Genetic disruption of Met signaling impairs GABAergic striatal development and cognition

The largest structure of the basal ganglia, the striatum, modulates motor activity and cognitive function and is composed of GABAergic projection neurons and interneurons. To better understand the mechanisms underlying the development of the striatal neurons and their assembly into functional circuits, we used a mouse with a targeted conditional Met mutation in post-mitotic cells of the ventral telencephalon. Characterization of the ontogeny of the striatal neuronal populations demonstrated that disruption of Met signaling specifically altered the GABAergic interneurons. Medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and cholinergic interneurons were largely unaffected. Mice lacking Met signaling have increased numbers of striatal GABAergic interneurons in the lateral sensorimotor areas with distinct behavioral deficits. Motor function and memory formation and consolidation appeared intact, but procedural learning on the cued task of the Morris water maze was delayed. MET is a susceptibility gene in Tourette syndrome and autism, which are human disorders with impaired procedural learning. This study reveals how a striatal targeted disruption in Met signaling after generation of striatal neurons produces behavioral phenotypes shared by Tourette syndrome and autism, linking the human genetics with the mechanism underlying the disorders.