Investigation of the HSPG2 Gene in Tardive Dyskinesia – New Data and Meta-Analysis

Perlecan, a large, multi-domain, heparan sulfate proteoglycan originally identified in basement membrane, interacts with extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors and receptors, and influences cellular signalling. Perlecan is present in a variety of basement membranes and in other extracellular matrix structures. We have disrupted the gene encoding perlecan (Hspg2) in mice. Approximately 40% of Hspg2-/- mice died at embryonic day (E) 10.5 with defective cephalic development. The remaining Hspg2-/- mice died just after birth with skeletal dysplasia characterized by micromelia with broad and bowed long bones, narrow thorax and craniofacial abnormalities. Only 6% of Hspg2-/- mice developed both exencephaly and chondrodysplasia. Hspg2-/- cartilage showed severe disorganization of the columnar structures of chondrocytes and defective endochondral ossification. Hspg2-/- cartilage matrix contained reduced and disorganized collagen fibrils and glycosaminoglycans, suggesting that perlecan has an important role in matrix structure. In Hspg2-/- cartilage, proliferation of chondrocytes was reduced and the prehypertrophic zone was diminished. The abnormal phenotypes of the Hspg2-/- skeleton are similar to those of thanatophoric dysplasia (TD) type I, which is caused by activating mutations in FGFR3 (refs 7, 8, 9), and to those of Fgfr3 gain-of-function mice. Our findings suggest that these molecules affect similar signalling pathways.

The vertebrate neuromuscular junction (NMJ) remains the best-studied model for understanding the mechanisms involved in synaptogenesis, due to its relatively large size, its simplicity of patterning, and its unparalleled experimental accessibility. During neuromuscular development, each skeletal myofiber secretes and deposits around its extracellular surface an assemblage of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins that ultimately form a basal lamina. This is also the case at the NMJ, where the motor nerve contributes additional factors. Before most of the current molecular components were known, it was clear that the synaptic ECM of adult skeletal muscles was unique in composition and contained factors sufficient to induce the differentiation of both pre- and postsynaptic membranes. Biochemical, genetic, and microscopy studies have confirmed that agrin, laminin (221, 421, and 521), collagen IV (α3-α6), collagen XIII, perlecan, and the ColQ-bound form of acetylcholinesterase are all synaptic ECM proteins with important roles in neuromuscular development. The roles of their many potential receptors and/or binding proteins have been more difficult to assess at the genetic level due to the complexity of membrane interactions with these large proteins, but roles for MuSK-LRP4 in agrin signaling and for integrins, dystroglycan, and voltage-gated calcium channels in laminin-dependent phenotypes have been identified. Synaptic ECM proteins and their receptors are involved in almost all aspects of synaptic development, including synaptic initiation, topography, ultrastructure, maturation, stability, and transmission. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.