Selective Shank3 Deletion in Glutamatergic Neurons of the Anterior Insular Cortex Induces Autism-Related Behavior and Circuit Dysfunction

Abstract

Mutations in the synaptic scaffold protein SHANK3 represent one of the most frequent genetic causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet the circuit mechanisms through which SHANK3 dysfunction leads to behavioral alterations remain incompletely understood. The anterior insular cortex (aINS) is a key integrative hub involved in socio-emotional processing, anxiety regulation, and social cognition, a group of behaviors frequently disrupted in ASD. Here, we investigated whether selective deletion of SHANK3 signaling in glutamatergic neurons of the aINS is sufficient to produce ASD-relevant behavioral and circuit phenotypes. Using conditional Shank3flox4-22 mice combined with stereotaxic viral delivery of Cre recombinase under the CaMKII promoter, we selectively deleted Shank3 in glutamatergic neurons of the aINS. Behavioral phenotyping revealed increased anxiety-like behavior, enhanced repetitive behavior, and impaired social memory, while sociability and locomotor activity were largely preserved. These behavioral alterations were accompanied by genotype-dependent differences in neuronal activity revealed by calcium imaging, indicating disrupted activity dynamics in insular glutamatergic neurons following Shank3 deletion. To assess the broader relevance of these findings, we evaluated the behavioral profile of BTBR T+ Itpr3tf/J mice, a model of idiopathic ASD, in the same battery of behavioral tests. Several behavioral alterations observed following insular Shank3 deletion partially overlapped with those present in BTBR mice, supporting the relevance of aINS Shank3 in ASD-related phenotypes. Together, these findings identify glutamatergic neurons of the aINS as a critical locus through which Shank3 dysfunction can disrupt socio-emotional, cognitive, and repetitive behaviors. Our results highlight the aINS as a key circuit node contributing to ASD-related behavioral alterations and provide mechanistic insight into how synaptic scaffold disruption leads to circuit dysfunction and produces behavioral alterations.