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A placental mammal‐specific micro RNA cluster acts as a natural brake for sociability in mice
Author(s) -
Lackinger Martin,
Sungur A Özge,
Daswani Reetu,
Soutschek Michael,
Bicker Silvia,
Stemmler Lea,
Wüst Tatjana,
Fiore Roberto,
Dieterich Christoph,
Schwarting Rainer KW,
Wöhr Markus,
Schratt Gerhard
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.15252/embr.201846429
Subject(s) - marburg virus , cognitive science , neuroscience , library science , medicine , psychology , computer science , disease , ebola virus
Aberrant synaptic function is thought to underlie social deficits in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Although micro RNA s have been shown to regulate synapse development and plasticity, their potential involvement in the control of social behaviour in mammals remains unexplored. Here, we show that deletion of the placental mammal‐specific miR379‐410 cluster in mice leads to hypersocial behaviour, which is accompanied by increased excitatory synaptic transmission, and exaggerated expression of ionotropic glutamate receptor complexes in the hippocampus. Bioinformatic analyses further allowed us to identify five “hub” micro RNA s whose deletion accounts largely for the upregulation of excitatory synaptic genes observed, including Cnih2, Dlgap3, Prr7 and Src. Thus, the miR379‐410 cluster acts a natural brake for sociability, and interfering with specific members of this cluster could represent a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of social deficits in neurodevelopmental disorders.