Autistic-like phenotypes in Cadps2-knockout mice and aberrant CADPS2 splicing in autistic patients
Tetsushi Sadakata, … , Takeo Yoshikawa, Teiichi Furuichi
Tetsushi Sadakata, … , Takeo Yoshikawa, Teiichi Furuichi
Published April 2, 2007
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2007;117(4):931-943. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI29031.
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Research Article

Autistic-like phenotypes in Cadps2-knockout mice and aberrant CADPS2 splicing in autistic patients

Abstract

Autism, characterized by profound impairment in social interactions and communicative skills, is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder, and its underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Ca2+-dependent activator protein for secretion 2 (CADPS2; also known as CAPS2) mediates the exocytosis of dense-core vesicles, and the human CADPS2 is located within the autism susceptibility locus 1 on chromosome 7q. Here we show that Cadps2-knockout mice not only have impaired brain-derived neurotrophic factor release but also show autistic-like cellular and behavioral phenotypes. Moreover, we found an aberrant alternatively spliced CADPS2 mRNA that lacks exon 3 in some autistic patients. Exon 3 was shown to encode the dynactin 1–binding domain and affect axonal CADPS2 protein distribution. Our results suggest that a disturbance in CADPS2-mediated neurotrophin release contributes to autism susceptibility.

Authors

Tetsushi Sadakata, Miwa Washida, Yoshimi Iwayama, Satoshi Shoji, Yumi Sato, Takeshi Ohkura, Ritsuko Katoh-Semba, Mizuho Nakajima, Yukiko Sekine, Mika Tanaka, Kazuhiko Nakamura, Yasuhide Iwata, Kenji J. Tsuchiya, Norio Mori, Sevilla D. Detera-Wadleigh, Hironobu Ichikawa, Shigeyoshi Itohara, Takeo Yoshikawa, Teiichi Furuichi

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Figure 2

Autistic-like behavior of Cadps2–/– mice.

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Autistic-like behavior of Cadps2–/– mice. (A) Number of reciprocal inter...
(A) Number of reciprocal interactions of Cadps2–/– mouse pairs (black bar; n = 12) and of WT littermate pairs (white bar; n = 12) for 20 minutes. (B) Locomotor activity in home cages. After habituation to a fresh cage for 24 hours, the locomotor activity of Cadps2–/– mice (black bar; n = 9) and WT littermates (white bar; n = 9) was measured for 6 days (12-hour LD cycle [LD]). The number of photobeam interruptions per 15 minutes is shown in the y axis. (C–F) Horizontal locomotor activity of Cadps2–/– mice (filled circles; n = 15) and of WT littermates (open circles; n = 17) in an open field is shown in 3 blocks (5 minutes each) in the absence (C) or presence (D) of the novel object shown in the upper right of D. Representative movement traces of WT and Cadps2–/– are shown in E and F, respectively. Error bars indicate the SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01, by Student’s t test.