Autism Gene

[Guest guest]

Gene prevents autism in mice

Fri May 12, 2006

By Will Boggs

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The absence of a gene called Pten in mice

results in a condition that is similar to autism in humans, according

to a report in the journal Neuron.

The gene is part of a biochemical pathway that has been linked to

cancer formation. Therefore, anticancer drugs that target this

pathway may also have a role in treating autism.

Dr. F. Parada from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical

Center, Dallas, and colleagues used various lab techniques to delete

Pten in the brains of mice and investigated the effects of the

deletion.

Mutant mice exhibited a distinct pattern of behavioral abnormalities

reminiscent of autism, the authors report, including defects in

social interaction, maternal care, and sexual behavior.

Increased activity in response to sensory stimuli and sporadic

seizures were also apparent in mutant mice, the results indicate, but

mutant mice performed better than normal mice on a repetitive test of

motor coordination.

Lab testing showed that Pten deletion caused changes in the structure

of nerve cells.

While the findings are certainly provocative, " it should be

emphasized that it is a mouse model and that the relationship between

mouse behaviors and human behaviors is very difficult to establish, "

Parada told Reuters Health.

Whether or not the findings have direct relevance to autism, " the

experimental results described are intriguing and represent an

important entry point to understanding the role of Pten in " mature

nerve cells of the brain and how it relates to behavioral disorders,

note Dr. Joy M. Greer and Dr. Wynshaw-Boris from the

University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, in a

related commentary.

SOURCE: Neuron, May 14 20

[Guest guest]

Regarding Pten gene: An interesting result- but like all single-gene-cause general public reports needs to be taken with a lot of skepticism. The more complex a system is, the more ways for entropy to induce system-failure. Recently the number of genes found to be expressed in the brain of humans over a lifetime has been adjusted upward from 50% of the genome to something like 80%. So, if for example, the current suggestion among some researchers that some of the characteristics of ASDs are associated with insuffiencent serotonin during critical periods of development (...such that areas toward the front of the brain underdevelop and areas further back such as where much of the visual-spatial centers are develop more...) then there could be literally hundreds of genes that impact the serotonin system during

that (those) critical period(s) of development. Pten could be just one of those genes, in just that serotonin-deficiency aspect/dimension of ASDs (of which there are probably at least six, based on genetics that we know so far). Still it's interesting because from a researcher's point of view it they can now try to look at the structure of the Pten gene to get an idea about how it is functioning, and then look at human brains to see if some of that same functioning is somehow impaired in some cases/dimensions of ASDs. But I seriously doubt the Pten discovery means more than that, if it even means that at all. Heph greebohere <julie.stevenson16@...> wrote: Gene prevents autism in miceFri May 12, 2006 By Will BoggsNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The absence of a gene called Pten in mice results in a condition that is similar to autism in humans, according to a report in the journal Neuron.The gene is part of a biochemical pathway that has been linked to cancer formation. Therefore, anticancer drugs that target this pathway may also have a role in treating autism.Dr. F. Parada from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, and colleagues used various lab techniques to delete Pten in the brains of mice and investigated the effects of the deletion.Mutant mice exhibited a distinct

pattern of behavioral abnormalities reminiscent of autism, the authors report, including defects in social interaction, maternal care, and sexual behavior.Increased activity in response to sensory stimuli and sporadic seizures were also apparent in mutant mice, the results indicate, but mutant mice performed better than normal mice on a repetitive test of motor coordination.Lab testing showed that Pten deletion caused changes in the structure of nerve cells.While the findings are certainly provocative, "it should be emphasized that it is a mouse model and that the relationship between mouse behaviors and human behaviors is very difficult to establish," Parada told Reuters Health.Whether or not the findings have direct relevance to autism, "the experimental results described are intriguing and represent an important entry point to understanding the role of Pten in "mature nerve cells of the

brain and how it relates to behavioral disorders, note Dr. Joy M. Greer and Dr. Wynshaw-Boris from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, in a related commentary.SOURCE: Neuron, May 14 20 Hephaestus

Clubfoothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hephaestushttp://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hephaestus.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabeiroi

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