Researchers suppressing a glycine transporter called Slc6a20a in mice carrying autism-linked genetic mutations reported changes in social interaction, social communication and repetitive grooming behaviors, alongside restored function in a brain receptor that had been underperforming.
The work, published in Nature Communications by a team led by Eunjoon Kim, director of the Institute for Basic Science Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions in South Korea, used antisense oligonucleotides to reduce the transporter's expression in mice with mutations in the SHANK2 and SHANK3 genes. The first author is Junyeop Daniel Roh.
