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New Frontiers in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Neurology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2021) | Viewed by 10006

Special Issue Editors


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Co-Guest Editor
Health Sciences Department, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
Interests: neurodevelopmental disorders; intellectual disability; Rett syndrome; epileptic encephalopathies; autism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Health Sciences Department, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
Interests: neurodevelopmental disorders; intellectual disability; tuberous sclerosis complex; autism; neuropharmacology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) has seen a dramatic increase in the last decade due to remarkable diagnostic evolution fueled by omics approaches such as WES or WGS combined with CNV microarrays, which made it possible to identify numerous novel intellectual disability (ID) genes. The mechanisms underlying an increasing number of NDDs started to be unraveled by patient-specific iPSC–neuronal models appointing morphological, molecular, and functional “disease” biomarkers. iPSc modeling also provided the platform for high-throughput screening of myriad chemicals and candidate drugs, speeding up the discovery of eventual cures for these debilitating diseases. The emerging group of Mendelian disorders of the epigenetic machinery (MDEMs), sharing ID and growth defects, has attracted attention as the epigenetic modifications driven by the defective genes, besides informing our understanding of disease, indicated that many of these disorders have unique genomic DNA methylation patterns (“episignatures”), enhancing the molecular diagnosis of ambiguous cases and optimizing clinical management. Most important, in several MDEMs, neurological dysfunction is amenable to treatment in postnatal life by using “epidrugs”, small molecules proven successful in treating cancer and neurological disorders.

This Special Issue aims to provide an update on NDDs, from diagnostic genomic and postgenomic approaches to deep patient phenotyping, iPSC-modeling for the dissection of basic pathomechanisms, and drug screening for therapeutic prospects.

We look forward to your submissions!

Prof. Dr. Lidia Larizza
Prof. Dr. Aglaia Vignoli
Prof. Dr. Maria Paola Canevini
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • neurodevelopmental disorders
  • intellectual disability
  • epigenetic machinery
  • epidrugs
  • postnatal intervention
  • neuropharmacology

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 9187 KiB  
Article
Dissecting the Role of PCDH19 in Clustering Epilepsy by Exploiting Patient-Specific Models of Neurogenesis
by Rossella Borghi, Valentina Magliocca, Stefania Petrini, Libenzio Adrian Conti, Sandra Moreno, Enrico Bertini, Marco Tartaglia and Claudia Compagnucci
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(13), 2754; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10132754 - 23 Jun 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3742
Abstract
PCDH19-related epilepsy is a rare genetic disease caused by defective function of PCDH19, a calcium-dependent cell–cell adhesion protein of the cadherin superfamily. This disorder is characterized by a heterogeneous phenotypic spectrum, with partial and generalized febrile convulsions that are gradually increasing in frequency. [...] Read more.
PCDH19-related epilepsy is a rare genetic disease caused by defective function of PCDH19, a calcium-dependent cell–cell adhesion protein of the cadherin superfamily. This disorder is characterized by a heterogeneous phenotypic spectrum, with partial and generalized febrile convulsions that are gradually increasing in frequency. Developmental regression may occur during disease progression. Patients may present with intellectual disability (ID), behavioral problems, motor and language delay, and a low motor tone. In most cases, seizures are resistant to treatment, but their frequency decreases with age, and some patients may even become seizure-free. ID generally persists after seizure remission, making neurological abnormalities the main clinical issue in affected individuals. An effective treatment is lacking. In vitro studies using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) reported accelerated neural differentiation as a major endophenotype associated with PCDH19 mutations. By using this in vitro model system, we show that accelerated in vitro neurogenesis is associated with a defect in the cell division plane at the neural progenitors stage. We also provide evidence that altered PCDH19 function affects proper mitotic spindle orientation. Our findings identify an altered equilibrium between symmetric versus asymmetric cell division as a previously unrecognized mechanism contributing to the pathogenesis of this rare epileptic encephalopathy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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Review

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24 pages, 1543 KiB  
Review
Maternal-Autoantibody-Related (MAR) Autism: Identifying Neuronal Antigens and Approaching Prospects for Intervention
by Katya Marks, Ester Coutinho and Angela Vincent
J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9(8), 2564; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9082564 - 7 Aug 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5269
Abstract
Recent studies indicate the existence of a maternal-autoantibody-related subtype of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To date, a large number of studies have focused on describing patterns of brain-reactive serum antibodies in maternal-autoantibody-related (MAR) autism and some have described attempts to define the antigenic [...] Read more.
Recent studies indicate the existence of a maternal-autoantibody-related subtype of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To date, a large number of studies have focused on describing patterns of brain-reactive serum antibodies in maternal-autoantibody-related (MAR) autism and some have described attempts to define the antigenic targets. This article describes evidence on MAR autism and the various autoantibodies that have been implicated. Among other possibilities, antibodies to neuronal surface protein Contactin Associated Protein 2 (CASPR2) have been found more frequently in mothers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders or autism, and two independent experimental studies have shown pathogenicity in mice. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is another possible target for maternal antibodies as demonstrated in mice. Here, we discuss the growing evidence, discuss issues regarding biomarker definition, and summarise the therapeutic approaches that might be used to reduce or prevent the transfer of pathogenic maternal antibodies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Frontiers in Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
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