Novel de novo SHANK3 mutation in autistic patients.

Journal: American Journal Of Medical Genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric Genetics : The Official Publication Of The International Society Of Psychiatric Genetics
Published:
Abstract

A number of studies have confirmed that genetic factors play an important role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). More recently de novo mutations in the SHANK3 gene, a synaptic scaffolding protein, have been associated with the ASD phenotype. As part of our gene discovery strategy, we sequenced the SHANK3 gene in a cohort of 427 ASD subjects and 190 controls. Here, we report the identification of two putative causative mutations: one being a de novo deletion at an intronic donor splice site and one missense transmitted from an epileptic father. We were able to confirm the deleterious effect of the splice site deletion by RT-PCR using mRNA extracted from cultured lymphoblastoid cells. The missense mutation, a leucine to proline at amino acid position 68, is perfectly conserved across all species examined, and would be predicted to disrupt an alpha-helical domain. These results further support the role of SHANK3 gene disruption in the etiology of ASD.

Authors
Julie Gauthier, Dan Spiegelman, Amélie Piton, Ronald Lafrenière, Sandra Laurent, Judith St Onge, Line Lapointe, Fadi Hamdan, Patrick Cossette, Laurent Mottron, Eric Fombonne, Ridha Joober, Claude Marineau, Pierre Drapeau, Guy Rouleau
Relevant Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder