The neuronal membrane is a dynamic place. It continually shifts its shape, bulging outward to sprout antenna that guide cell movement or branches that connect with other neurons, in a process orchestrated by membrane-remodeling proteins.
TAOK1, a gene strongly linked to autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions, helps to mold the membrane, and mutations in the gene deform the neuronal surface, a new study shows. Those irregularities could contribute to core traits associated with TAOK1 mutations, such as intellectual disability.
The gene belongs to a family of three TAO kinases that add phosphate groups to signaling proteins. All three enzymes contribute to brain development, and mutations that disrupt their function have been linked to autism in earlier work. For instance, TAOK2, located on a chunk of chromosome 16 that is missing in some autistic people, regulates neuronal migration.
“When people talk about TAOKs, they kind of lump them altogether and think ...
