A role for the TMEM132D gene in psychiatric disorders revealed by a neuroscience class assignment

As part of the “Brain Development and Disease” course in the Master’s program in Cognitive Sciences at the University of Trento (Italy), students are asked to analyze the expression of a gene whose dysfunction is linked to a disorder of the nervous system. Their final task is to prepare a research article discussing collected data in the context of the disorder. In one such project, we examined publicly available datasets to study TMEM132D (also called MOLT, Mature OLigodendrocyte Transmembrane protein) mRNA expression in psychiatric disorders-related brain regions across development in mice and humans.

Findings revealed that TMEM132D is developmentally regulated, with elevated expression in frontal and limbic regions during postnatal stages in both species, pointing to a conserved evolutionary function. In the human brain, the gene showed a biphasic expression pattern, peaking in infancy and again in emerging adulthood — two periods marked by heightened plasticity. These results, consistent with prior research, suggest that TMEM132D may influence the maturation of neural circuits, possibly through mechanisms such as myelination or actin-related processes.

In adult brains, expression levels of TMEM132D appeared to gradually decline with age. This trend further supports the potential role of TMEM132D in shaping neural connectivity during earlier stages of life, when structural and functional remodeling is most active.

Altogether, the study highlights TMEM132D as a candidate gene in the neurodevelopmental basis of psychiatric disorders. It also demonstrates the educational value of involving students in authentic data collection and analysis: such classroom projects not only enhance learning but can also generate original, hypothesis-driven insights worthy of further scientific exploration.