title: Adeno-associated virus-mediated rescue of the cognitive defects in a mouse model for Angelman syndrome.
abstract: Angelman syndrome (AS), a genetic disorder occurring in approximately one in every 15,000 births, is characterized by severe mental retardation, seizures, difficulty speaking and ataxia. The gene responsible for AS was discovered to be UBE3A and encodes for E6-AP, an ubiquitin ligase. A unique feature of this gene is that it undergoes maternal imprinting in a neuron-specific manner. In the majority of AS cases, there is a mutation or deletion in the maternally inherited UBE3A gene, although other cases are the result of uniparental disomy or mismethylation of the maternal gene. While most human disorders characterized by severe mental retardation involve abnormalities in brain structure, no gross anatomical changes are associated with AS. However, we have determined that abnormal calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) regulation is seen in the maternal UBE3A deletion AS mouse model and is responsible for the major phenotypes. Specifically, there is an increased αCaMKII phosphorylation at the autophosphorylation sites Thr(286) and Thr(305/306), resulting in an overall decrease in CaMKII activity. CaMKII is not produced until after birth, indicating that the deficits associated with AS are not the result of developmental abnormalities. The present studies are focused on exploring the potential to rescue the learning and memory deficits in the adult AS mouse model through the use of an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector to increase neuronal UBE3A expression. These studies show that increasing the levels of E6-AP in the brain using an exogenous vector can improve the cognitive deficits associated with AS. Specifically, the associative learning deficit was ameliorated in the treated AS mice compared to the control AS mice, indicating that therapeutic intervention may be possible in older AS patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Daily
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.forename: Umesh
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Jinwal
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Golde
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Melinda M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Rebecca D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Burdine
authors.forename: Chad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dickey
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Banko
authors.forename: Edwin J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Weeber
mesh_terms: D017204:Angelman Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000229:Dependovirus / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases