Literature Search Results for Gene SYNGAP1

SYNGAP1
1
N. Engl. J. Med. 2009 Feb 360: 599-605
PMID19196676
TitleMutations in SYNGAP1 in autosomal nonsyndromic mental retardation.
AbstractAlthough autosomal forms of nonsyndromic mental retardation account for the majority of cases of mental retardation, the genes that are involved remain largely unknown. We sequenced the autosomal gene SYNGAP1, which encodes a ras GTPase-activating protein that is critical for cognition and synapse function, in 94 patients with nonsyndromic mental retardation. We identified de novo truncating mutations (K138X, R579X, and L813RfsX22) in three of these patients. In contrast, we observed no de novo or truncating mutations in SYNGAP1 in samples from 142 subjects with autism spectrum disorders, 143 subjects with schizophrenia, and 190 control subjects. These results indicate that SYNGAP1 disruption is a cause of autosomal dominant nonsyndromic mental retardation.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia
2
Biol. Psychiatry 2011 Oct 70: 646-54
PMID21549355
TitleGlutamatergic gene expression is specifically reduced in thalamocortical projecting relay neurons in schizophrenia.
AbstractImpairment of glutamate neurons that relay sensory and cognitive information from the medial dorsal thalamus to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and other cortical regions may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this study, we have assessed the cell-specific expression of glutamatergic transcripts in the medial dorsal thalamus.
We used laser capture microdissection to harvest two populations of medial dorsal thalamic cells, one enriched with glutamatergic relay neurons and the other with gamma-aminobutyric acidergic neurons and astroglia, from postmortem brains of subjects with schizophrenia (n = 14) and a comparison group (n = 20). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction of extracted RNA was used to assay gene expression in the different cell populations.
The transcripts encoding the ionotropic glutamate receptor subunits NR2D, GluR3, GluR6, GluR7, and the intracellular proteins GRIP1 and SynGAP1 were significantly decreased in relay neurons but not in the mixed glial and interneuron population in schizophrenia.
Our data suggest that reduced ionotropic glutamatergic expression occurs selectively in neurons, which give rise to the cortical projections of the medial dorsal thalamus in schizophrenia, rather than in thalamic cells that function locally. Our findings indicate that glutamatergic innervation is dysfunctional in the circuitry between the medial dorsal thalamus and cortex.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia
3
Biol. Psychiatry 2015 Jan 77: 158-66
PMID25034949
TitleCopy number variable microRNAs in schizophrenia and their neurodevelopmental gene targets.
AbstractMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression in the human genome and may contribute to risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. miRNAs play an acknowledged role in the strongest of genetic risk factors for schizophrenia, 22q11.2 deletions. We hypothesized that in schizophrenia there would be an enrichment of other rare copy number variants (CNVs) that overlap miRNAs.
Using high-resolution genome-wide microarrays and rigorous methods, we compared the miRNA content of rare CNVs in well-characterized cohorts of schizophrenia cases (n = 420) and comparison subjects, excluding 22q11.2 CNVs. We also performed a gene-set enrichment analysis of the predicted miRNA target genes.
The schizophrenia group was enriched for the proportion of individuals with a rare CNV overlapping a miRNA (3.29-fold increase over comparison subjects, p < .0001). The presence of a rare CNV overlapping a miRNA remained a significant predictor of schizophrenia case status (p = .0072) in a multivariate logistic regression model correcting for total CNV size. In contrast, comparable analyses correcting for CNV size showed no enrichment of rare CNVs overlapping protein-coding genes. A gene-set enrichment analysis indicated that predicted target genes of recurrent CNV-overlapped miRNAs in schizophrenia may be functionally enriched for neurodevelopmental processes, including axonogenesis and neuron projection development. Predicted gene targets driving these results included CAPRIN1, NEDD4, NTRK2, PAK2, RHOA, and SYNGAP1.
These data are the first to demonstrate a genome-wide role for CNVs overlapping miRNAs in the genetic risk for schizophrenia. The results provide support for an expanded multihit model of causation, with potential implications for miRNA-based therapeutics.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia
4
Biol. Psychiatry 2015 May 77: 805-15
PMID25444158
TitleSyngap1 haploinsufficiency damages a postnatal critical period of pyramidal cell structural maturation linked to cortical circuit assembly.
