Expression and regulation of SETBP1 in the song system of male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) during singing

Abstract

Rare de novo heterozygous loss-of-function SETBP1 variants lead to a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by speech deficits, indicating a potential involvement of SETBP1 in human speech. However, the expression pattern of SETBP1 in brain regions associated with language remains poorly understood, along with the underlying molecular mechanisms linking it to speech. In this study, we examined SETBP1 expression in the brain of male zebra finches, a well-established model for studying vocal production learning. We demonstrated that zebra finch SETBP1 exhibits a greater number of exons and isoforms compared to its human counterpart. We characterized a SETBP1 antibody and showed that SETBP1 colocalized with FoxP1, FoxP2, and Parvalbumin in key song nuclei. Moreover, SETBP1 expression in neurons in Area X is significantly higher in zebra finches singing alone, than those singing courtship song to a female, or non-singers. Importantly, we found a distinctive neuronal protein expression of SETBP1 and FoxP2 in Area X only in zebra finches singing alone, but not in the other conditions. We demonstrated SETBP1s regulatory role on FoxP2 promoter activity in vitro. Taken together, these findings provide compelling evidence for SETBP1 expression in brain regions to be crucial for vocal learning and its modulation by singing behavior.