The three β-neurexins have similar roles in synaptogenesis and interact with the neuroligins. Mutations located within the gene encoding neurexin 1 have been identified as molecular markers associated with autism and autism-related disorders. The estimated attributable risk is 2%. The invention provides methods of diagnosing or predicting susceptibility to developing autism in an individual by determining the presence or absence of one or more genetic variant of a neurexin 1 gene in an individual.
High frequency of neurexin 1β signal peptide structural variants in patients with autism