Relevance to Autism

Two de novo loss-of-function (LoF) variants in the ATXN2 gene were identified in a Korean ASD proband in Kim et al., 2024; this gene was subsequently classified as an ASD candidate gene in males following a combined TADA analysis consisting of the Korean ASD cohort described in Kim et al., 2024 in addition to the Simons Simplex Collection and the SPARK cohort. A de novo synonymous variant in the ATXN2 gene had previously been reported in a SPARK proband (Zhou et al., 2022), and a missense variant in the ATXN2 gene had previously been found to be shared by ASD-affected first cousins in two unrelated families from the NIMH repository (Patowary et al., 2019).

Molecular Function

This gene belongs to a group of genes that is associated with microsatellite-expansion diseases, a class of neurological and neuromuscular disorders caused by expansion of short stretches of repetitive DNA. The protein encoded by this gene has two globular domains near the N-terminus, one of which contains a clathrin-mediated trans-Golgi signal and an endoplasmic reticulum exit signal. The encoded cytoplasmic protein localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane, is involved in endocytosis, and modulates mTOR signals, modifying ribosomal translation and mitochondrial function. The N-terminal region of the protein contains a polyglutamine tract of 14-31 residues that can be expanded in the pathogenic state to 32-200 residues. Intermediate length expansions of this tract increase susceptibility to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, while long expansions of this tract result in spinocerebellar ataxia-2, an autosomal-dominantly inherited, neurodegenerative disorder. Genome-wide as

External Links

References