TAOK2 Kinase Signaling in Human Neural Stem Cell Development

越来越多的证据表明，神经干细胞增殖和早期神经发生中的畸变 与神经发育和精神疾病的发病机制密切相关。尽管是 与几种神经系统疾病的病理生理学有关，人类激酶组 控制神经发生以及其功能障碍如何在疾病中表现仍然是该领域的主要空白。 神经发育生物学在这个提议中，我们将研究自闭症易感基因的作用， TAOK2编码丝氨酸苏氨酸激酶，在人类神经干细胞发育和功能中的作用。两 功能丧失和激活TAOK2突变与自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）相关。 此外，TAOK2是16 p11.2基因组基因座中的基因之一，其拷贝数变异（CNV）为 与ASD相关的最普遍的遗传风险因素。虽然我们和其他人的工作表明， 令人信服的证据表明TAOK2对神经元和突触发育很重要，TAOK2在 人神经祖细胞（NPC）发育和分化尚未研究。此夕h TAOK2在与16p11.2拷贝数变异相关的病理学中的作用尚不清楚。基于 我们初步发现的力量，这项研究建议的中心假设是TAOK2激酶 在调节人类神经祖细胞干细胞发育的中心体处协调信号中枢， 并且该信号通路的扰动有助于ASD的发病。我们将阐明 通过使用2D和3D人诱导多能干细胞（hiPSC）模型在NPC发育中的TAOK2 （目标1）。接下来，将确定TAOK2调节纤毛生长和信号传导的机制 使用超分辨率成像和生物化学方法（Aim2）。TAOK2在睫状体中的作用 将确定在来自16p11.2缺失和重复携带者的患者来源的NPC中观察到的缺陷 通过应用定量蛋白质组学和基因组编辑技术（Aim3）。利用组合 创新方法和人类疾病相关模型系统，我们试图了解TAOK2 激酶信号传导介导神经干细胞的发育，以及其信号传导途径的扰动 16p11.2 CNV的临床神经病理学。 !

Increasing evidence indicates that aberrations in neural stem cell proliferation and early neurogenesis are critically involved in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Despite being implicated in pathophysiology of several neurological diseases, the mechanisms through which human kinome controls neurogenesis and how its dysfunction manifests in disease remain major gaps in the field of neurodevelopmental biology. In this proposal, we will investigate the role of an autism susceptibility gene, TAOK2, which encodes a serine threonine kinase, in human neural stem cell development and function. Both loss-of-function and activating TAOK2 mutations have been associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Further, TAOK2 is one of the genes in the 16p11.2 genomic locus, copy number variation (CNV) of which is the most prevalent genetic risk factor associated with ASD. While work by us and others has demonstrated compelling evidence that TAOK2 is important for neuronal and synaptic development, the role of TAOK2 in human neural progenitor cell (NPC) development and differentiation has not been investigated. Further, the contribution of TAOK2 in the pathology associated with 16p11.2 copy number variation is unknown. Based on the strength of our preliminary findings, the central hypothesis of this research proposal is that TAOK2 kinase orchestrates a signaling hub at the centrosome that regulates human neural progenitor stem cell development, and that perturbation of this signaling pathway contributes to pathogenesis of ASD. We will elucidate the role of TAOK2 in NPC development through use of 2D and 3D human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) models (Aim1). Next, mechanisms through which TAOK2 regulates ciliary growth and signaling will be determined using super-resolution imaging and biochemical approaches (Aim2). The contribution of TAOK2 in the ciliary defects observed in patient-derived NPCs from 16p11.2 deletion and duplication carriers will be determined through application of quantitative proteomics and genome editing techniques (Aim3). Utilizing a combination of innovative approaches and human disease relevant model systems, we seek to understand how TAOK2 kinase signaling mediates neural stem cell development, and how perturbations in its signaling pathways contribute to the clinical neuropathology of 16p11.2 CNV. !