Up-regulation of Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling impairs cultured neuronal cell migration, neurogenesis, synapse formation, and dendritic spine development

The Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling pathway controls many cellular responses such as cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and death. In the nervous system, emerging evidence also points to a death-promoting role for ERK1/2 in both in vitro and in vivo models of neuronal death. Recent studies have suggested that abnormal apoptosis in the central nervous system may be involved in the pathogenesis of autism. Two studies reported that both a microdeletion and microduplication on chromosome 16, which includes the MAPK3 gene that encodes ERK1, are associated with autism. In addition, our recent work showed that Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling activities were significantly up-regulated in the frontal cortex of autistic individuals and in the BTBR murine model of autism. To further investigate how Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 up-regulation may lead to the development of autism, we developed a cellular model of Raf/ERK up-regulation by over-expressing c-Raf in cultured cortical neurons (CNs) and cerebellar granule cells (CGCs). We found that Raf/ERK up-regulation stimulates the migration of both CNs and CGCs, and impairs the formation of excitatory synapses in CNs. In addition, we found that Raf/ERK up-regulation inhibits the development of mature dendritic spines in CNs. Investigating the possible mechanisms through which Raf/ERK up-regulation affects excitatory synapse formation and dendritic spine development, we discovered that Raf/ERK up-regulation suppresses the development and maturation of CNs. Together, these results suggest that the up-regulation of the Raf/ERK signaling pathway may contribute to the pathogenesis of autism through both its impairment of cortical neuron development and causing neural circuit imbalances.