Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication deficits associated with stereotyped behaviours and restricted interests; with a strong genetic component (1, 2). SHANK3 Knock-Out (KO) mice is a model of autism that recapitulate some key autistic behaviors and neurophysiological deficits. We previously identified a key brain structure altered in this model: the Striatum. Our goal is to analyze mRNA expression and protein expression in the striatum extracted from the same samples. We used the Norgen RNA/Protein purification kit to do so. As a first step in our collaboration with the Biomics plateform, we want to perform a pilot study on the striatum of 3 WTs and 3 shank3KO mice to see if the kit extract mRNA with sufficient purity and, if so, if differential gene expression can be observed in the striatum between WTs and Shank3KO mice (a structure known to be altered in mice with a partial deletion of Shank3). If this pilot study is successfull, we plan to analyze the transcriptome of multiple brain structures from mice submitted to several behavioural experiments, with or without a chronic treatment with Lithium (potential therapeutic).
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