Rapamycin Improves Sociability in the BTBR T(+)Itpr3tf/J Mouse Model of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Rapamycin Improves Sociability in the BTBR T(+)Itpr3tf/J Mouse Model of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Brain Res Bull. 2013 Nov 29; Authors: Burket JA, Benson AD, Tang AH, Deutsch SI Abstract Overactivation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of syndromic forms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), such as tuberous sclerosis complex, neurofibromatosis 1, and fragile X syndrome. Administration of mTORC1 (mTOR complex 1) inhibitors (e.g. rapamycin) in syndromic mouse models of ASDs improved behavior, cognition, and neuropathology. However, since only a minority of ASDs are due to the effects of single genes (∼10%), there is a need to explore inhibition of mTOR activity in mouse models that may be more relevant to the majority of nonsyndromic presentations, such as the genetically inbred BTBR T(+) Itpr3(tf)/J (BTBR) mouse model of ASDs. BTBR mice have social impairment and exhibit increased stereotypic behavior, which may be due to an upregulation of Raf/ERK, upstream intermediates in mTOR signaling. In prior work, D-cycloserine, a partial glycineB site agonist that targets the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, was shown to improve sociability in both Balb/c and BTBR mouse models of ASDs. Importantly, NMDA receptor activation regulates mTOR signaling activity. The current study investigated the ability of rapamycin (10mg/kg, i.p. x four days), an mTORC1 inhibitor, to improve sociability and stere...
Source: Brain Research Bulletin - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Res Bull Source Type: research