A number of autism risk factors converge on one cellular pathway: abnormal remodeling of the cell’s structural systems through the signaling protein Rho, says SFARI’s associate director for research, Alan Packer.

A growing number of studies suggest connections between Alzheimer’s disease, fragile X syndrome and autism, which could point the way to potential treatments.

Researchers have cataloged thousands of DNA regions that may act as enhancers — regulating gene expression from afar — in the developing mouse and human brains, according to a study published 14 February in Cell.

Mice missing one copy of neurobeachin, an autism-linked gene that fine-tunes signals at neuronal junctions, show autism-like behaviors, according to a study set to be published in the March issue of Neurobiology of Disease.

The protein lacking in fragile X syndrome works with three autism-linked proteins to fine-tune the connections between neurons, according to a study published 21 December in Cell.

FMRP, the protein missing in fragile X syndrome, binds to the RNA sequences of 939 genes, 93 of which have been linked to autism, according to a study published 20 December in Nature.

Researchers have created a network of various forms of many proteins linked to autism, revealing new molecular interactions that may play a role in the disorder. The unpublished work was presented in a poster last week at the Salk Institute, Fondation IPSEN and Nature Symposium on Biological Complexity in La Jolla, California.

The autism-linked protein MET is expressed at lower levels in the brains of men with autism than in control brains, according to unpublished research presented Thursday at the Salk Institute, Fondation IPSEN and Nature Symposium on Biological Complexity in La Jolla, California. Women with autism do not differ from healthy controls, however.

Researchers have made neurons from the skin cells of mice that model Rett syndrome, according to a study published in the December issue Molecular Psychiatry.

Gene expression changes measured in blood may help differentiate children with autism from those without the disorder, suggest two studies published in the past few months.