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  • Seizure-like activity in a ...
    Mandel-Brehm, Caleigh; Salogiannis, John; Dhamne, Sameer C; Rotenberg, Alexander; Greenberg, Michael E

    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 04/2015, Letnik: 112, Številka: 16
    Journal Article

    Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder arising from loss-of-function mutations in the maternally inherited copy of the UBE3A gene, and is characterized by an absence of speech, excessive laughter, cognitive delay, motor deficits, and seizures. Despite the fact that the symptoms of AS occur in early childhood, behavioral characterization of AS mouse models has focused primarily on adult phenotypes. In this report we describe juvenile behaviors in AS mice that are strain-independent and clinically relevant. We find that young AS mice, compared with their wild-type littermates, produce an increased number of ultrasonic vocalizations. In addition, young AS mice have defects in motor coordination, as well as abnormal brain activity that results in an enhanced seizure-like response to an audiogenic challenge. The enhanced seizure-like activity, but not the increased ultrasonic vocalizations or motor deficits, is rescued in juvenile AS mice by genetically reducing the expression level of the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein, Arc . These findings suggest that therapeutic interventions that reduce the level of Arc expression have the potential to reverse the seizures associated with AS. In addition, the identification of aberrant behaviors in young AS mice may provide clues regarding the neural circuit defects that occur in AS and ultimately allow new approaches for treating this disorder. Significance Angelman syndrome (AS) is a human neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutation of a specific gene, UBE3A . Studies of behavior in adult mouse models of AS reveal abnormalities similar to those observed in humans with AS. Because AS affects children, we hypothesized that it might be helpful to study this disorder using juvenile mice. We found that young AS mice display aberrant communication and motor behaviors and increased brain activity. Reducing the expression of the synaptic protein ARC reverses abnormal brain activity in AS mice, but has no effect on communication and motor behaviors in these mice. These findings suggest new approaches for identifying the neural circuits that are defective in AS, and for developing therapies for treating this disorder.