Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39013538›Full record

ArticleJournal of advanced research2025

Auts2 enhances neurogenesis and promotes expansion of the cerebral cortex.

Cédric Boucherie, Maisa Alkailani, Yves Jossin, Nuria Ruiz-Reig, Asma Mahdi, Arwa Aldaalis, Mohamed Aittaleb, Fadel Tissir

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Article in Journal of advanced research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Cédric BoucherieUniversité Catholique de Louvain, Institute of Neuroscience, Developmental Neurobiology, Avenue Mounier 73, Box B1.73.16, Brussels, Belgium.
Maisa AlkailaniHamad Bin Khalifa University, College of Health and Life Sciences, Doha, Qatar.
Yves JossinUniversité Catholique de Louvain, Institute of Neuroscience, Developmental Neurobiology, Avenue Mounier 73, Box B1.73.16, Brussels, Belgium.
Nuria Ruiz-ReigUniversité Catholique de Louvain, Institute of Neuroscience, Developmental Neurobiology, Avenue Mounier 73, Box B1.73.16, Brussels, Belgium.
Asma MahdiHamad Bin Khalifa University, College of Health and Life Sciences, Doha, Qatar.
Arwa AldaalisHamad Bin Khalifa University, College of Health and Life Sciences, Doha, Qatar.
Mohamed AittalebHamad Bin Khalifa University, College of Health and Life Sciences, Doha, Qatar.
Fadel TissirUniversité Catholique de Louvain, Institute of Neuroscience, Developmental Neurobiology, Avenue Mounier 73, Box B1.73.16, Brussels, Belgium; Hamad Bin Khalifa University, College of Health and Life Sciences, Doha, Qatar. Electronic address: ftissir@hbku.edu.qa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe AUTS2 gene is associated with various neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders and has been suggested to play a role in acquiring human-specific traits. Functional analyses of Auts2 knockout mice have focused on postmitotic neurons, and the reported phenotypes do not faithfully recapitulate the whole spectrum of AUTS2-related human diseases.

objectiveThe objective of the study is to assess the role of AUTS2 in the biology of neural progenitor cells, cortical neurogenesis and expansion; and understand how its deregulation leads to neurological disorders.

methodsWe screened the literature and conducted a time point analysis of AUTS2 expression during cortical development. We used in utero electroporation to acutely modulate the expression level of AUTS2 in the developing cerebral cortex in vivo, and thoroughly characterized cortical neurogenesis and morphogenesis using immunofluorescence, cell tracing and sorting, transcriptomic profiling, and gene ontology enrichment analyses.

resultsIn addition to its expression in postmitotic neurons, we showed that AUTS2 is also expressed in neural progenitor cells at the peak of neurogenesis. Upregulation of AUTS2 dramatically altered the differentiation program and fate determination of cortical progenitors. Notably, it increased the number of basal progenitors and neurons and changed the expression of hundreds of genes, among which 444 have not been implicated in mouse brain development or function.

conclusionThe study provides evidence that AUTS2 is expressed in germinal zones and plays a key role in fate decision of neural progenitor cells with impact on corticogenesis. It also presents comprehensive lists of AUTS2 target genes thus advancing the molecular mechanisms underlying AUTS2-associated diseases and the evolutionary expansion of the cerebral cortex.

Indexed as

Cerebral CortexNeurogenesisAnimalsCell DifferentiationGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalHumansMiceMice, KnockoutNeural Stem CellsNeuronsAutism spectrum disorderCortical evo-devoNeural progenitor cellsNeurodevelopmental disorders

Identifiers

PMID39013538
PMCPMC12147636

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.