Cited by 1,570Genetics and Neurodevelopmental DisordersAutism Spectrum Disorder ResearchNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 42 of the 42 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 2 of the 29 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Shank3 mutant mice display autistic-like behaviours and striatal dysfunction

Open access

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) comprise a range of disorders that share a core of neurobehavioural deficits characterized by widespread abnormalities in social interactions, deficits in communication as well as restricted interests and repetitive behaviours. The neurological basis and circuitry mechanisms underlying these abnormal behaviours are poorly understood. SHANK3 is a postsynaptic protein, whose disruption at the genetic level is thought to be responsible for the development of 22q13 deletion syndrome (Phelan-McDermid syndrome) and other non-syndromic ASDs. Here we show that mice with Shank3 gene deletions exhibit self-injurious repetitive grooming and deficits in social interaction. Cellular, electrophysiological and biochemical analyses uncovered defects at striatal synapses and cortico-striatal circuits in Shank3 mutant mice. Our findings demonstrate a critical role for SHANK3 in the normal development of neuronal connectivity and establish causality between a disruption in the Shank3 gene and the genesis of autistic-like behaviours in mice.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Mice lacking Shank3 show autistic-like behaviors, especially excessive self-injurious grooming and impaired social interaction, together with structural and functional defects at striatal synapses. The findings link Shank3 disruption to cortico-striatal dysfunction and support a causal role for Shank3 in autism-related phenotypes in mice.

Key findings

  • Shank3B−/− mice developed self-inflicted skin lesions, with penetrance around 35% in the general colony and 100% in mating females that had produced 4–6 litters; they also spent more time grooming than controls.
  • Shank3B−/− mice showed abnormal social behavior, including preferring an empty cage over a social partner and spending more time in the center chamber during social novelty testing, while Shank3A−/− mice had normal social initiation but impaired social novelty recognition.
  • Striatal PSDs from Shank3B−/− mice had reduced SAPAP3, Homer-1b/c, PSD93, GluR2, NR2A, and NR2B; Shank3B−/− medium spiny neurons showed increased dendritic complexity and length but reduced spine density and thinner/shorter PSDs.
  • Cortico-striatal field population spikes and AMPAR-mEPSC frequency and amplitude were reduced in Shank3B−/− mice, whereas hippocampal learning and CA1 synaptic measures were largely unaffected; caudate volume was slightly but significantly enlarged.

Methods

  • Two Shank3 mutant lines were generated by homologous recombination: Shank3A targeted the ankyrin-repeat region and Shank3B targeted the PDZ domain. The study focused mainly on Shank3B−/− mice, using F5 isogenic hybrids from homozygous × homozygous matings to reduce size confounds.
  • Behavioral assays included grooming videotaping, open field, elevated zero maze, light-dark emergence, rotarod, three-chamber social interaction, dyadic social interaction, and Morris water maze; most behavioral tests used 5–6 week old mice, while lesion scoring used 4–5 month old mice.
  • Biochemical, morphological, imaging, and electrophysiological methods included striatal PSD Western blotting, Golgi staining with Sholl analysis, Lucifer Yellow cell filling for spine measurements, electron microscopy for PSD morphology, 7T MRI for caudate volumetry, and extracellular/whole-cell recordings in striatal and hippocampal slices.

Limitations

  • The paper states that clinical 22q13 deletions and autism-associated Shank3 mutations are heterozygous, whereas this study used homozygous mutants; further work is needed to assess deficits from Shank3 haploinsufficiency.
  • The authors note that the two mutant lines differed in severity and that analysis focused mainly on Shank3B−/− because of its stronger behavioral and physiological phenotypes, with Shank3A−/− showing milder defects.
  • Evident from the text: behavioral experiments used only aged-matched male mice, and some Shank3A field recordings used an older slice-preparation protocol with reduced slice viability, although procedures were standardized within each dataset.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/nature09965

Cites

42 of 42 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

55 Own result · 25 Own method · 21 Own interpretation · 14 Not checked yet · 3 No basis given · 1 Partly supported · accuracy not yet measured

Verify all 27 references — free account
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 29
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 36
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
53 of 53
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Shank3 is a key postsynaptic density protein at glutamatergic synapses.

    “Shank3, which codes for a key postsynaptic density (PSD) protein at glutamatergic synapses.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The size difference between homozygous knockout mice and wildtype littermates from heterozygous x heterozygous matings would influence the behavioural tests.

    “We postulated that this size difference would influence our behavioral tests.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The repetitive grooming and social interaction deficits observed in Shank3 mutant mice correspond to autistic-like behaviours in humans.

    “Here we demonstrate that genetic disruption of Shank3 in mice leads to compulsive/repetitive behaviour and impaired social interaction, resembling two of the cardinal features of ASD.”
3 of 3

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

Show all 42 references

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Bourgeron, T. A synaptic trek to autism. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 19, 231–234 (2009) · DOI · Paper page

Cited by

Sorted by citations

See all 1,570

Metadata

Authors
Peça, J., Feliciano, C., Ting, J. T., Wang, W., Wells, M. F., Venkatraman, T. N., Lascola, C. D., Fu, Z., & Feng, G.
Affiliations
  • Duke Medical Center (US)
  • Duke University (US)
  • McGovern Institute for Brain Research (US)
  • Broad Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Feng, Guoping
Venue
Nature
Published
2011-03-20
Volume
472
Issue
7344
Pages
437-442
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2109002457
Cited by
1,570
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 94 · 2025: 119 · 2024: 133 · 2023: 116 · 2022: 105 · 2021: 113 · 2020: 113 · 2019: 102 · 2018: 97 · 2017: 94 · 2016: 104 · 2015: 87 · 2014: 80 · 2013: 80 · 2012: 91
FWCI
57.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PMC
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R03MH085224, F32MH084460, R01MH081201)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
SHANK3, autism spectrum disorder, 22q13 deletion syndrome, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, social interaction deficits, self-harm, corticostriatal circuits, postsynaptic density, glutamatergic synapses, neuronal connectivity, gene deletion mice
MeSH terms
Animals, Autistic Disorder, Carrier Proteins, Compulsive Behavior, Female, Grooming, Male, Microfilament Proteins, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Neural Pathways, RNA, Messenger, Social Behavior, Synapses, Self-Injurious Behavior, Neostriatum, Gene Deletion, Mutant Proteins, Mice

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-05, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-05 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review