[PDF][PDF] Disruption of neurexin 1 associated with autism spectrum disorder

HG Kim, S Kishikawa, AW Higgins, IS Seong… - The American Journal of …, 2008 - cell.com
HG Kim, S Kishikawa, AW Higgins, IS Seong, DJ Donovan, Y Shen, E Lally, LA Weiss…
The American Journal of Human Genetics, 2008cell.com
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of complex etiology in which genetic factors play a
major role. We have implicated the neurexin 1 (NRXN1) gene in two independent subjects
who display an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in association with a balanced
chromosomal abnormality involving 2p16. 3. In the first, with karyotype 46, XX, ins (16;
2)(q22. 1; p16. 1p16. 3) pat, NRXN1 is directly disrupted within intron 5. Importantly, the
father possesses the same chromosomal abnormality in the absence of ASD, indicating that …
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of complex etiology in which genetic factors play a major role. We have implicated the neurexin 1 (NRXN1) gene in two independent subjects who display an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in association with a balanced chromosomal abnormality involving 2p16.3. In the first, with karyotype 46,XX,ins(16;2)(q22.1;p16.1p16.3)pat, NRXN1 is directly disrupted within intron 5. Importantly, the father possesses the same chromosomal abnormality in the absence of ASD, indicating that the interruption of α-NRXN1 is not fully penetrant and must interact with other factors to produce ASD. The breakpoint in the second subject, with 46,XY,t(1;2)(q31.3;p16.3)dn, occurs ∼750 kb 5′ to NRXN1 within a 2.6 Mb genomic segment that harbors no currently annotated genes. A scan of the NRXN1 coding sequence in a cohort of ASD subjects, relative to non-ASD controls, revealed that amino acid alterations in neurexin 1 are not present at high frequency in ASD. However, a number of rare sequence variants in the coding region, including two missense changes in conserved residues of the α-neurexin 1 leader sequence and of an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain, respectively, suggest that even subtle changes in NRXN1 might contribute to susceptibility to ASD.
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