Journal
NATURE
Volume 530, Issue 7591, Pages 481-+Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nature16971
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Funding
- 'Programa Doutoral em Biologia Experimental e Biomedicina' (CNC, Coimbra, Portugal)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship
- Integrative Neuronal Systems
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BD/33894/2009]
- Simons Center for the Social Brain at MIT
- Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation
- Shenzhen Overseas Innovation Team Project [KQTD20140630180249366]
- China Scholarship Council
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
- NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
- Poitras Center for Affective Disorders Research at MIT
- National Institute of Health [NIMH R01MH097104]
- Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI)
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/33894/2009] Funding Source: FCT
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Because autism spectrum disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders and patients typically display symptoms before the age of three(1), one of the key questions in autism research is whether the pathology is reversible in adults. Here we investigate the developmental requirement of Shank(3) in mice, a prominent monogenic autism gene that is estimated to contribute to approximately 1% of all autism spectrum disorder cases(2-6). SHANK3 is a postsynaptic scaffold protein that regulates synaptic development, function and plasticity by orchestrating the assembly of postsynaptic density macromolecular signalling complex(7-9). Disruptions of the Shank3 gene in mouse models have resulted in synaptic defects and autistic-like behaviours including anxiety, social interaction deficits, and repetitive behaviour(10-13). We generated a novel Shank3 conditional knock-in mouse model, and show that re-expression of the Shank3 gene in adult mice led to improvements in synaptic protein composition, spine density and neural function in the striatum. We also provide behavioural evidence that certain behavioural abnormalities including social interaction deficit and repetitive grooming behaviour could be rescued, while anxiety and motor coordination deficit could not be recovered in adulthood. Together, these results reveal the profound effect of post-developmental activation of Shank3 expression on neural function, and demonstrate a certain degree of continued plasticity in the adult diseased brain.
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