Autism Protein Epigenetically Misregulated Study Finds, Opening Door for New Treatments

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic disorder resulting in mild to moderate intellectual disability and is a leading cause of autism. FXS is a direct result of the loss of function of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP)—a transcriptional repressor. Moreover, FMRP acts as a genetic conductor, orchestrating a symphony of genes that help shape DNA's 3D structure. Many of the known target transcripts for FMRP are synaptic proteins, yet targeting these proteins has not yielded effe