Intranasal oxytocin administration ameliorates social behavioral deficits in a POGZ(WT/Q1038R) mouse model of autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core symptoms of impaired social behavior and communication. Recent studies have suggested that the oxytocin system, which regulates social behavior in mammals, is potentially involved in ASD. Mouse models of ASD provide a useful system for understanding the associations between an impaired oxytocin system and social behavior deficits. However, limited studies have shown the involvement of the oxytocin system in the behavioral phenotypes in mouse models of ASD. We have previously demonstrated that a mouse model that carries the ASD patient-derived de novo mutation in the pogo transposable element derived with zinc finger domain (POGZ(WT/Q1038R) mice), showed ASD-like social behavioral deficits. Here, we have explored whether oxytocin (OXT) administration improves impaired social behavior in POGZ(WT/Q1038R) mice and found that intranasal oxytocin administration effectively restored the impaired social behavior in POGZ(WT/Q1038R) mice. We also found that the expression level of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) was low in POGZ(WT/Q1038R) mice. However, we did not detect significant changes in the number of OXT-expressing neurons between the paraventricular nucleus of POGZ(WT/Q1038R) mice and that of WT mice. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that POGZ binds to the promoter region of OXTR and is involved in the transcriptional regulation of OXTR. In summary, our study demonstrate that the pathogenic mutation in the POGZ, a high-confidence ASD gene, impairs the oxytocin system and social behavior in mice, providing insights into the development of oxytocin-based therapeutics for ASD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13041-021-00769-8.