| First Author | Goff KM | Year | 2023 |
| Journal | Cell Rep | Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 112628 |
| PubMed ID | 37310860 | Mgi Jnum | J:338354 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7511319 | Doi | 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112628 |
| Citation | Goff KM, et al. (2023) VIP interneuron impairment promotes in vivo circuit dysfunction and autism-related behaviors in Dravet syndrome. Cell Rep 42(6):112628 |
| abstractText | Dravet syndrome (DS) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder caused by loss-of-function variants in SCN1A, which encodes the voltage-gated sodium channel subunit Nav1.1. We recently showed that neocortical vasoactive intestinal peptide interneurons (VIP-INs) express Nav1.1 and are hypoexcitable in DS (Scn1a(+/-)) mice. Here, we investigate VIP-IN function at the circuit and behavioral level by performing in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging in awake wild-type (WT) and Scn1a(+/-) mice. VIP-IN and pyramidal neuron activation during behavioral transition from quiet wakefulness to active running is diminished in Scn1a(+/-) mice, and optogenetic activation of VIP-INs restores pyramidal neuron activity to WT levels during locomotion. VIP-IN selective Scn1a deletion reproduces core autism-spectrum-disorder-related behaviors in addition to cellular- and circuit-level deficits in VIP-IN function, but without epilepsy, sudden death, or avoidance behaviors seen in the global model. Hence, VIP-INs are impaired in vivo, which may underlie non-seizure cognitive and behavioral comorbidities in DS. |
