Modelling Autistic Features in Mice Using Quantitative Genetic Approaches.

Animal studies provide a unique opportunity to study the consequences of genetic variants at the behavioural level. Human studies have identified hundreds of risk genes for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that can lead to understanding on how genetic variation contributes to individual differences in social interaction and stereotyped behaviour in people with ASD. To develop rational therapeutic interventions, systematic animal model studies are needed to understand the relationships between genetic variation, pathogenic processes and the expression of autistic behaviours. Genetic and non-genetic animal model strategies are here reviewed in their propensity to study the underpinnings of behavioural trait variation. We conclude that an integration of reverse and forward genetic approaches may be essential to unravel the neurobiological mechanisms underlying ASD.

Histamine H3 receptor antagonism modulates autism-like hyperactivity but not repetitive behaviors in BTBR T+Itpr3tf/J inbred mice.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental conditions defined by behavioral deficits in social communication and interactions, mental inflexibility and repetitive behaviors. Converging evidence from observational and preclinical studies suggest that excessive repetitive behaviors in people with ASD may be due to elevated histaminergic H3 receptor signaling in the striatum. We hypothesized that systemic administration of pharmacological histamine H3 receptor antagonists would attenuate the expression of repetitive behaviors in the BTBR T+Itpr3tf/J (BTBR) mouse inbred strain, an established mouse model presenting autism-like repetitive behaviors and novelty-induced hyperactivity. We further aimed to investigate whether agonism of the histamine H3 receptor would be sufficient to induce repetitive behaviors in the C57BL/6J control mouse strain. METHODS: Different doses of H3 receptor agonists (i.e., (R)-α-methylhistamine and immethridine) and H3 receptor antagonists/inverse agonists (i.e., ciproxifan and pitolisant) were administered via intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection in male mice to characterize the acute effects of these compounds on ASD-related behavioral readouts. RESULTS: The highly selective H3 receptor agonist immethridine significantly increased the time spent in stereotypic patterns in C57BL/6J mice, but this effect appeared to be driven by general sedative properties of the compound. High doses of pitolisant significantly decreased locomotor hyperactivity in novel environments in BTBR mice, without significant effects on repetitive behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our findings, we conclude that acute H3 receptor manipulation mainly affected general motor activity levels in novel environments. Small changes in stereotyped behaviors were observed but appeared to be driven by altered general activity levels.

A Longitudinal Model of Human Neuronal Differentiation for Functional Investigation of Schizophrenia Polygenic Risk.

BACKGROUND: Common psychiatric disorders are characterized by complex disease architectures with many small genetic effects that contribute and complicate biological understanding of their etiology. There is therefore a pressing need for in vitro experimental systems that allow for interrogation of polygenic psychiatric disease risk to study the underlying biological mechanisms. METHODS: We have developed an analytical framework that integrates genome-wide disease risk from genome-wide association studies with longitudinal in vitro gene expression profiles of human neuronal differentiation. RESULTS: We demonstrate that the cumulative impact of risk loci of specific psychiatric disorders is significantly associated with genes that are differentially expressed and upregulated during differentiation. We find the strongest evidence for schizophrenia, a finding that we replicate in an independent dataset. A longitudinal gene cluster involved in synaptic function primarily drives the association with schizophrenia risk. CONCLUSIONS: These findings reveal that in vitro human neuronal differentiation can be used to translate the polygenic architecture of schizophrenia to biologically relevant pathways that can be modeled in an experimental system. Overall, this work emphasizes the use of longitudinal in vitro transcriptomic signatures as a cellular readout and the application to the genetics of complex traits.

Modeling the quantitative nature of neurodevelopmental disorders using Collaborative Cross mice.

