Study Links Autism to Stem Cell Development

The molecular defects that cause some cases of autism may arise during the development of neuronal stem cells, according to a new theory bolstered by several independent animal and human studies.The hypothesis originated in a study published last July in which scientists deleted a specific transcription factor — a protein that controls how other genes are expressed — from mouse neuronal stem cells. Adult mice missing that factor, called myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2), develop smaller neurons and fewer synapses, the junctions between neurons, compared with healthy controls.Read more at...SFARI, June 2009.