AbstractGenetic haploinsufficiency of SYNGAP1/Syngap1 commonly occurs in developmental brain disorders, such as intellectual disability, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder. Thus, studying mouse models of Syngap1 haploinsufficiency may uncover pathologic developmental processes common among distinct brain disorders.
A Syngap1 haploinsufficiency model was used to explore the relationship between critical period dendritic spine abnormalities, cortical circuit assembly, and the window for genetic rescue to understand how damaging mutations disrupt key substrates of mouse brain development.
Syngap1 mutations broadly disrupted a developmentally sensitive period that corresponded to the period of heightened postnatal cortical synaptogenesis. Pathogenic Syngap1 mutations caused a coordinated acceleration of dendrite elongation and spine morphogenesis and pruning of these structures in neonatal cortical pyramidal neurons. These mutations also prevented a form of developmental structural plasticity associated with experience-dependent reorganization of brain circuits. Consistent with these findings, Syngap1 mutant mice displayed an altered pattern of long-distance synaptic inputs into a cortical area important for cognition. Interestingly, the ability to genetically improve the behavioral endophenotype of Syngap1 mice decreased slowly over postnatal development and mapped onto the developmental period of coordinated dendritic insults.
Pathogenic Syngap1 mutations have a profound impact on the dynamics and structural integrity of pyramidal cell postsynaptic structures known to guide the de novo wiring of nascent cortical circuits. These findings support the idea that disrupted critical periods of dendritic growth and spine plasticity may be a common pathologic process in developmental brain disorders.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia
5
Biol. Psychiatry 2016 Feb -1: -1
PMID27086544
TitleReceptor Tyrosine Kinase MET Interactome and Neurodevelopmental Disorder Partners at the Developing Synapse.
AbstractAtypical synapse development and plasticity are implicated in many neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). NDD-associated, high-confidence risk genes have been identified, yet little is known about functional relationships at the level of protein-protein interactions, which are the dominant molecular bases responsible for mediating circuit development.
Proteomics in three independent developing neocortical synaptosomal preparations identified putative interacting proteins of the ligand-activated MET receptor tyrosine kinase, an autism risk gene that mediates synapse development. The candidates were translated into interactome networks and analyzed bioinformatically. Additionally, three independent quantitative proximity ligation assays in cultured neurons and four independent immunoprecipitation analyses of synaptosomes validated protein interactions.
Approximately 11% (8/72) of MET-interacting proteins, including SHANK3, SYNGAP1, and GRIN2B, are associated with NDDs. Proteins in the MET interactome were translated into a novel MET interactome network based on human protein-protein interaction databases. High-confidence genes from different NDD datasets that encode synaptosomal proteins were analyzed for being enriched in MET interactome proteins. This was found for autism but not schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. There is correlated gene expression between MET and its interactive partners in developing human temporal and visual neocortices but not with highly expressed genes that are not in the interactome. Proximity ligation assays and biochemical analyses demonstrate that MET-protein partner interactions are dynamically regulated by receptor activation.
The results provide a novel molecular framework for deciphering the functional relations of key regulators of synaptogenesis that contribute to both typical cortical development and to NDDs.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia
6
Neuropharmacology 2016 Jan 100: 2-16
PMID26231830
TitlePrioritizing the development of mouse models for childhood brain disorders.
AbstractMutations in hundreds of genes contribute to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction associated with developmental brain disorders (DBDs). Due to the sheer number of risk factors available for study combined with the cost of developing new animal models, it remains an open question how genes should be prioritized for in-depth neurobiological investigations. Recent reviews have argued that priority should be given to frequently mutated genes commonly found in sporadic DBD patients. Intrigued by this idea, we explored to what extent "high priority" risk factors have been studied in animals in an effort to assess their potential for generating valuable preclinical models capable of advancing the neurobiological understanding of DBDs. We found that in-depth whole animal studies are lacking for many high priority genes, with relatively few neurobiological studies performed in construct valid animal models aimed at understanding the pathological substrates associated with disease phenotypes. However, some high priority risk factors have been extensively studied in animal models and they have generated novel insights into DBD patho-neurobiology while also advancing early pre-clinical therapeutic treatment strategies. We suggest that prioritizing model development toward genes frequently mutated in non-specific DBD populations will accelerate the understanding of DBD patho-neurobiology and drive novel therapeutic strategies. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Synaptopathy--from Biology to Therapy'.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia


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