Automated four-dimensional long term imaging enables single cell tracking within organotypic brain slices to study neurodevelopment and degeneration.

Current approaches for dynamic profiling of single cells rely on dissociated cultures, which lack important biological features existing in tissues. Organotypic slice cultures preserve aspects of structural and synaptic organisation within the brain and are amenable to microscopy, but established techniques are not well adapted for high throughput or longitudinal single cell analysis. Here we developed a custom-built, automated confocal imaging platform, with improved organotypic slice culture and maintenance. The approach enables fully automated image acquisition and four-dimensional tracking of morphological changes within individual cells in organotypic cultures from rodent and human primary tissues for at least 3 weeks. To validate this system, we analysed neurons expressing a disease-associated version of huntingtin (HTT586Q138-EGFP), and observed that they displayed hallmarks of Huntington's disease and died sooner than controls. By facilitating longitudinal single-cell analyses of neuronal physiology, our system bridges scales necessary to attain statistical power to detect developmental and disease phenotypes

IP3-Mediated Ca2+ Signaling Deficit in Monogenic and Sporadic Forms of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects 2% of children and is characterized by impaired social and communication skills together with repetitive, stereotypic behavior. The pathophysiology of ASD is complex due to genetic and environmental heterogeneity, complicating the development of therapies and making diagnosis challenging. Growing evidence supports a role of disrupted Ca2+ signaling in ASD. I developed and applied a high-throughput fluorometric imaging plate reader (FLIPR) assay to monitor agonist-evoked Ca2+ signals in human primary skin fibroblasts. My results indicate that IP3 -mediated Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum in response to activation of purinergic receptors is significantly depressed in subjects with sporadic, as well as rare syndromic forms of ASD. This was apparent in Ca2+ signals evoked by G protein-coupled receptors and by photoreleased IP3 at the levels of both global and local elementary Ca2+ events, suggesting fundamental defects in IP3R channel activity in ASD. Given the ubiquitous involvement of IP3R-mediated Ca2+ signaling in neuronal excitability, synaptic plasticity, gene expression and neurodevelopment, I further expanded my findings to a murine model of FXS. Activation of the IP3 cascade via plasma membrane metabotropic receptors did not reveal any Ca2+ signaling deficits in neurons from mice with the FMR1 gene deletion. Glial cells from FXS mice did not demonstrate any sizable difference in response to GPCR activation, or IP3 UV flash uncaging as compared with wild type. Finally, mouse fibroblasts from FXS mice assayed with the high-throughput screen FLIPR, analogous to what was used on the human skin fibroblasts, did not reveal any difference in the IP3-mediated Ca2+ release compared with wild type mice. These findings highlight divergence between animal models and human conditions, and show inadequacy of the murine model in studying the effect of the FMR1 gene mutation on IP3 signaling cascade. In conclusion, my findings suggest that deficits in IP3-mediated Ca2+ signaling represent a convergent function shared across the spectrum of autistic disorders – whether caused by rare highly penetrant mutations or sporadic forms – and hold promise as a biomarker for diagnosis and novel drug discovery. This work also highlights potential pharmaceutical targets, and identifies Ca2+ screening in human skin fibroblasts as a promising technique for early detection of individuals susceptible to ASD

Channelopathy pathogenesis in autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a syndrome that affects normal brain development and is characterized by impaired social interaction as well as verbal and non-verbal communication and by repetitive, stereotypic behavior. ASD is a complex disorder arising from a combination of multiple genetic and environmental factors that are independent from racial, ethnic and socioeconomical status. The high heritability of ASD suggests a strong genetic basis for the disorder. Furthermore, a mounting body of evidence implies a role of various ion channel gene defects (channelopathies) in the pathogenesis of autism. Indeed, recent genome-wide association, and whole exome- and whole-genome resequencing studies linked polymorphisms and rare variants in calcium, sodium and potassium channels and their subunits with susceptibility to ASD, much as they do with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Moreover, animal models with these genetic variations recapitulate endophenotypes considered to be correlates of autistic behavior seen in patients. An ion flux across the membrane regulates a variety of cell functions, from generation of action potentials to gene expression and cell morphology, thus it is not surprising that channelopathies have profound effects on brain functions. In the present work, we summarize existing evidence for the role of ion channel gene defects in the pathogenesis of autism with a focus on calcium signaling and its downstream effects

Channelopathy pathogenesis in autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a syndrome that affects normal brain development and is characterized by impaired social interaction as well as verbal and non-verbal communication and by repetitive, stereotypic behavior. ASD is a complex disorder arising from a combination of multiple genetic and environmental factors that are independent from racial, ethnic and socioeconomical status. The high heritability of ASD suggests a strong genetic basis for the disorder. Furthermore, a mounting body of evidence implies a role of various ion channel gene defects (channelopathies) in the pathogenesis of autism. Indeed, recent genome-wide association, and whole exome- and whole-genome resequencing studies linked polymorphisms and rare variants in calcium, sodium and potassium channels and their subunits with susceptibility to ASD, much as they do with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Moreover, animal models with these genetic variations recapitulate endophenotypes considered to be correlates of autistic behavior seen in patients. An ion flux across the membrane regulates a variety of cell functions, from generation of action potentials to gene expression and cell morphology, thus it is not surprising that channelopathies have profound effects on brain functions. In the present work, we summarize existing evidence for the role of ion channel gene defects in the pathogenesis of autism with a focus on calcium signaling and its downstream effects

Intracellular calcium dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder: An analysis of converging organelle signaling pathways.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of complex, neurological disorders that affect early cognitive, social, and verbal development. Our understanding of ASD has vastly improved with advances in genomic sequencing technology and genetic models that have identified >800 loci with variants that increase susceptibility to ASD. Although these findings have confirmed its high heritability, the underlying mechanisms by which these genes produce the ASD phenotypes have not been defined. Current efforts have begun to "functionalize" many of these variants and envisage how these susceptibility factors converge at key biochemical and biophysical pathways. In this review, we discuss recent work on intracellular calcium signaling in ASD, including our own work, which begins to suggest it as a compelling candidate mechanism in the pathophysiology of autism and a potential therapeutic target. We consider how known variants in the calcium signaling genomic architecture of ASD may exert their deleterious effects along pathways particularly involving organelle dysfunction including the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a major calcium store, and the mitochondria, a major calcium ion buffer, and theorize how many of these pathways intersect

High-throughput screen detects calcium signaling dysfunction in typical sporadic autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders without any defined uniting pathophysiology. Ca2+ signaling is emerging as a potential node in the genetic architecture of the disorder. We previously reported decreased inositol trisphosphate (IP3)-mediated Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum in several rare monogenic syndromes highly comorbid with autism - fragile X and tuberous sclerosis types 1 and 2 syndromes. We now extend those findings to a cohort of subjects with sporadic ASD without any known mutations. We developed and applied a high throughput Fluorometric Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) assay to monitor agonist-evoked Ca2+ signals in human primary skin fibroblasts. Our results indicate that IP3 -mediated Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum in response to activation of purinergic receptors is significantly depressed in subjects with sporadic as well as rare syndromic forms of ASD. We propose that deficits in IP3-mediated Ca2+ signaling represent a convergent hub function shared across the spectrum of autistic disorders - whether caused by rare highly penetrant mutations or sporadic forms - and holds promise as a biomarker for diagnosis and novel drug discovery