Study for the Function of ERK2 in the Brain Using ERK2 Conditional Knockout Mouse

通过细胞外信号调节激酶（ERK）传递信号在中枢神经系统（CNS）的多个信号转导网络中起重要作用。然而，ERK2在体内脑功能中的具体作用尚不完全清楚。在这里，我们发现ERK2在调节小鼠的社会行为以及认知和情绪行为方面发挥着关键作用。为了研究ERK2的脑功能，我们采用了一种有条件的、区域特异性的遗传方法，使用Cre/loxP策略和巢蛋白启动子驱动的Cre转基因小鼠系来靶向ERK2，以诱导CNS中的重组。由此产生的Erk2条件敲除（CKO）小鼠，其中Erk2在中枢神经系统中被特异性地去除，在与自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）相关的社会行为的多个方面表现出明显的异常。我们的研究结果表明，ERK2在中枢神经系统中具有复杂的多重作用，对以社会行为缺陷为特征的人类精神疾病具有重要意义。

Signaling through extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) is important in multiple signal transduction networks in the central nervous system (CNS). However, the specific role of ERK2 in in vivo brain functions is not fully understood. Here we show that ERK2 play a critical role in regulating social behaviors as well as cognitive and emotional behaviors in mice. To study the brain function of ERK2, we employed a conditional, region-specific, genetic approach to target Erk2 using the Cre/loxP strategy with a nestin promoter-driven cre transgenic mouse line to induce recombination in the CNS. The resulting Erk2 conditional knockout (CKO) mice, in which Erk2 was abrogated specifically in the CNS, exhibited marked anomalies in multiple aspects of social behaviors related to facets of autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). Our findings suggest that ERK2 has complex and multiple roles in the CNS, with important implications for human psychiatric disorders characterized by deficits in social behaviors.