Grant: Project Grant

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), epilepsy, and schizophrenia, often involve alterations in the structure and function of neurons (nerve cells), influencing the intricate wiring of the brain. Clinicians treating individuals with these disorders strive to identify the genetic origins so they can comprehend the fundamental pathology and facilitate personalized treatment strategies. ZDHHC8 is a gene that is currently believed to be a potential risk factor for ID, epilepsy, ASD and schizophrenia as there are patients with these disorders that have mutations in this gene. For this reason, it is important to understand how ZDHHC8 regulates the development and function of the brain. Our current proposal aims to understand what ZDHHC8 is doing in neurons and the molecular mechanisms by which ZDHHC8 mediates its functions. This will be done using neurons cultured from the brains of mice as well as mice that lack the ZDHHC9 gene in specific types of neurons. Together, we will determine how ZDHHC8 functions in the brain and what is going awry in the brains of patients who have a non functioning ZDHHC8 gene.