@article{9429,
  abstract     = {De novo loss of function mutations in the ubiquitin ligase-encoding gene Cullin3 lead to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In mouse, constitutive haploinsufficiency leads to motor coordination deficits as well as ASD-relevant social and cognitive impairments. However, induction of Cul3 haploinsufficiency later in life does not lead to ASD-relevant behaviors, pointing to an important role of Cul3 during a critical developmental window. Here we show that Cul3 is essential to regulate neuronal migration and, therefore, constitutive Cul3 heterozygous mutant mice display cortical lamination abnormalities. At the molecular level, we found that Cul3 controls neuronal migration by tightly regulating the amount of Plastin3 (Pls3), a previously unrecognized player of neural migration. Furthermore, we found that Pls3 cell-autonomously regulates cell migration by regulating actin cytoskeleton organization, and its levels are inversely proportional to neural migration speed. Finally, we provide evidence that cellular phenotypes associated with autism-linked gene haploinsufficiency can be rescued by transcriptional activation of the intact allele in vitro, offering a proof of concept for a potential therapeutic approach for ASDs.},
  author       = {Morandell, Jasmin and Schwarz, Lena A and Basilico, Bernadette and Tasciyan, Saren and Dimchev, Georgi A and Nicolas, Armel and Sommer, Christoph M and Kreuzinger, Caroline and Dotter, Christoph and Knaus, Lisa and Dobler, Zoe and Cacci, Emanuele and Schur, Florian KM and Danzl, Johann G and Novarino, Gaia},
  issn         = {2041-1723},
  journal      = {Nature Communications},
  keywords     = {General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology},
  number       = {1},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Cul3 regulates cytoskeleton protein homeostasis and cell migration during a critical window of brain development}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41467-021-23123-x},
  volume       = {12},
  year         = {2021},
}

@article{8131,
  abstract     = {The possibility to generate construct valid animal models enabled the development and testing of therapeutic strategies targeting the core features of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). At the same time, these studies highlighted the necessity of identifying sensitive developmental time windows for successful therapeutic interventions. Animal and human studies also uncovered the possibility to stratify the variety of ASDs in molecularly distinct subgroups, potentially facilitating effective treatment design. Here, we focus on the molecular pathways emerging as commonly affected by mutations in diverse ASD-risk genes, on their role during critical windows of brain development and the potential treatments targeting these biological processes.},
  author       = {Basilico, Bernadette and Morandell, Jasmin and Novarino, Gaia},
  issn         = {18790380},
  journal      = {Current Opinion in Genetics and Development},
  number       = {12},
  pages        = {126--137},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Molecular mechanisms for targeted ASD treatments}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.gde.2020.06.004},
  volume       = {65},
  year         = {2020},
}

@phdthesis{8620,
  abstract     = {The development of the human brain occurs through a tightly regulated series of dynamic and adaptive processes during prenatal and postnatal life. A disruption of this strictly orchestrated series of events can lead to a number of neurodevelopmental conditions, including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). ASDs are a very common, etiologically and phenotypically heterogeneous group of disorders sharing the core symptoms of social interaction and communication deficits and restrictive and repetitive interests and behaviors. They are estimated to affect one in 59 individuals in the U.S. and, over the last three decades, mutations in more than a hundred genetic loci have been convincingly linked to ASD pathogenesis. Yet, for the vast majority of these ASD-risk genes their role during brain development and precise molecular function still remain elusive.
De novo loss of function mutations in the ubiquitin ligase-encoding gene Cullin 3 (CUL3) lead to ASD. In the study described here, we used Cul3 mouse models to evaluate the consequences of Cul3 mutations in vivo. Our results show that Cul3 heterozygous knockout mice exhibit deficits in motor coordination as well as ASD-relevant social and cognitive impairments. Cul3+/-, Cul3+/fl Emx1-Cre and Cul3fl/fl Emx1-Cre mutant brains display cortical lamination abnormalities due to defective migration of post-mitotic excitatory neurons, as well as reduced numbers of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. In line with the observed abnormal cortical organization, Cul3 heterozygous deletion is associated with decreased spontaneous excitatory and inhibitory activity in the cortex. At the molecular level we show that Cul3 regulates cytoskeletal and adhesion protein abundance in the mouse embryonic cortex. Abnormal regulation of cytoskeletal proteins in Cul3 mutant neural cells results in atypical organization of the actin mesh at the cell leading edge. Of note, heterozygous deletion of Cul3 in adult mice does not induce the majority of the behavioral defects observed in constitutive Cul3 haploinsufficient animals, pointing to a critical time-window for Cul3 deficiency.
In conclusion, our data indicate that Cul3 plays a critical role in the regulation of cytoskeletal proteins and neuronal migration. ASD-associated defects and behavioral abnormalities are primarily due to dosage sensitive Cul3 functions at early brain developmental stages.},
  author       = {Morandell, Jasmin},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {138},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Illuminating the role of Cul3 in autism spectrum disorder pathogenesis}},
  doi          = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:8620},
  year         = {2020},
}