Public release date: 11-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: University of Oxford press office press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk 44-018-652-80533 University of Oxford

Genes linked to autism and schizophrenia are only switched on during the early stages of brain development, according to a study in mice led by researchers at the University of Oxford.

This new study adds to the evidence that autism and schizophrenia are neurodevelopmental disorders, a term describing conditions that originate during early brain development.

The researchers studied gene expression in the brains of mice throughout their development, from 15-day old embryos to adults, and their results are published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study is a collaboration between researchers from the University of Oxford, King's College London and Imperial College London, and was funded by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.

The research focused on cells in the 'subplate', a region of the brain where the first neurons (nerve cells) develop. Subplate neurons are essential to brain development, and provide the earliest connections within the brain.

'The subplate provides the scaffolding required for a brain to grow, so is important to consider when studying brain development,' says Professor Zoltn Molnr, senior author of the paper from the University of Oxford, 'Looking at the pyramids in Egypt today doesn't tell us how they were actually built. Studying adult brains is like looking at the pyramids today, but by studying the developing brains we are able to see the transient scaffolding that has been used to construct it.'

The study shows that certain genes linked to autism and schizophrenia are only active in the subplate during specific stages of development. 'The majority of the autism susceptibility genes are only expressed in the subplate of the developing mouse brain,' explains Dr Anna Hoerder-Suabedissen, who led the study at the University of Oxford, 'Many can only be found at certain stages of development, making them difficult to identify at later stages using previous techniques.'

The group were able to map gene activity in full detail thanks to powerful new methods which allowed them to dissect and profile gene expression from small numbers of cells. This also enabled them to identify the different populations of subplate neurons more accurately.

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Gene today, gone tomorrow: Genes for autism and schizophrenia only active in developing brains

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