Translational neurobiology in Shank mutant mice--model systems for neuropsychiatric disorders.
The Shank family comprises three core postsynaptic scaffold proteins of excitatory synapses in the mammalian brain: Shank1, Shank2 and Shank3. Since mutations in all three human SHANK genes are linked to neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, Shank mutant mice serve as corresponding in vivo model systems. Besides intriguing alterations in behavior, dysfunction of glutamatergic synapses has emerged as a pathological hallmark among several Shank mutant lines. However, there is very limited knowledge of the underlying pathomechanisms. Therefore, precise neurobiological evaluation of morphological, molecular and electrophysiological phenotypes in Shank mutants is crucially needed. In this brief review, I will focus on the Shank mutant mouse lines we have generated so far and discuss how they might help us to develop translational treatment studies in the future.
Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89081 Ulm, Germany. Electronic address: michael.schmeisser@uni-ulm.de.
Michael J
MJ
Schmeisser
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C512412:SHANK1 protein, mouse; C122162:SHANK2 protein, human; C488222:Shank2 protein, mouse; C492356:Shank3 protein, mouse
ASD; Autism; Schizophrenia; Shank1; Shank2; Shank3; Synapse