• Understanding the role of zinc and zinc transporters in Autism

    De Benedectis and Grabrucker

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Understanding the role of zinc and zinc transporters in Autism

Details

TitleUnderstanding the role of zinc and zinc transporters in Autism

NameDe Benedectis and Grabrucker

Type:Biomedical Research

About

The purpose of this study is to investigate the expression and the localisation of zinc transporters in neural tissue (neurons and glial cells) with a particular focus on zinc transporter 5 (ZnT5). A mutation in the zinc transporter ZnT5 (missense mutation p.S561R) was linked to autism in human patients. The hypothesis in this study is that a loss of function in the transporter ZnT5 in the offspring, despite normal zinc status of the mother, may lead to insufficient zinc supply during a critical time window in brain development, which may be linked to the development of autism.

About

The Autism Special Interest Group at the University of Limerick (Autism@UL SIG) is an interdisciplinary group of people with a focus on autism. Within UL the group includes senior Principal Investigators, early career researchers and PhD students from across the University’s faculties and institutions.

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