Open Access

The GABAB receptor agonist STX209 reverses the autism‑like behaviour in an animal model of autism induced by prenatal exposure to valproic acid

  • Authors:
    • Shucai Jiang
    • Lifei Xiao
    • Yu Sun
    • Maotao He
    • Caibin Gao
    • Changliang Zhu
    • Haigang Chang
    • Jiangwei Ding
    • Wenchao Li
    • Yangyang Wang
    • Tao Sun
    • Feng Wang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: March 2, 2022     https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2022.12670
  • Article Number: 154
  • Copyright: © Jiang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impaired social interaction, compromised communication, and restrictive or stereotyped behaviours and interests. Due to the complex pathophysiology of ASD, there are currently no available medical therapies for improving the associated social deficits. Consequently, the present study investigated the effects of STX209, a selective γ‑aminobutyric acid type B receptor (GABABR2) agonist, on an environmental rodent model of autism. The mouse model of autism induced by prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) was used to assess the therapeutic potential of STX209 on autism‑like behaviour in the present study. This study investigated the effects of STX209 on VPA model mice via behavioral testing and revealed a significant reversal of core/associated autism‑like behavior, including sociability and preference for social novelty, novelty recognition, locomotion and exploration activity and marble‑burying deficit. This may be associated with STX209 correcting dendritic arborization, spine density and GABABR2 expression in hippocampus of VPA model mice. However, expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase 65/67 in the hippocampus were not altered by STX209. The present results demonstrated that STX209 administration ameliorated autism‑like symptoms in mice exposed to VPA prenatally, suggesting that autism‑like symptoms in children with a history of prenatal VPA exposure may also benefit from treatment with the GABABR2 agonist STX209.
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May-2022
Volume 25 Issue 5

Print ISSN: 1791-2997
Online ISSN:1791-3004

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Jiang S, Xiao L, Sun Y, He M, Gao C, Zhu C, Chang H, Ding J, Li W, Wang Y, Wang Y, et al: The GABAB receptor agonist STX209 reverses the autism‑like behaviour in an animal model of autism induced by prenatal exposure to valproic acid. Mol Med Rep 25: 154, 2022
APA
Jiang, S., Xiao, L., Sun, Y., He, M., Gao, C., Zhu, C. ... Wang, F. (2022). The GABAB receptor agonist STX209 reverses the autism‑like behaviour in an animal model of autism induced by prenatal exposure to valproic acid. Molecular Medicine Reports, 25, 154. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2022.12670
MLA
Jiang, S., Xiao, L., Sun, Y., He, M., Gao, C., Zhu, C., Chang, H., Ding, J., Li, W., Wang, Y., Sun, T., Wang, F."The GABAB receptor agonist STX209 reverses the autism‑like behaviour in an animal model of autism induced by prenatal exposure to valproic acid". Molecular Medicine Reports 25.5 (2022): 154.
Chicago
Jiang, S., Xiao, L., Sun, Y., He, M., Gao, C., Zhu, C., Chang, H., Ding, J., Li, W., Wang, Y., Sun, T., Wang, F."The GABAB receptor agonist STX209 reverses the autism‑like behaviour in an animal model of autism induced by prenatal exposure to valproic acid". Molecular Medicine Reports 25, no. 5 (2022): 154. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2022.12670