title: Increased GAD67 mRNA expression in cerebellar interneurons in autism: implications for Purkinje cell dysfunction.
abstract: It has been widely reported that in autism, the number of Purkinje cells (PCs) is decreased, and recently, decreased expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) mRNA in Purkinje cells also has been observed. However, the autism literature has not addressed key GABAergic inputs into Purkinje cells. Inhibitory basket and stellate cell interneurons in the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex provide direct key GABAergic input into Purkinje cells and could potently influence the output of Purkinje cells to deep cerebellar nuclei. We investigated the capacity for interneuronal synthesis of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) in both types of interneurons that innervate the remaining PCs in the posterolateral cerebellar hemisphere in autism. The level of GAD67 mRNA, one of the isoforms of the key synthesizing enzymes for GABA, was quantified at the single-cell level using in situ hybridization in brains of autistic and aged-matched controls. The National Institutes of Health imaging system showed that expression of GAD67 mRNA in basket cells was significantly up-regulated, by 28%, in eight autistic brains compared with that in eight control brains (mean +/- SEM pixels per cell, 1.03 +/- 0.05 versus 0.69 +/- 0.05, respectively; P < 0.0001 by independent t test). Stellate cells showed a trend toward a small increase in GAD67 mRNA levels, but this did not reach significance. The results suggest that basket cells likely provide increased GABAergic feed-forward inhibition to PCs in autism, directly affecting PC output to target neurons in the dentate nucleus and potentially disrupting its modulatory role in key motor and/or cognitive behaviors in autistic individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA. jyip@bu.edu
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Soghomonian
authors.forename: Gene J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Blatt
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007395:Interneurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D011689:Purkinje Cells; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D015854:Up-Regulation; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase; C402565:glutamate decarboxylase 1