Autism Associated with Zinc Deficiency in Early Development

Summary: A new study reveals a mechanistic link between zinc levels in fetal development, genes and abnormal neural connections associated with autism.

Source: Frontiers.

The emergence of autism in children has not only been linked to genes encoding synaptic proteins – among others – but also environmental insults such as zinc deficiency. Although it is unclear whether zinc deficiency contributes to autism, scientists have now defined in detail a possible mechanistic link. Their research shows how zinc shapes the connections or ‘synapses’ between brain cells that form during early development, via a complex molecular machinery encoded by autism risk genes. Published in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, the findings do not directly support zinc supplementation for the prevention of autism – but extend our understanding of its underlying developmental abnormalities, towards an eventual treatment.

Zinc and autism risk genes

“Autism is associated with specific variants of genes involved in the formation, maturation and stabilization of synapses during early development,” says study senior author Dr Sally Kim of Stanford University School of Medicine.

“Our findings link zinc levels in neurons – via interactions with the proteins encoded by these genes – to the development of autism.”

Kim and colleagues found that when a signal is transferred via a synapse, zinc enters the target neuron where it can bind two such proteins: Shank2 and Shank3. These proteins in turn cause changes in the composition and function (‘maturation’) of adjacent signal receptors, called ‘AMPARs’, on the neuron’s surface at the synapse.

A mechanistic link

Through an elegant series of experiments, the paper describes the mechanism of zinc-Shank-mediated AMPAR maturation in developing synapses.

“In developing rat neurons, we found that Shank 2 and 3 accumulate at synapses in parallel with a switch to mature AMPARs. Adding extra zinc accelerated the switch – but not when we reduced the accumulation of Shank 2 or 3,” explains Dr Huong Ha – the study’s lead author, a former Stanford graduate student.

“Furthermore, our study shows mechanistically how Shank2 and 3 work in concert with zinc to regulate AMPAR maturation, a key developmental step.”

In other words, zinc shapes the properties of developing synapses via Shank proteins.

“This suggests that a lack of zinc during early development might contribute to autism through impaired synaptic maturation and neuronal circuit formation,” concludes co-senior author Professor John Huguenard, also of Stanford University School of Medicine.

“Understanding the interaction between zinc and Shank proteins could therefore lead to diagnostic, treatment and prevention strategies for autism.”

Will zinc supplements help prevent autism?

“Currently, there are no controlled studies of autism risk with zinc supplementation in pregnant women or babies, so the jury is still out. We really can’t make any conclusions or recommendations for zinc supplementation at this point, but experimental work in autism models also published in this Frontiers Research Topic holds promise,” points out Professor Craig Garner of the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases, also co-senior author.

autism on a chalk board
Our findings link zinc levels in neurons – via interactions with the proteins encoded by these genes – to the development of autism. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

Taking too much zinc reduces the amount of copper the body can absorb, which can lead to anemia and weakening of the bones. Furthermore, zinc deficiency does not necessarily imply a dietary deficiency – and could result instead from problems with absorption in the gut, for example.

“Nevertheless, our findings offer a novel mechanism for understanding how zinc deficiency – or disrupted handling of zinc in neurons – might contribute to autism,” adds Garner.

About this neuroscience research article

Funding: Vietnam Education Foundation, Stanford Graduate Fellowship, Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Fellow Program, Stanford Neurosciences Graduate Program, and others funded this study.

Source: Matt Prior – Frontiers
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Open access research for “Shank and Zinc Mediate an AMPA Receptor Subunit Switch in Developing Neurons” by Huong T. T. Ha, Sergio Leal-Ortiz, Kriti Lalwani, Shigeki Kiyonaka, Itaru Hamachi, Shreesh P. Mysore, Johanna M. Montgomery, Craig C. Garner, John R. Huguenard and Sally A. Kim in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. Published November 9 2018.
doi:10.3389/fnmol.2018.00405

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]Frontiers”Autism Associated with Zinc Deficiency in Early Development.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 9 November 2018.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/autism-zinc-deficiency-10171/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]Frontiers(2018, November 9). Autism Associated with Zinc Deficiency in Early Development. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved November 9, 2018 from https://neurosciencenews.com/autism-zinc-deficiency-10171/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]Frontiers”Autism Associated with Zinc Deficiency in Early Development.” https://neurosciencenews.com/autism-zinc-deficiency-10171/ (accessed November 9, 2018).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Shank and Zinc Mediate an AMPA Receptor Subunit Switch in Developing Neurons

During development, pyramidal neurons undergo dynamic regulation of AMPA receptor (AMPAR) subunit composition and density to help drive synaptic plasticity and maturation. These normal developmental changes in AMPARs are particularly vulnerable to risk factors for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), which include loss or mutations of synaptic proteins and environmental insults, such as dietary zinc deficiency. Here, we show how Shank2 and Shank3 mediate a zinc-dependent regulation of AMPAR function and subunit switch from GluA2-lacking to GluA2-containing AMPARs. Over development, we found a concomitant increase in Shank2 and Shank3 with GluA2 at synapses, implicating these molecules as potential players in AMPAR maturation. Since Shank activation and function require zinc, we next studied whether neuronal activity regulated postsynaptic zinc at glutamatergic synapses. Zinc was found to increase transiently and reversibly with neuronal depolarization at synapses, which could affect Shank and AMPAR localization and activity. Elevated zinc induced multiple functional changes in AMPAR, indicative of a subunit switch. Specifically, zinc lengthened the decay time of AMPAR-mediated synaptic currents and reduced their inward rectification in young hippocampal neurons. Mechanistically, both Shank2 and Shank3 were necessary for the zinc-sensitive enhancement of AMPAR-mediated synaptic transmission and act in concert to promote removal of GluA1 while enhancing recruitment of GluA2 at pre-existing Shank puncta. These findings highlight a cooperative local dynamic regulation of AMPAR subunit switch controlled by zinc signaling through Shank2 and Shank3 to shape the biophysical properties of developing glutamatergic synapses. Given the zinc sensitivity of young neurons and its dependence on Shank2 and Shank3, genetic mutations and/or environmental insults during early development could impair synaptic maturation and circuit formation that underlie ASD etiology.

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  1. These kind of “discoveries” are always hilarious, because they lead to nowhere, if incompetent narrow focus pharmaco therapies that don’t heal anything. Zinc, Copper, Iron, etc..are ionized metals. Many metabolic diseases are linked, are associated, to mis-metabolism of ionized metabolites. For example, in the late 1940s, it was observed through autopsies that Diabetics appear to have zinc deficiency. Yet, this became a paradox. In many cases, zinc supplementation helped symptamology, but never cured patients. Ionized mis-metabolism are close relatives to diseases of electrolytes. Many multi-metabolic diseases are associated with metal or electrolytes mis-metabolism. In the case of diabetes, it should be obvious that the very high expression of Sodium Glucose co transporters have a close relationship with ion imbalance. Sodium is an electrolyte. The sodium glucose transporter is highly expressed in the presence og high quantities of starches. The transporter has to molecules of sodium for one of glucose…need I say more. High stuffing of pregnant mothers and children with starchy derived foods should attack the attention of science…and it does not…because if re-establishing health is as simple as cutting the starches of your diet…many pharmaco biotech ventures will go bankrupt…

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