1: Am J Hum Genet. 2008 Jan;82(1):150-9.Click here to read Links
Comment in:
Am J Hum Genet. 2008 Jan;82(1):7-9.

Linkage, association, and gene-expression analyses identify CNTNAP2 as an autism-susceptibility gene.

UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Semel Institute of Neuroscience, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

Autism is a genetically complex neurodevelopmental syndrome in which language deficits are a core feature. We describe results from two complimentary approaches used to identify risk variants on chromosome 7 that likely contribute to the etiology of autism. A two-stage association study tested 2758 SNPs across a 10 Mb 7q35 language-related autism QTL in AGRE (Autism Genetic Resource Exchange) trios and found significant association with Contactin Associated Protein-Like 2 (CNTNAP2), a strong a priori candidate. Male-only containing families were identified as primarily responsible for this association signal, consistent with the strong male affection bias in ASD and other language-based disorders. Gene-expression analyses in developing human brain further identified CNTNAP2 as enriched in circuits important for language development. Together, these results provide convergent evidence for involvement of CNTNAP2, a Neurexin family member, in autism, and demonstrate a connection between genetic risk for autism and specific brain structures.

PMID: 18179893 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC2253955