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Updated: May 6, 2026

Author Spotlight: Exploring Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms in Fruit Flies — Genetic Models and Behavioral Tests
Published on: September 6, 2024
Role of the PTEN signaling pathway in autism spectrum disorder
Jing-Wen Lv1, Tian-Lin Cheng, Zi-Long Qiu
1Department of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 201102, China.
Abstract:
Autism is an etiologically heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders, diagnosed mostly by the clinical behavioral phenotypes. The concept that the tumor-related gene PTEN plays a critical role in autism spectrum disorder has emerged over the last decade. In this review, we focus on the essential role of the PTEN signaling pathway in neuronal differentiation and the formation of neural circuitry, as well as genetic mouse models with Pten manipulations. Particularly, accumulated data suggest that the effect of PTEN on neural stem-cell development contributes significantly to the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders.
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