WDR62-deficiency Causes Autism-like Behaviors Independent of Microcephaly in Mice.
Dan Xu, Yiqiang Zhi, Xinyi Liu, Le Guan, Jurui Yu, Dan Zhang, Weiya Zhang, Yaqing Wang, Wucheng Tao, Zhiheng Xu
Author Information
Dan Xu: Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350005, China. xudan@fjmu.edu.cn.
Yiqiang Zhi: College of Biological Science and Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, China.
Xinyi Liu: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
Le Guan: Key Laboratory of Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350108, China.
Jurui Yu: College of Biological Science and Engineering, Institute of Life Sciences, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, China.
Dan Zhang: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
Weiya Zhang: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
Yaqing Wang: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
Wucheng Tao: Key Laboratory of Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350108, China. taowucheng@fjmu.edu.cn.
Zhiheng Xu: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. zhxu@genetics.ac.cn.
Brain size abnormality is correlated with an increased frequency of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. Genetic analysis indicates that heterozygous mutations of the WD repeat domain 62 (WDR62) are associated with ASD. However, biological evidence is still lacking. Our study showed that Wdr62 knockout (KO) led to reduced brain size with impaired learning and memory, as well as ASD-like behaviors in mice. Interestingly, Wdr62 Nex-cKO mice (depletion of WDR62 in differentiated neurons) had a largely normal brain size but with aberrant social interactions and repetitive behaviors. WDR62 regulated dendritic spinogenesis and excitatory synaptic transmission in cortical pyramidal neurons. Finally, we revealed that retinoic acid gavages significantly alleviated ASD-like behaviors in mice with WDR62 haploinsufficiency, probably by complementing the expression of ASD and synapse-related genes. Our findings provide a new perspective on the relationship between the microcephaly gene WDR62 and ASD etiology that will benefit clinical diagnosis and intervention of ASD.
