Autism-relevant transcriptional networks in human neural stem cells

Project summary

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a collection of cognitive disorders characterized by a lack of social interaction capacity; they often go together with an intellectual disability. Recent research suggests that ASD’s are often caused by mutations in genes that encode proteins that regulate access to DNA and the expression of genes, so-called chromatin factors. The researchers will identify interacting proteins and target genes from autism-associated chromatin factors in human neural stem cells.

The researchers will try to discover autism-related networks and biological processes as a first step towards a better diagnosis of the type of autism and the development of early treatment strategies for autism.