Autism in Mice (& Animals)

by Kristina Chew · 2009-06-27 15:42:00 UTC
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Mouse with DNA tail from http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ghri/techmuseum_gwdna_files/mouseDNA.jpg
Having posted about two new genetic studies yesterday, here is, somewhat as a coda, one more. This one is from Cell and is not, strictly speaking, about autism as generally discussed on this blog, but about autism in mice. From the abstract:

Substantial evidence suggests that chromosomal abnormalities contribute to the risk of autism. The duplication of human chromosome 15q11-13 is known to be the most frequent cytogenetic abnormality in autism. We have modeled this genetic change in mice by using chromosome engineering to generate a 6.3 Mb duplication of the conserved linkage group on mouse chromosome 7. Mice with a paternal duplication display poor social interaction, behavioral inflexibility, abnormal ultrasonic vocalizations, and correlates of anxiety. An increased MBII52 snoRNA within the duplicated region, affecting the serotonin 2c receptor (5-HT2cR), correlates with altered intracellular Ca2+ responses elicited by a 5-HT2cR agonist in neurons of mice with a paternal duplication. This chromosome-engineered mouse model for autism seems to replicate various aspects of human autistic phenotypes and validates the relevance of the human chromosome abnormality. This model will facilitate forward genetics of developmental brain disorders and serve as an invaluable tool for therapeutic development.

Also see the write-up from the June 26th Scientific American.

The autism-like traits idenfied in the mice are, again: "poor social interaction, behavioral inflexibility, abnormal ultrasonic vocalizations, and correlates of anxiety." While these are aspects of autism in humans, there's a bit more too it than "abnormal" communications (if I'm interpreting that one right) and certainly anxiety and inflexibility are associated with other conditions besides autism. And so the question: Is autism in mice the same as it is in humans?

And one more, keeping in mind this book about cats and Asperger's Syndrome: Does autism exist in animals?

Kristina Chew
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