Overview of current mouse models of autism and strategies for their development using CRISPR/Cas9 technology

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of highly heterogenous neurological disorders that are believed to have strong genetic component. Due to the limited use of approaches of functional genomics in human medicine, creating adequate animal models for the study of complex human diseases shows great potential. There are several already established mouse models of autism that offer insight into single phenotypic traits, although causes for its complex phenotype have not yet been fully understood. Development of new technologies, such as CRISPR/Cas9, represent great capability for targeted genome engineering and establishment of new animal models. This article provides an up to date overview of current knowledge in the area of autism genomics and describes the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 technology for the establishment of new mouse models, representing sgRNA design as one of the initial steps in planning a CRISPR/Cas9 single knock-out experiment. In addition, it offers an overview of current approaches to behavioural studies, explaining how relevant animal models could be developed.

Keywords

• medicine
• autism
• genetics
• functional genomics
• genetic engineering
• CRISPR/Cas9