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Zhao Y, Castellanos FX. Annual Research Review: Discovery science strategies in studies of the pathophysiology of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders--promises and limitations. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2016; 57:421-39. [PMID: 26732133 PMCID: PMC4760897 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psychiatric science remains descriptive, with a categorical nosology intended to enhance interobserver reliability. Increased awareness of the mismatch between categorical classifications and the complexity of biological systems drives the search for novel frameworks including discovery science in Big Data. In this review, we provide an overview of incipient approaches, primarily focused on classically categorical diagnoses such as schizophrenia (SZ), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but also reference convincing, if focal, advances in cancer biology, to describe the challenges of Big Data and discovery science, and outline approaches being formulated to overcome existing obstacles. FINDINGS A paradigm shift from categorical diagnoses to a domain/structure-based nosology and from linear causal chains to complex causal network models of brain-behavior relationship is ongoing. This (r)evolution involves appreciating the complexity, dimensionality, and heterogeneity of neuropsychiatric data collected from multiple sources ('broad' data) along with data obtained at multiple levels of analysis, ranging from genes to molecules, cells, circuits, and behaviors ('deep' data). Both of these types of Big Data landscapes require the use and development of robust and powerful informatics and statistical approaches. Thus, we describe Big Data analysis pipelines and the promise and potential limitations in using Big Data approaches to study psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS We highlight key resources available for psychopathological studies and call for the application and development of Big Data approaches to dissect the causes and mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders and identify corresponding biomarkers for early diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yihong Zhao
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - F. Xavier Castellanos
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA,Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
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Strong E, Butcher D, Singhania R, Mervis C, Morris C, De Carvalho D, Weksberg R, Osborne L. Symmetrical Dose-Dependent DNA-Methylation Profiles in Children with Deletion or Duplication of 7q11.23. Am J Hum Genet 2015; 97:216-27. [PMID: 26166478 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2015.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Accepted: 05/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic dysfunction has been implicated in a growing list of disorders that include cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurodegeneration. Williams syndrome (WS) and 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7) are rare neurodevelopmental disorders with broad phenotypic spectra caused by deletion and duplication, respectively, of a 1.5-Mb region that includes several genes with a role in epigenetic regulation. We have identified striking differences in DNA methylation across the genome between blood cells from children with WS or Dup7 and blood cells from typically developing (TD) children. Notably, regions that were differentially methylated in both WS and Dup7 displayed a significant and symmetrical gene-dose-dependent effect, such that WS typically showed increased and Dup7 showed decreased DNA methylation. Differentially methylated genes were significantly enriched with genes in pathways involved in neurodevelopment, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) candidate genes, and imprinted genes. Using alignment with ENCODE data, we also found the differentially methylated regions to be enriched with CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) binding sites. These findings suggest that gene(s) within 7q11.23 alter DNA methylation at specific sites across the genome and result in dose-dependent DNA-methylation profiles in WS and Dup7. Given the extent of DNA-methylation changes and the potential impact on CTCF binding and chromatin regulation, epigenetic mechanisms most likely contribute to the complex neurological phenotypes of WS and Dup7. Our findings highlight the importance of DNA methylation in the pathogenesis of WS and Dup7 and provide molecular mechanisms that are potentially shared by WS, Dup7, and ASD.
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Hannon E, Chand AN, Evans MD, Wong CCY, Grubb MS, Mill J. A role for Ca V1 and calcineurin signaling in depolarization-induced changes in neuronal DNA methylation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 3:1-6. [PMID: 26702400 PMCID: PMC4659419 DOI: 10.1016/j.nepig.2015.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2015] [Revised: 06/22/2015] [Accepted: 06/23/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Direct manipulations of neuronal activity have been shown to induce changes in DNA methylation (DNAm), although little is known about the cellular signaling pathways involved. Using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing, we identify DNAm changes associated with moderate chronic depolarization in dissociated rat hippocampal cultures. Consistent with previous findings, these changes occurred primarily in the vicinity of loci implicated in neuronal function, being enriched in intergenic regions and underrepresented in CpG-rich promoter regulatory regions. We subsequently used 2 pharmacological interventions (nifedipine and FK-506) to test whether the identified changes depended on 2 interrelated signaling pathways known to mediate multiple forms of neuronal plasticity. Both pharmacological manipulations had notable effects on the extent and magnitude of depolarization-induced DNAm changes indicating that a high proportion of activity-induced changes are likely to be mediated by calcium entry through L-type CaV1 channels and/or downstream signaling via the calcium-dependent phosphatase calcineurin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eilis Hannon
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Annisa N Chand
- MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Mark D Evans
- MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Chloe C Y Wong
- MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London UK
| | - Matthew S Grubb
- MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Jonathan Mill
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK ; MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London UK
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Abdolmaleky HM, Zhou JR, Thiagalingam S. An update on the epigenetics of psychotic diseases and autism. Epigenomics 2015; 7:427-49. [DOI: 10.2217/epi.14.85] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The examination of potential roles of epigenetic alterations in the pathogenesis of psychotic diseases have become an essential alternative in recent years as genetic studies alone are yet to uncover major gene(s) for psychosis. Here, we describe the current state of knowledge from the gene-specific and genome-wide studies of postmortem brain and blood cells indicating that aberrant DNA methylation, histone modifications and dysregulation of micro-RNAs are linked to the pathogenesis of mental diseases. There is also strong evidence supporting that all classes of psychiatric drugs modulate diverse features of the epigenome. While comprehensive environmental and genetic/epigenetic studies are uncovering the origins, and the key genes/pathways affected in psychotic diseases, characterizing the epigenetic effects of psychiatric drugs may help to design novel therapies in psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Mostafavi Abdolmaleky
- Departments of Medicine (Biomedical Genetics Section), Genetics & Genomics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Nutrition/Metabolism Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jin-Rong Zhou
- Nutrition/Metabolism Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sam Thiagalingam
