The disruption of Celf6, a gene identified by translational profiling of serotonergic neurons, results in autism-related behaviors

The immense molecular diversity of neurons challenges our ability to understand the genetic and cellular etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. Leveraging knowledge from neurobiology may help parse the genetic complexity: identifying genes important for a circuit that mediates a particular symptom of a disease may help identify polymorphisms that contribute to risk for the disease as a whole. The serotonergic system has long been suspected in disorders that have symptoms of repetitive behaviors and resistance to change, including autism. We generated a bacTRAP mouse line to permit translational profiling of serotonergic neurons. From this, we identified several thousand serotonergic-cell expressed transcripts, of which 174 were highly enriched, including all known markers of these cells. Analysis of common variants near the corresponding genes in the AGRE collection implicated the RNA binding protein CELF6 in autism risk. Screening for rare variants in CELF6 identified an inherited premature stop codon in one of the probands. Subsequent disruption of Celf6 in mice resulted in animals exhibiting resistance to change and decreased ultrasonic vocalization as well as abnormal levels of serotonin in the brain. This work provides a reproducible and accurate method to profile serotonergic neurons under a variety of conditions and suggests a novel paradigm for gaining information on the etiology of psychiatric disorders

Aralar Sequesters GABA into Hyperactive Mitochondria, Causing Social Behavior Deficits

Social impairment is frequently associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and altered neurotransmission. Although mitochondrial function is crucial for brain homeostasis, it remains unknown whether mitochondrial disruption contributes to social behavioral deficits. Here, we show that Drosophila mutants in the homolog of the human CYFIP1, a gene linked to autism and schizophrenia, exhibit mitochondrial hyperactivity and altered group behavior. We identify the regulation of GABA availability by mitochondrial activity as a biologically relevant mechanism and demonstrate its contribution to social behavior. Specifically, increased mitochondrial activity causes gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) sequestration in the mitochondria, reducing GABAergic signaling and resulting in social deficits. Pharmacological and genetic manipulation of mitochondrial activity or GABA signaling corrects the observed abnormalities. We identify Aralar as the mitochondrial transporter that sequesters GABA upon increased mitochondrial activity. This study increases our understanding of how mitochondria modulate neuronal homeostasis and social behavior under physiopathological conditions

Molecular Cytogenetic Analysis and Resequencing of Contactin Associated Protein-Like 2 in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of related neurodevelopmental syndromes with complex genetic etiology.1 We identified a de novo chromosome 7q inversion disrupting Autism susceptibility candidate 2 (AUTS2) and Contactin Associated Protein-Like 2 (CNTNAP2) in a child with cognitive and social delay. We focused our initial analysis on CNTNAP2 based on our demonstration of disruption of Contactin 4 (CNTN4) in a patient with ASD;2 the recent finding of rare homozygous mutations in CNTNAP2 leading to intractable seizures and autism;3 and in situ and biochemical analyses reported herein that confirm expression in relevant brain regions and demonstrate the presence of CNTNAP2 in the synaptic plasma membrane fraction of rat forebrain lysates. We comprehensively resequenced CNTNAP2 in 635 patients and 942 controls. Among patients, we identified a total of 27 nonsynonymous changes; 13 were rare and unique to patients and 8 of these were predicted to be deleterious by bioinformatic approaches and/or altered residues conserved across all species. One variant at a highly conserved position, I869T, was inherited by four affected children in three unrelated families, but was not found in 4010 control chromosomes (p = 0.014). Overall, this resequencing data demonstrated a modest nonsignificant increase in the burden of rare variants in cases versus controls. Nonethless, when viewed in light of two independent studies published in this issue of AJHG showing a relationship between ASD and common CNTNAP2 alleles,4,5 the cytogenetic and mutation screening data suggest that rare variants may also contribute to the pathophysiology of ASD, but place limits on the magnitude of this contribution

Regional review [December 1996]

In October 1996, Scottish Unemployment fell by 7,691 to stand at 183,401. This represents a monthly fall of 4% and leaves 7.5% of the Scottish workforce without a job. The male count fell by 4,057 or by 2.8% whilst female jobless fell by 3,634 or 7.9%. Male unemployment currently stands at 141,193 or 10.4% of the male workforce and female jobless at 42,208 or 3.9% of the female workforce

Genome-Wide Analyses of Exonic Copy Number Variants in a Family-Based Study Point to Novel Autism Susceptibility Genes

The genetics underlying the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is complex and remains poorly understood. Previous work has demonstrated an important role for structural variation in a subset of cases, but has lacked the resolution necessary to move beyond detection of large regions of potential interest to identification of individual genes. To pinpoint genes likely to contribute to ASD etiology, we performed high density genotyping in 912 multiplex families from the Autism Genetics Resource Exchange (AGRE) collection and contrasted results to those obtained for 1,488 healthy controls. Through prioritization of exonic deletions (eDels), exonic duplications (eDups), and whole gene duplication events (gDups), we identified more than 150 loci harboring rare variants in multiple unrelated probands, but no controls. Importantly, 27 of these were confirmed on examination of an independent replication cohort comprised of 859 cases and an additional 1,051 controls. Rare variants at known loci, including exonic deletions at NRXN1 and whole gene duplications encompassing UBE3A and several other genes in the 15q11–q13 region, were observed in the course of these analyses. Strong support was likewise observed for previously unreported genes such as BZRAP1, an adaptor molecule known to regulate synaptic transmission, with eDels or eDups observed in twelve unrelated cases but no controls (p = 2.3×10−5). Less is known about MDGA2, likewise observed to be case-specific (p = 1.3×10−4). But, it is notable that the encoded protein shows an unexpectedly high similarity to Contactin 4 (BLAST E-value = 3×10−39), which has also been linked to disease. That hundreds of distinct rare variants were each seen only once further highlights complexity in the ASDs and points to the continued need for larger cohorts

