Autism and Schizophrenia-Associated Pcdh8 Regulates Cortical Development in Mice

Defective cortical development with aberrant neuronal distribution is linked to diverse human pathologies. We show that downregulation of protocadherin-8, a cell-adhesion protein associated with autism and schizophrenia, disrupts neuronal migration and morphology, and increases proliferation in the developing mouse cortex. These findings identify protocadherin-8 as a critical determinant of cortical organization and implicate it in the potential molecular mechanisms underlying human brain pathology. Graphical abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=157 SRC="FIGDIR/small/688622v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (58K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1dde890org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1cf69c5org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@293bceorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1159217_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG In briefDownregulation of Pcdh8--a cell-adhesion protein linked to autism and schizophrenia-- disrupts neuronal migration and morphology and increases proliferation in the developing mouse cortex.