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Trobiani L, Favaloro FL, Di Castro MA, Di Mattia M, Cariello M, Miranda E, Canterini S, De Stefano ME, Comoletti D, Limatola C, De Jaco A. UPR activation specifically modulates glutamate neurotransmission in the cerebellum of a mouse model of autism. Neurobiol Dis 2018; 120:139-150. [PMID: 30201312 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2018.08.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
An increasing number of rare mutations linked to autism spectrum disorders have been reported in genes encoding for proteins involved in synapse formation and maintenance, such as the post-synaptic cell adhesion proteins neuroligins. Most of the autism-linked mutations in the neuroligin genes map on the extracellular protein domain. The autism-linked substitution R451C in Neuroligin3 (NLGN3) induces a local misfolding of the extracellular domain, causing defective trafficking and retention of the mutant protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), due to misfolded proteins accumulating in the ER, has been implicated in pathological and physiological conditions of the nervous system. It was previously shown that the over-expression of R451C NLGN3 in a cellular system leads to the activation of the UPR. Here, we have investigated whether this protective cellular response is detectable in the knock-in mouse model of autism endogenously expressing R451C NLGN3. Our data showed up-regulation of UPR markers uniquely in the cerebellum of the R451C mice compared to WT littermates, at both embryonic and adult stages, but not in other brain regions. Miniature excitatory currents in the Purkinje cells of the R451C mice showed higher frequency than in the WT, which was rescued inhibiting the PERK branch of UPR. Taken together, our data indicate that the R451C mutation in neuroligin3 elicits UPR in vivo, which appears to trigger alterations of synaptic function in the cerebellum of a mouse model expressing the R451C autism-linked mutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Trobiani
- Department Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Center for Research in Neurobiology 'Daniel Bovet', 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - F L Favaloro
- Department Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Center for Research in Neurobiology 'Daniel Bovet', 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - M A Di Castro
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - M Di Mattia
- Department Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Center for Research in Neurobiology 'Daniel Bovet', 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - M Cariello
- Department Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Center for Research in Neurobiology 'Daniel Bovet', 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - E Miranda
- Department Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Center for Research in Neurobiology 'Daniel Bovet', 00185 Rome, Italy.; Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci-Bolognetti, Italy
| | - S Canterini
- Department of Psychology, Section of Neuroscience, Center for Research in Neurobiology 'Daniel Bovet', Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - M E De Stefano
- Department Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Center for Research in Neurobiology 'Daniel Bovet', 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - D Comoletti
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Department of Pediatrics, Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - C Limatola
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.; Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci-Bolognetti, Italy.; IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (IS), Italy
| | - A De Jaco
- Department Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Center for Research in Neurobiology 'Daniel Bovet', 00185 Rome, Italy..
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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects approximately 1 % of the human population and has a strong genetic component. Hence, the recent discovery of major "ASD genes" has subsequently resulted in the generation of several genetic animal models of ASD. Careful analysis of behavioral phenotypes and characterization of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms in these models should further help us to identify novel therapeutic targets and develop more effective strategies in the future to ameliorate or even reverse core symptoms and comorbidities of ASD. In this review, we will focus on the mutant mouse as animal model and outline how to characterize both behavioral and neurobiological phenotypes in this organism. We will further discuss a selection of major ASD mutant mouse lines. Our conclusions will finally address the current goals and perspectives in the field to obtain a more comprehensive and possibly also converging picture of ASD pathogenesis, which could be most useful for the desired bench-to-bedside strategy of translational medicine for this complex disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan C Schroeder
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Dominik Reim
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Tobias M Boeckers
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Michael J Schmeisser
- Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
- Department of Neurology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
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