- Departments of Medicine (Biomedical Genetics Section), Genetics & Genomics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
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Alvarado S, Tajerian M, Suderman M, Machnes Z, Pierfelice S, Millecamps M, Stone LS, Szyf M. An epigenetic hypothesis for the genomic memory of pain. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9:88. [PMID: 25852480 PMCID: PMC4371710 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2014] [Accepted: 02/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic pain is accompanied with long-term sensory, affective and cognitive disturbances. What are the mechanisms that mediate the long-term consequences of painful experiences and embed them in the genome? We hypothesize that alterations in DNA methylation, an enzymatic covalent modification of cytosine bases in DNA, serve as a "genomic" memory of pain in the adult cortex. DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism for long-term regulation of gene expression. Neuronal plasticity at the neuroanatomical, functional, morphological, physiological and molecular levels has been demonstrated throughout the neuroaxis in response to persistent pain, including in the adult prefrontal cortex (PFC). We have previously reported widespread changes in gene expression and DNA methylation in the PFC many months following peripheral nerve injury. In support of this hypothesis, we show here that up-regulation of a gene involved with synaptic function, Synaptotagmin II (syt2), in the PFC in a chronic pain model is associated with long-term changes in DNA methylation. The challenges of understanding the contributions of epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation within the PFC to pain chronicity and their therapeutic implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Alvarado
- Department of Biology, Stanford University Palo Alto, CA, USA ; Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Developmental Psychobiology, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Maral Tajerian
- Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford University Palo Alto, CA, USA ; Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Matthew Suderman
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Developmental Psychobiology, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Ziv Machnes
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Developmental Psychobiology, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Stephanie Pierfelice
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Developmental Psychobiology, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Magali Millecamps
- Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Laura S Stone
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Department of Anesthesiology, Anesthesia Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Moshe Szyf
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Developmental Psychobiology, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada ; Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University Montréal, QC, Canada
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Abnormal immune system development and function in schizophrenia helps reconcile diverse findings and suggests new treatment and prevention strategies. Brain Res 2015; 1617:93-112. [PMID: 25736181 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.02.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2014] [Revised: 02/20/2015] [Accepted: 02/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Extensive research implicates disturbed immune function and development in the etiology and pathology of schizophrenia. In addition to reviewing evidence for immunological factors in schizophrenia, this paper discusses how an emerging model of atypical immune function and development helps explain a wide variety of well-established - but puzzling - findings about schizophrenia. A number of theorists have presented hypotheses that early immune system programming, disrupted by pre- and perinatal adversity, often combines with abnormal brain development to produce schizophrenia. The present paper focuses on the hypothesis that disruption of early immune system development produces a latent immune vulnerability that manifests more fully after puberty, when changes in immune function and the thymus leave individuals more susceptible to infections and immune dysfunctions that contribute to schizophrenia. Complementing neurodevelopmental models, this hypothesis integrates findings on many contributing factors to schizophrenia, including prenatal adversity, genes, climate, migration, infections, and stress, among others. It helps explain, for example, why (a) schizophrenia onset is typically delayed until years after prenatal adversity, (b) individual risk factors alone often do not lead to schizophrenia, and (c) schizophrenia prevalence rates actually tend to be higher in economically advantaged countries. Here we discuss how the hypothesis explains 10 key findings, and suggests new, potentially highly cost-effective, strategies for treatment and prevention of schizophrenia. Moreover, while most human research linking immune factors to schizophrenia has been correlational, these strategies provide ethical ways to experimentally test in humans theories about immune function and schizophrenia. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Neuroimmunology in Health And Disease.
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Chen XS, Huang N, Michael N, Xiao L. Advancements in the Underlying Pathogenesis of Schizophrenia: Implications of DNA Methylation in Glial Cells. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9:451. [PMID: 26696822 PMCID: PMC4667081 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2015] [Accepted: 11/02/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a chronic and severe mental illness for which currently there is no cure. At present, the exact molecular mechanism involved in the underlying pathogenesis of SZ is unknown. The disease is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Recent studies have shown that epigenetic regulation is involved in SZ pathology. Specifically, DNA methylation, one of the earliest found epigenetic modifications, has been extensively linked to modulation of neuronal function, leading to psychiatric disorders such as SZ. However, increasing evidence indicates that glial cells, especially dysfunctional oligodendrocytes undergo DNA methylation changes that contribute to the pathogenesis of SZ. This review primarily focuses on DNA methylation involved in glial dysfunctions in SZ. Clarifying this mechanism may lead to the development of new therapeutic interventional strategies for the treatment of SZ and other illnesses by correcting abnormal methylation in glial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing-Shu Chen
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Third Military Medical UniversityChongqing, China
| | - Nanxin Huang
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Third Military Medical UniversityChongqing, China
| | - Namaka Michael
- College of Pharmacy and Medicine, Joint Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry Between Shantou University Medical College and the College of Medicine, University of ManitobaWinnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Lan Xiao
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Third Military Medical UniversityChongqing, China
- *Correspondence: Lan Xiao
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Abstract
An exciting recent study examining the methylation profile of human brain tissue implicates early-life epigenetic disruption in the neurodevelopmental origin of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne Ryan
- />Cancer and Disease Epigenetics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052 Australia
- />Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052 Australia
- />Inserm U1061, Hopital La Colombiere and Universite Montpellier 1, Montpellier F-34093, France
| | - Richard Saffery
- />Cancer and Disease Epigenetics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052 Australia
- />Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052 Australia
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