Background: Animal models for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) generally rely on a single genetic mutation on a fixed genetic background. Recent human genetic studies however indicate that a clinical diagnosis with ASDAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is almost always associated with multiple genetic fore- and background changes. The translational value of animal model studies would be greatly enhanced if genetic insults could be studied in a more quantitative framework across genetic backgrounds. Methods: We used the Collaborative Cross (CC), a novel mouse genetic reference population, to investigate the quantitative genetic architecture of mouse behavioral phenotypes commonly used in animal models for NDD. Results: Classical tests of social recognition and grooming phenotypes appeared insufficient for quantitative studies due to genetic dilution and limited heritability. In contrast, digging, locomotor activity, and stereotyped exploratory patterns were characterized by continuous distribution across our CC sample and also mapped to quantitative trait loci containing genes associated with corresponding phenotypes in human populations. Conclusions: These findings show that the CC can move animal model studies beyond comparative single gene-single background designs, and point out which type of behavioral phenotypes are most suitable to quantify the effect of developmental etiologies across multiple genetic backgrounds.

Limited impact of Cntn4 mutation on autism-related traits in developing and adult C57BL/6J mice.

BACKGROUND: Mouse models offer an essential tool to unravel the impact of genetic mutations on autism-related phenotypes. The behavioral impact of some important candidate gene models for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has not yet been studied, and existing characterizations mostly describe behavioral phenotypes at adult ages, disregarding the developmental nature of the disorder. In this context, the behavioral influence of CNTN4, one of the strongest suggested ASD candidate genes, is unknown. Here, we used our recently established developmental test battery to characterize the consequences of disruption of contactin 4 (Cntn4) on neurological, sensory, cognitive, and behavioral phenotypes across different developmental stages. METHODS: C57BL/6J mice with heterozygous and homozygous disruption of Cntn4 were studied through an extensive, partially longitudinal, test battery at various developmental stages, including various paradigms testing social and restricted repetitive behaviors. RESULTS: Developmental neurological and cognitive screenings revealed no significant differences between genotypes, and ASD-related behavioral domains were also unchanged in Cntn4-deficient versus wild-type mice. The impact of Cntn4-deficiency was found to be limited to increased startle responsiveness following auditory stimuli of different high amplitudes in heterozygous and homozygous Cntn4-deficient mice and enhanced acquisition in a spatial learning task in homozygous mice. CONCLUSIONS: Disruption of Cntn4 in the C57BL/6J background does not affect specific autism-related phenotypes in developing or adult mice but causes subtle non-disorder specific changes in sensory behavioral responses and cognitive performance.

Enhancing the value of psychiatric mouse models; differential expression of developmental behavioral and cognitive profiles in four inbred strains of mice.

The behavioral characterization of animal models of psychiatric disorders is often based upon independent traits measured at adult age. To model the neurodevelopmental aspects of psychiatric pathogenesis, we introduce a novel approach for a developmental behavioral analysis in mice. C57BL/6J (C57) mice were used as a reference strain and compared with 129S1/SvImJ (129Sv), BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) and A/J (AJ) strains as marker strains for aberrant development. Mice were assessed at pre-adolescence (4 weeks), adolescence (6 weeks), early adulthood (8 weeks) and in adulthood (10-12 weeks) on a series of behavioral tasks measuring general health, neurological reflexes, locomotor activity, anxiety, short- and long-term memory and cognitive flexibility. Developmental delays in short-term object memory were associated with either a hypo-reactive profile in 129Sv mice or a hyper-reactive profile in BTBR mice. Furthermore, BTBR mice showed persistent high levels of repetitive grooming behavior during all developmental stages that was associated with the adult expression of cognitive rigidity. In addition, strain differences in development were observed in puberty onset, touch escape, and body position. These data showed that this longitudinal testing battery provides sufficient behavioral and cognitive resolution during different development stages and offers the opportunity to address the behavioral developmental trajectory in genetic mouse models for neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, the data revealed that the assessment of multiple behavioral and cognitive domains at different developmental stages is critical to determine confounding factors (e.g., impaired motor behavior) that may interfere with the behavioral testing performance in mouse models for brain disorders.