Altered Forebrain Functional Connectivity and Neurotransmission in a Kinase-Inactive Met Mouse Model of Autism
Date
2019Journal
Molecular ImagingPublisher
SAGE Publications Inc.Type
Article
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MET, the gene encoding the tyrosine kinase receptor for hepatocyte growth factor, is a susceptibility gene for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Genetically altered mice with a kinase-inactive Met offer a potential model for understanding neural circuit organization changes in autism. Here, we focus on the somatosensory thalamocortical circuitry because distinct somatosensory sensitivity phenotypes accompany ASD, and this system plays a major role in sensorimotor and social behaviors in mice. We employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and in vivo high-resolution proton MR spectroscopy to examine neuronal connectivity and neurotransmission of wild-type, heterozygous Met-Emx1, and fully inactive homozygous Met-Emx1 mice. Met-Emx1 brains showed impaired maturation of large-scale somatosensory network connectivity when compared with wild-type controls. Significant sex x genotype interaction in both network features and glutamate/gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) balance was observed. Female Met-Emx1 brains showed significant connectivity and glutamate/GABA balance changes in the somatosensory thalamocortical system when compared with wild-type brains. The glutamate/GABA ratio in the thalamus was correlated with the connectivity between the somatosensory cortex and the thalamus in heterozygous Met-Emx1 female brains. The findings support the hypothesis that aberrant functioning of the somatosensory thalamocortical system is at the core of the conspicuous somatosensory behavioral phenotypes observed in Met-Emx1 mice. © The Author(s) 2019.Sponsors
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health/ National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS092216).Keyword
autismbrain network
GABA
magnetic resonance spectroscopy
met null mice
resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging
somatosensory thalamocortical system
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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85059629516&doi=10.1177%2f1536012118821034&partnerID=40&md5=d56d3ea3057450a96db8dbe3ccb0592c; http://hdl.handle.net/10713/8603ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1177/1536012118821034
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