Mutation of the gene called EGR1 suppresses the urge to socialize and stops dopamine signaling by some neurons in the brain, which can affect mood and social behavior. This was stated in their recent research by a team of scientists from‘Institute of Neuroscience of the UOg who observed this phenomenon in zebrafish.
The results of the Research have been published in the scientific journal eNeuro.
EGR1 gene: its mutation offers new clues to autism spectrum disorder
The EGR1 gene mutation has also been observed in humans, and has been linked to severe diagnoses of mental distress such as schizophrenia and depression and appears to play a role in autism as well.. It goes without saying that being able to understand more about how this gene models social behavior could help researchers uncover the biological basis of a range of complex conditions involved in strong social components.
The team, led by the biology professors of the UO Philip Washbourne And Judith Eisen, to test the effects of EGR1, he placed pairs of zebrafish in adjacent tanks. The fish could see each other but did not perceive any water movement or chemical signals from nearby fish.
The researchers found that fish with normally functioning EGR1 tended to swim closer to the reef and to orient themselves towards the other fish as they approached.. But fish with a mutation in both copies of the EGR1 gene showed no particular interest in their pool neighbor, did not attempt any possible approaches, and did not position themselves equally towards the glass.
The researchers also measured the zebrafish’s response to moving dots that move and flicker like another fish’s shadows. As in the first experiments, zebrafish with normal EGR1 responded socially to those stimuli as if it were another fish. The fish with the mutated gene, on the other hand, did not change their behavior.
“This is giving a small piece of the brain circuitry involved in social behavior“, Washbourne said:”From there, we can go upstream and downstream and try to put the circuit together ”.
For example, the EGR1 gene controls a gene that produces tyrosine hydroxylase, a chemical the body needs to make dopamine. Fish with the EGR1 mutation produce less of this chemical in some neurons. Without as much tyrosine hydroxylase, there is also less dopamine. Then there is a domino effect initiated by a gene that can send ripple effects through circuits in the brain that influence mood and social behavior.
Social behavior is much more complex than a gene or a brain circuit, but Eisen and Washbourne find it useful to look at more basic social behaviors in this way. The neurons the scientists studied are found in a region of the brain that exists not only in humans but also in many other animals with much simpler brains.
“Human brains superimpose greater complexity on a ground plane that is shared among the brains of many species“, Explained Eisen:”You can look at these brain regions in other animals where the cortex is not as complex as in humans and learn a lot. “
For example, here, the researchers linked EGR1 to a specific social behavior in zebrafish: following another fish. In mice or humans, that same gene and related brain circuitry could direct different social behavior: “Different species can use the same cells to perform different social tasks “, Washbourne concluded.
In Italy, according to the Ministry of Health, an estimated 1 in 77 children (age 7-9 years) has an autism spectrum disorder with a higher prevalence in males: males are 4.4 times more than females.
This national estimate was made as part of the “Observatory project for the monitoring of autism spectrum disorders “ co-coordinated by‘Higher Institute of Health and the Ministry of Health. In the project, funded by the Ministry of Health – Directorate General for Health Prevention, the prevalence estimate was carried out through a screening protocol shared with the European project ‘Autism Spectrum Disorders in the European Union ‘(ASDEU) funded by DG Santè of the European Commission.
International epidemiological studies have reported a generalized increase in autism spectrum disorder disorders. The greater training of doctors, the changes in diagnostic criteria and the increased knowledge of the disorder by the general population, also connected to the socio-economic context, are factors to be taken into consideration in interpreting this increase.
Currently, the prevalence of the disorder is estimated to be around 1 in 54 among 8-year-olds in the United States, 1 in 160 in Denmark and Sweden, and 1 in 86 in the UK. In adulthood, few studies have been performed and they report a prevalence of 1 in 100 in England. It should be remembered that in order to understand the diversity of prevalence estimates, it is also necessary to consider the geographical variability and methodological differences of the studies from which these estimates originate.
#EGR1 #gene #valuable #information #autism