The neurodevelopmental disorder Rett Syndrome (RTT) is caused by sporadic mutations in the transcriptional factor methyl CpG–binding protein 2 (MeCP2). The authors show that the loss of MeCP2 also occurs in glial cells in RTT brains. Moreover, in an in vitro coculture system, mutant astrocytes from a RTT mouse model affect the dendritic morphology of both RTT mutant and wild-type hippocampal neurons. This suggests that astrocytes may have a non–cell autonomous effect on neuronal properties in RTT.
- Nurit Ballas
- Daniel T Lioy
- Gail Mandel
