Loss of Zmiz1 in mice leads to impaired cortical development and autistic-like behaviors

Abstract

De novo mutations in transcriptional regulators are emerging as key risk factors contributing to the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. Human genetic studies have recently identified ZMIZ1 and its de novo mutations as causal of a neurodevelopmental syndrome strongly associated with intellectual disability, autism, ADHD, microcephaly, and other developmental anomalies. However, the role of ZMIZ in brain development or how ZMIZ1 mutations cause neurological phenotypes is unknown. Here, we generated a forebrain-specific Zmiz1 mutant mouse model that develops brain abnormalities, including cortical microcephaly, corpus callosum dysgenesis, and abnormal differentiation of upper-layer cortical neurons. Behaviorally, Zmiz1 mutant mice show alterations in motor activity, anxiety, communication, and social interactions with strong sex differences, resembling phenotypes associated with autism. Molecularly, Zmiz1 deficiency leads to transcriptomic changes disrupting neurogenesis, neuron differentiation programs, and synaptic signaling. We identified Zmiz1-mediated downstream regulation of key neurodevelopmental factors, including Lhx2, Auts2, and EfnB2. Importantly, reactivation of the EfnB2 pathway by exogenous EFNB2 recombinant protein rescues the dendritic outgrowth deficits in Zmiz1 mutant cortical neurons. Overall, our in vivo findings provide insight into Zmiz1 function in cortical development and reveal mechanistic underpinnings of ZMIZ1 syndrome, thereby providing valuable information relevant to future studies on this neurodevelopmental disorder.