Researchers Discover Link Between Protein Synthesis and Autism Disorder

A new study founda direct and crucial link between protein synthesis and autism spectrum disorders, which can give rise to new therapeutic treatments.

Protein synthesis, scientifically termed as mRNA translation, is the process by which cells manufacture proteins. While conducting a study on mice, researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal found that children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) generally have an abnormally high synthesis of a group of neuronal proteins called neuroligins which show symptoms similar to those of ASD.

"My lab is dedicated to elucidating the role of dysregulated protein synthesis in cancer etiology. However, our team was surprised to discover that similar mechanisms may be implicated in the development of ASD", explained professor Nahum Sonenberg from McGill's Dept. of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, and the Goodman Cancer Research Centre, in a report published in the Medical Xpress

"We used a mouse model in which a key gene controlling initiation of protein synthesis was deleted. In these mice, production of neuroligins was increased. Neuroligins are important for the formation and regulation of connections known as synapses between neuronal cells in the brain and essential for the maintenance of the balance in the transmission of information from neuron to neuron."

"Since the discovery of neuroligin mutations in individuals with ASD in 2003, the precise molecular mechanisms implicated remain unknown," said Christos Gkogkas, a postdoctoral fellow at McGill and lead author in the same report.

"Our work is the first to link translational control of neuroligins with altered synaptic function and autism-like behaviors in mice. The key is that we achieved reversal of ASD-like symptoms in adult mice. Firstly, we used compounds, which were previously developed for cancer treatment, to reduce protein synthesis. Secondly, we used non-replicating viruses as vehicles to put a break on exaggerated synthesis of neuroligins."