Here we used two highly trusted ASD mouse models (male Shank3-deficient [Shank3<sup>+/ΔC</sup> ] mice modeling the monogenic etiology of ASD, and inbred BTBR mice [both male and female] modeling the idiopathic and highly polygenic pathology for ASD) to evaluate the level of motivation to engage in a social interaction.
This evidence supports Shank3-ko NSCs as a reliable in vitro disease model and suggests the rescue of glial cells as a therapeutic strategy to prevent neuronal degeneration in ASD.
Mutations in ASD-associated SHANK3 in mice (Shank3B<sup>-/-</sup>) result in the accelerated maturation of corticostriatal circuits during the second and third postnatal weeks.
Here we generated and characterized a <i>Shank3</i> knock-in mouse line carrying the Q321R mutation (<i>Shank3</i><sup>Q321R</sup> mice) identified in a human individual with ASD that affects the ankyrin repeat region (ARR) domain of the Shank3 protein.
Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by global developmental delay, intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and mild dysmorphisms associated with several comorbidities caused by SHANK3 loss-of-function mutations.
Although a number of mouse models with Shank3 mutations have been valuable for investigating the pathogenesis of ASD, species-dependent differences in behaviors and brain structures post considerable challenges to use small animals to model ASD and to translate experimental therapeutics to the clinic.
To assess whether deletion of Shank3 in mice results in ASD-like behavior, we conducted a battery of behavioral experiments to characterize Shank3B<sup>-/-</sup> mice, including repetitive grooming behavior tests, three-chamber tests and resident-intruder tests.
Introduction of this human ASD mutation into mice resulted in a small subset of phenotypes seen previously in constitutive Shank3 knockout mice, including increased allogrooming, increased social dominance, and reduced pup USV.
Mutation or disruption of the SH3 and ankyrin repeat domains 3 (SHANK3) gene represents a highly penetrant, monogenic risk factor for autism spectrum disorder, and is a cause of Phelan-McDermid syndrome.
In order to more closely evaluate the contribution of SHANK3 to neurodevelopmental expression of ASD, a knockout mouse model with a mutation in the PDZ domain was developed.
Developmental loss of ASD-associated genes Shank3 or Mecp2 in peripheral mechanosensory neurons leads to region-specific brain abnormalities, revealing links between developmental somatosensory over-reactivity and the genesis of aberrant behaviors.
Therefore, in CA3 pyramidal neurons of Shank3-mutant mice, glutamatergic but not GABAergic activity is affected at early developmental stages, hence reflecting the heterogeneity of mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of ASD.
Shank3, an abundant excitatory postsynaptic scaffolding protein, has been associated with multiple brain disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS).
To investigate whether SHANK family contributes to ASD prediction, on the basis of our previous studies of SHANK2 and SHANK3, we further investigated associations between SHANK1 polymorphisms and ASD risk as well as SNP-SNP interactions among SHANK family.
These results, obtained through the analysis of de novo SHANK3 mutations in the patients' genomic background, provide further support for the presence of synaptic abnormalities in a subset of patients with ASD.
Targeted resequencing of 358 candidate genes for autism spectrum disorder in a Chinese cohort reveals diagnostic potential and genotype-phenotype correlations.
Intriguingly, all ASDShank3 mutations impaired mGluR-dependent LTD without altering NMDAR-dependent LTD. Our data show that the specific perturbation in mGluR-dependent synaptic plasticity occurs in neurons expressing ASD-associated Shank3 mutations, which may underpin synaptic dysfunction and subsequent behavioral deficits in ASD.
We conclude that apart from its well-known role in the CNS, SHANK3 plays a specific role in the GI tract that may contribute to the ASD phenotype by extracerebral mechanisms.
Male mice with a deletion of the PDZ domain of Shank3 (Shank3B KO) were previously shown to display ASD-like behavioral phenotypes with reported self-injurious repetitive grooming and aberrant social interactions.
As ASD-associated SHANK3 mutations retain responsiveness to zinc, here we investigated how increasing levels of dietary zinc could alter behavioral and synaptic deficits that occur with ASD.
Mutation in the SHANK3 human gene leads to different neuropsychiatric diseases including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), intellectual disabilities and Phelan-McDermid syndrome.
Deletions and mutations in the SHANK3 gene are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorder and underlie the autism-associated disorder Phelan-McDermid syndrome.
Haploinsufficiency of the SHANK3 gene is causally linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and ASD-associated genes are also enriched for chromatin remodelers.