Replicable in vivo physiological and behavioral phenotypes of the Shank3B null mutant mouse model of autism.
Sameer C Dhamne, Jill L Silverman, Chloe E Super and 9 others
PMID 28638591WHAT IT FOUND
Shank3B knockout mice showed fewer induced seizures, stronger EEG gamma activity, more self-grooming, and some reduced male-female social interaction.
These replicated in two mouse cohorts. This is a preclinical autism model, not a treatment result.
Key findings
01Shank3B knockout mice had fewer PTZ-induced myoclonic seizures than wildtype controls in both cohorts.
02Baseline EEG gamma power was higher in Shank3B knockout mice than wildtype controls in both cohorts.
03Repetitive self-grooming was higher in Shank3B knockout mice than wildtype littermates in both cohorts.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study describes phenotypes in a mouse model and does not report a treatment trial, so it cannot tell a therapist what to do with a patient. The mice were homozygous Shank3B knockouts, whereas the paper notes that the human SHANK3 mutation is generally heterozygous. EEG analyses included only male mice. Several behavioural findings were not consistent across the two cohorts, including anxiety-like behaviour, male sociability on the three-chambered task, and some cognitive tests. Some assays were not repeated in the second cohort because the first cohort showed normal results.
Declared interests
The paper names Autism Speaks and the National Institutes of Health as funders. It also states that the behavioural testing platform was developed with the Autism Speaks Preclinical Autism Consortium for Therapeutics.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that any therapy helps autism symptoms. The paper describes mouse physiology and behaviour, and several behavioural findings were not replicated across cohorts.