| First Author | Nuzzo T | Year | 2020 |
| Journal | Biochim Biophys Acta Proteins Proteom | Volume | 1868 |
| Issue | 12 | Pages | 140531 |
| PubMed ID | 32853769 | Mgi Jnum | J:331666 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6740884 | Doi | 10.1016/j.bbapap.2020.140531 |
| Citation | Nuzzo T, et al. (2020) Dysfunctional d-aspartate metabolism in BTBR mouse model of idiopathic autism. Biochim Biophys Acta Proteins Proteom 1868(12):140531 |
| abstractText | BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impairment in social interaction, deviance in communication, and repetitive behaviors. Dysfunctional ionotropic NMDA and AMPA receptors, and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 activity at excitatory synapses has been recently linked to multiple forms of ASD. Despite emerging evidence showing that d-aspartate and d-serine are important neuromodulators of glutamatergic transmission, no systematic investigation on the occurrence of these D-amino acids in preclinical ASD models has been carried out. METHODS: Through HPLC and qPCR analyses we investigated d-aspartate and d-serine metabolism in the brain and serum of four ASD mouse models. These include BTBR mice, an idiopathic model of ASD, and Cntnap2(-/-), Shank3(-/-), and 16p11.2(+/-) mice, three established genetic mouse lines recapitulating high confidence ASD-associated mutations. RESULTS: Biochemical and gene expression mapping in Cntnap2(-/-), Shank3(-/-), and 16p11.2(+/-) failed to find gross cerebral and serum alterations in d-aspartate and d-serine metabolism. Conversely, we found a striking and stereoselective increased d-aspartate content in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and serum of inbred BTBR mice. Consistent with biochemical assessments, in the same brain areas we also found a robust reduction in mRNA levels of d-aspartate oxidase, encoding the enzyme responsible for d-aspartate catabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated the presence of disrupted d-aspartate metabolism in a widely used animal model of idiopathic ASD. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, this work calls for a deeper investigation of D-amino acids in the etiopathology of ASD and related developmental disorders. |
