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A Systematic Review of the Human Accelerated Regions in Schizophrenia and Related Disorders: Where the Evolutionary and Neurodevelopmental Hypotheses Converge. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043597. [PMID: 36835010 PMCID: PMC9962562 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that results from genetic and environmental factors interacting and disrupting neurodevelopmental trajectories. Human Accelerated Regions (HARs) are evolutionarily conserved genomic regions that have accumulated human-specific sequence changes. Thus, studies on the impact of HARs in the context of neurodevelopment, as well as with respect to adult brain phenotypes, have increased considerably in the last few years. Through a systematic approach, we aim to offer a comprehensive review of HARs' role in terms of human brain development, configuration, and cognitive abilities, as well as whether HARs modulate the susceptibility to neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. First, the evidence in this review highlights HARs' molecular functions in the context of the neurodevelopmental regulatory genetic machinery. Second, brain phenotypic analyses indicate that HAR genes' expression spatially correlates with the regions that suffered human-specific cortical expansion, as well as with the regional interactions for synergistic information processing. Lastly, studies based on candidate HAR genes and the global "HARome" variability describe the involvement of these regions in the genetic background of schizophrenia, but also in other neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders. Overall, the data considered in this review emphasise the crucial role of HARs in human-specific neurodevelopment processes and encourage future research on this evolutionary marker for a better understanding of the genetic basis of schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental-related psychiatric disorders. Accordingly, HARs emerge as interesting genomic regions that require further study in order to bridge the neurodevelopmental and evolutionary hypotheses in schizophrenia and other related disorders and phenotypes.
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Liu JW, Li H, Zhang Y. Npas3 regulates stemness maintenance of radial glial cells and neuronal migration in the developing mouse cerebral cortex. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:865681. [PMID: 36313621 PMCID: PMC9608153 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.865681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The neuronal PAS domain 3 (NPAS3) is a member of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) PAS family of transcription factors and is implicated in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. NPAS3 is robustly expressed in the cortical ventricle zone (VZ), a transient proliferative zone containing progenitor cells, mainly radial glial cells, destined to give rise to cortical excitatory neurons. However, the role of NPAS3 in corticogenesis remains largely unknown. In this study, we knocked down Npas3 expression in the neural progenitor cells residing in the cortical VZ to investigate the role of Npas3 in cerebral cortical development in mice. We demonstrated that Npas3 knockdown profoundly impaired neuronal radial migration and changed the laminar cell fate of the cells detained in the deep cortical layers. Furthermore, the downregulation of Npas3 led to the stemness maintenance of radial glial cells and increased the proliferation rate of neural progenitor cells residing in the VZ/subventricular zone (SVZ). These findings underline the function of Npas3 in the development of the cerebral cortex and may shed light on the etiology of NPAS3-related disorders.
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Michaelson JJ, Shin MK, Koh JY, Brueggeman L, Zhang A, Katzman A, McDaniel L, Fang M, Pufall M, Pieper AA. Neuronal PAS Domain Proteins 1 and 3 Are Master Regulators of Neuropsychiatric Risk Genes. Biol Psychiatry 2017; 82:213-223. [PMID: 28499489 PMCID: PMC6901278 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Revised: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND NPAS3 has been established as a robust genetic risk factor in major mental illness. In mice, loss of neuronal PAS domain protein 3 (NPAS3) impairs postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis, while loss of the related protein NPAS1 promotes it. These and other findings suggest a critical role for NPAS proteins in neuropsychiatric functioning, prompting interest in the molecular pathways under their control. METHODS We used RNA sequencing coupled with chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing to identify genes directly regulated by NPAS1 and NPAS3 in the hippocampus of wild-type, Npas1-/-, and Npas3-/- mice. Computational integration with human genetic and expression data revealed the disease relevance of NPAS-regulated genes and pathways. Specific findings were confirmed at the protein level by Western blot. RESULTS This is the first in vivo, transcriptome-scale investigation of genes regulated by NPAS1 and NPAS3. These transcription factors control an ensemble of genes that are themselves also major regulators of neuropsychiatric function. Specifically, Fmr1 (fragile X syndrome) and Ube3a (Angelman syndrome) are transcriptionally regulated by NPAS3, as is the neurogenesis regulator Notch. Dysregulation of these pathways was confirmed at the protein level. Furthermore, NPAS1/3 targets show increased human genetic burden for schizophrenia and intellectual disability. CONCLUSIONS Together, these data provide a clear, unbiased view of the full spectrum of genes regulated by NPAS1 and NPAS3 and show that these transcription factors are master regulators of neuropsychiatric function. These findings expose the molecular pathophysiology of NPAS1/3 mutations and provide a striking example of the shared, combinatorial nature of molecular pathways that underlie diagnostically distinct neuropsychiatric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob J Michaelson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa College of Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Iowa Institute of Human Genetics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Genetics Cluster Initiative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; The DeLTA Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; University of Iowa Informatics Initiative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
| | - Min-Kyoo Shin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Jin-Young Koh
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Leo Brueggeman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Angela Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Aaron Katzman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Latisha McDaniel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Mimi Fang
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Miles Pufall
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Andrew A Pieper
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Free Radical and Radiation Biology Program, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Department of Veterans Affairs, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Pappajohn Biomedical Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Weill Cornell Autism Research Program, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York
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