Tracking family medicine graduates. Where do they go, what services do they provide and whom do they see?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are continued concerns over an adequate supply of family physicians (FPs) practicing in Canada. While most resource planning has focused on intake into postgraduate education, less information is available on what postgraduate medical training yields. We therefore undertook a study of Family Medicine (FM) graduates from the University of Toronto (U of T) to determine the type of information for physician resource planning that may come from tracking FM graduates using health administrative data. This study compared three cohorts of FM graduates over a 10 year period of time and it also compared FM graduates to all Ontario practicing FPs in 2005/06. The objectives for tracking the three cohorts of FM graduates were to: 1) describe where FM graduates practice in the province 2) examine the impact of a policy introduced to influence the distribution of new FM graduates in the province 3) describe the services provided by FM graduates and 4) compare workload measures. The objectives for the comparison of FM graduates to all practicing FPs in 2005/06 were to: 1) describe the patient population served by FM graduates, 2) compare workload of FM graduates to all practicing FPs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study cohort consisted of all U of T FM postgraduate trainees who started and completed their training between 1993 and 2003. This study was a descriptive record linkage study whereby postgraduate information for FM graduates was linked to provincial health administrative data. Comprehensiveness of care indicators and workload measures based on administrative data where determined for the study cohort.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From 1993 to 2003 there were 857 University of Toronto FM graduates. While the majority of U of T FM graduates practice in Toronto or the surrounding Greater Toronto Area, there are FM graduates from U of T practicing in every region in Ontario, Canada. The proportion of FM graduates undertaking further emergency training had doubled from 3.6% to 7.8%. From 1993 to 2003, a higher proportion of the most recent FM graduates did hospital visits, emergency room care and a lower proportion undertook home visits. Male FM graduates appear to have had higher workloads compared with female FM graduates, though the difference between them was decreasing over time. A 1997 policy initiative to discount fees paid to new FPs practicing in areas deemed over supplied did result in a decrease in the proportion of FM graduates practicing in metropolitan areas.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We were able to profile the practices of FM graduates using existing and routinely collected population-based health administrative data. Further work tracking FM graduates could be helpful for physician resource forecasting and in examining the impact of policies on family medicine practice.</p

Priming Picture Naming with a Semantic Task: An fMRI Investigation

Prior semantic processing can enhance subsequent picture naming performance, yet the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying this effect and its longevity are unknown. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined whether different neurological mechanisms underlie short-term (within minutes) and long-term (within days) facilitation effects from a semantic task in healthy older adults. Both short- and long-term facilitated items were named significantly faster than unfacilitated items, with short-term items significantly faster than long-term items. Region of interest results identified decreased activity for long-term facilitated items compared to unfacilitated and short-term facilitated items in the mid-portion of the middle temporal gyrus, indicating lexical-semantic priming. Additionally, in the whole brain results, increased activity for short-term facilitated items was identified in regions previously linked to episodic memory and object recognition, including the right lingual gyrus (extending to the precuneus region) and the left inferior occipital gyrus (extending to the left fusiform region). These findings suggest that distinct neurocognitive mechanisms underlie short- and long-term facilitation of picture naming by a semantic task, with long-term effects driven by lexical-semantic priming and short-term effects by episodic memory and visual object recognition mechanisms

Correction: Exome Sequencing in an Admixed Isolated Population IndicatesNFXL1 Variants Confer a Risk for Specific Language Impairment

Children affected by Specific Language Impairment (SLI) fail to acquire age appropriate language skills despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. SLI is highly heritable, but the understanding of underlying genetic mechanisms has proved challenging. In this study, we use molecular genetic techniques to investigate an admixed isolated founder population from the Robinson Crusoe Island (Chile), who are affected by a high incidence of SLI, increasing the power to discover contributory genetic factors. We utilize exome sequencing in selected individuals from this population to identify eight coding variants that are of putative significance. We then apply association analyses across the wider population to highlight a single rare coding variant (rs144169475, Minor Allele Frequency of 4.1% in admixed South American populations) in the NFXL1 gene that confers a nonsynonymous change (N150K) and is significantly associated with language impairment in the Robinson Crusoe population (p = 2.04 × 10–4, 8 variants tested). Subsequent sequencing of NFXL1 in 117 UK SLI cases identified four individuals with heterozygous variants predicted to be of functional consequence. We conclude that coding variants within NFXL1 confer an increased risk of SLI within a complex genetic model