistic traits in the general population (53% for females and 72% for males). High heritability was found in extreme-scoring groups. There were no differences in heritability among extreme groups or between the extreme groups and the general population. A continuous liability shift toward autistic trait affectedness was seen in the cotwins of individuals scoring in the top 1%, suggesting shared etiology between extreme scores and normal variation.

CONCLUSION

This evidence of similar etiology across normal variation and the extremes has implications for molecular genetic models of autism spectrum disorders and for conceptualizing autism spectrum disorders as the quantitative extreme of a neurodevelopmental continuum.

Neuroanatomic and behavioral traits for autistic disorders in age-specific restricted index selection mice

The pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism is believed to be influenced by interactions between genetic and environmental factors, and appropriate animal models are needed to assess the influence of such factors on relevant neurodevelopmental phenotypes. A set of inbred mouse strains (Atchley strains) including A12 (E+L0) and A22 (E-L0) were generated by age-specific restricted index selection from a baseline random-bred ICR mouse population obtained from Harlan Sprague-Dawley [Atchley et al. (1997) Genetics 146(2):629-640; Indianapolis, IN, USA). As compared with the A22 strain, A12 mice had significantly increased early (P0-P10) body weight gain with minimal changes in late (P28-P56) body weight gain. We found that these strains also differed in brain weight, brain volume, cell proliferation, and FGF-2 levels in certain brain regions. Specifically, brain weight and volume were significantly greater in A12 mice than that in A22 mice at P10 and P28. Quantitative analysis of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling of proliferating cells showed that the number of BrdU-positive cells in the A12 strain were significantly greater in the frontal cortex and lesser in the dentate gyrus than that in the A22 strain at P28. Western blot revealed that fibroblast growth factors-2 (FGF-2), but not brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), expression was significantly increased in the frontal cortex of A12 strain at P28. Also, A12 mice exhibited decreased intra-strain social interaction and increased repetitive stereotyped behaviors at P28. Our study suggests that A12 mice may partially mimic the anatomic and behavioral traits of patients with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders, and therefore may yield insights into the developmental mechanisms involved in their pathogenesis.

The timing and specificity of prenatal immune risk factors for autism modeled in the mouse and relevance to schizophrenia

Autism is a highly heritable condition, but there is strong epidemiological evidence that environmental factors, especially prenatal exposure to immune challenge, contribute to it. This evidence is largely indirect, and experimental testing is necessary to directly examine causal mechanisms. Mouse models reveal that prenatal immune perturbation disrupts postnatal brain maturation with alterations in gene and protein expression, neurotransmitter function, brain structure and behavioral indices reminiscent of, but not specific to, autism. This likely reflects a neurodevelopmental spectrum in which autism and schizophrenia share numerous genetic and environmental risk factors for difficulties in social interaction, communication, emotion processing and executive function. Recent epidemiological studies find that early rather than late pregnancy infection confers the greater risk of schizophrenia. The autism literature is more limited, but exposures in the 2nd half of pregnancy may be important. Mouse models of prenatal immune challenge help dissect these observations and show some common consequences of early and late gestational exposures, as well as distinct ramifications potentially relevant to schizophrenia and autism. Although nonspecificity of immune-stimulated mouse models could be considered a disadvantage, we propose a broadened perspective, exploiting the possibility that advances made investigating a target condition can contribute towards the understanding of related conditions.

Impaired prefrontal hemodynamic maturation in autism and unaffected siblings

Background

Dysfunctions of the prefrontal cortex have been previously reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous studies reported that first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD show atypical brain activity during tasks associated with social function. However, developmental changes in prefrontal dysfunction in ASD and genetic influences on the phenomena remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the change in hemoglobin concentration in the prefrontal cortex as measured with near-infrared spectroscopy, in children and adults with ASD during the letter fluency test. Moreover, to clarify the genetic influences on developmental changes in the prefrontal dysfunction in ASD, unaffected siblings of the ASD participants were also assessed.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Study participants included 27 individuals with high-functioning ASD, age- and IQ-matched 24 healthy non-affected siblings, and 27 unrelated healthy controls aged 5 to 39 years. The relative concentration of hemoglobin ([Hb]) in the prefrontal cortex was measured during the letter fluency task. For children, neither the [oxy-Hb] change during the task nor task performances differed significantly among three groups. For adults, the [oxy-Hb] increases during the task were significantly smaller in the bilateral prefrontal cortex in ASD than those in control subjects, although task performances were similar. In the adult siblings the [oxy-Hb] change was intermediate between those in controls and ASDs.

Conclusion/Significance

Although indirectly due to a cross-sectional design, the results of this study indicate altered age-related change of prefrontal activity during executive processing in ASD. This is a first near-infrared spectroscopy study that implies alteration in the age-related changes of prefrontal activity in ASD and genetic influences on the phenomena.

A preliminary investigation into the potential role of waist hip ratio (WHR) preference within the assortative mating hypothesis of autistic spectrum disorders

Of particular interest to studying the etiology of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is the potential for multiple risk factors to combine through non-random mechanisms-assortative mating. Both genetic influences and a high-testosterone prenatal environment have been implicated in the etiology of ASDs, and given that waist-hip ratio (WHR) is indicative of a woman's circulating testosterone level, a man attracted to higher-than-average WHR women is likely to have a higher-than-average prenatal testosterone exposure for their offspring. We show that whereas fathers of children without ASD show a statistically reliable preference for WHRs at the low end of the normal range, indicative of women with low testosterone levels, fathers of children diagnosed with ASD do not consistently show this preference.