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Toll SA, Flore LA, Gorsi HS, Marupudi NI, Mody S, Kupsky W, Wang ZJ. Intracranial Germinoma in Two Caucasian American Siblings With Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 2024; 46:106-111. [PMID: 38277627 DOI: 10.1097/mph.0000000000002821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Intracranial germ cell tumors (IGCTs) comprise 3% to 5% of all pediatric brain tumors in the West, with a significantly higher prevalence in Asia. Although these tumors are histologically diverse, repeated somatic variants have been demonstrated. Chromosomal aneuploidies, such as Klinefelter and Down syndromes, are associated with IGCTs, but no familial germline tumor syndromes are currently known. Here, we report the novel case of 2 American siblings with underlying autism spectrum disorder who developed intracranial germinoma within months of each other, in the absence of external risk factors. Extensive genetic testing was performed, including karyotyping, chromosomal microarray, and whole exome and whole genome sequencing, and did not identify any variants accounting for the phenotypes. Despite the absence of overlapping variants, a recent retrospective review demonstrated a threefold greater prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in patients with intracranial germinoma compared with national prevalence. This report highlights the complexity of tumor development, as well as the need for further research regarding IGCTs in a neurodivergent population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A Toll
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology
- Central Michigan University School of Medicine, Mt Pleasant
| | - Leigh Anne Flore
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics, Children's Hospital of Michigan
- Central Michigan University School of Medicine, Mt Pleasant
| | - Hamza S Gorsi
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology
- Central Michigan University School of Medicine, Mt Pleasant
| | | | - Swati Mody
- Central Michigan University School of Medicine, Mt Pleasant
- Department of Radiology, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - William Kupsky
- Department of Pathology, Detroit Medical Center, Detroit
| | - Zhihong Joanne Wang
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital of Richmond, Richmond, VA
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2
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Gonzales S, Zhao JZ, Choi NY, Acharya P, Jeong S, Lee MY. SOX7: Novel Autistic Gene Identified by Analysis of Multi-Omics Data. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3346245. [PMID: 37790478 PMCID: PMC10543249 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3346245/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Background Despite thousands of variants identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is unclear which mutations are causal because most are noncoding. Consequently, reliable diagnostic biomarkers are lacking. RNA-seq analysis captures biomolecular complexity that GWAS cannot by considering transcriptomic patterns. Therefore, integrating DNA and RNA testing may reveal causal genes and useful biomarkers for ASD. Methods We performed gene-based association studies using an adaptive test method with GWAS summary statistics from two large Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) datasets (ASD2019: 18,382 cases and 27,969 controls; ASD2017: 6,197 cases and 7,377 controls). We also investigated differential expression for genes identified with the adaptive test using an RNA-seq dataset (GSE30573: 3 cases and 3 controls) and DESeq2. Results We identified 5 genes significantly associated with ASD in ASD2019 (KIZ-AS1, p = 8.67×10- 10; KIZ, p = 1.16×10- 9; XRN2, p = 7.73×10- 9; SOX7, p = 2.22×10- 7; LOC101929229 (also known as PINX1-DT), p = 2.14×10- 6). Two of the five genes were replicated in ASD2017: SOX7 (p = 0.00087) and LOC101929229 (p = 0.009), and KIZ was close to the replication boundary of replication (p = 0.06). We identified significant expression differences for SOX7 (p = 0.0017, adjusted p = 0.0085), LOC101929229 (p = 5.83×10- 7, adjusted p = 1.18×10- 5), and KIZ (p = 0.00099, adjusted p = 0.0055). SOX7 encodes a transcription factor that regulates developmental pathways, alterations in which may contribute to ASD. Limitations The limitation of the gene-based analysis is the reliance on a reference population for estimating linkage disequilibrium between variants. The similarity of this reference population to the population of study is crucial to the accuracy of many gene-based analyses, including those performed in this study. As a result, the extent of our findings is limited to European populations, as this was our reference of choice. Future work includes a tighter integration of DNA and RNA information as well as extensions to non-European populations that have been under-researched. Conclusions These findings suggest that SOX7 and its related SOX family genes encode transcription factors that are critical to the downregulation of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, an important developmental signaling pathway, providing credence to the biologic plausibility of the association between gene SOX7 and autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jane Zizhen Zhao
- Miami Dade College Kendall Campus and School for Advanced Studies
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Alshamrani AA, Alwetaid MY, Al-Hamamah MA, Attia MSM, Ahmad SF, Algonaiah MA, Nadeem A, Ansari MA, Bakheet SA, Attia SM. Aflatoxin B1 Exacerbates Genomic Instability and Apoptosis in the BTBR Autism Mouse Model via Dysregulating DNA Repair Pathway. TOXICS 2023; 11:636. [PMID: 37505601 PMCID: PMC10384561 DOI: 10.3390/toxics11070636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The pathophysiology of autism is influenced by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Furthermore, individuals with autism appear to be at a higher risk of developing cancer. However, this is not fully understood. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a potent food pollutant carcinogen. The effects of AFB1 on genomic instability in autism have not yet been investigated. Hence, we have aimed to investigate whether repeated exposure to AFB1 causes alterations in genomic stability, a hallmark of cancer and apoptosis in the BTBR autism mouse model. The data revealed increased micronuclei generation, oxidative DNA strand breaks, and apoptosis in BTBR animals exposed to AFB1 when compared to unexposed animals. Lipid peroxidation in BTBR mice increased with a reduction in glutathione following AFB1 exposure, demonstrating an exacerbated redox imbalance. Furthermore, the expressions of some of DNA damage/repair- and apoptosis-related genes were also significantly dysregulated. Increases in the redox disturbance and dysregulation in the DNA damage/repair pathway are thus important determinants of susceptibility to AFB1-exacerbated genomic instability and apoptosis in BTBR mice. This investigation shows that AFB1-related genomic instability can accelerate the risk of cancer development. Moreover, approaches that ameliorate the redox balance and DNA damage/repair dysregulation may mitigate AFB1-caused genomic instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali A Alshamrani
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammad Y Alwetaid
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed A Al-Hamamah
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed S M Attia
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sheikh F Ahmad
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Majed A Algonaiah
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed Nadeem
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mushtaq A Ansari
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saleh A Bakheet
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sabry M Attia
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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Jansson AK, Söderling J, Reutfors J, Thor A, Sköld C, Cohn-Cedermark G, Ståhl O, Smedby KE, Pettersson A, Glimelius I. Risk and mortality of testicular cancer in patients with neurodevelopmental or other psychiatric disorders. Br J Cancer 2023; 128:2261-2269. [PMID: 37088800 PMCID: PMC10241835 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-023-02260-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Both testicular germ cell tumours (TGCT) and neurodevelopmental disorders are associated with urogenital malformations. Few studies have investigated the association between psychiatric disorders and TGCT. We investigated whether history of any psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorder is associated with increased risk or mortality of TGCT. METHOD This is a nested case-control study including 6166 TGCT patients diagnosed during 1992-2014, individually matched for age and calendar period to 61,660 controls. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) for the association between type of psychiatric diagnoses and TGCT risk. Among the cases, we used a cohort design and calculated hazard ratios (HRs) of the association between psychiatric diagnose and all-cause and TGCT-specific death. RESULTS History of a neurodevelopmental disorder (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities) was associated with an increased risk of seminoma (OR: 1.54; 1.09-2.19). Seminoma patients with neurodevelopmental disorders were younger (34 versus 38 years, p = 0.004) and had more stage IV disease (5.4% versus 1.2%) than those without. Psychiatric history overall was not associated with TGCT. Patient history of any psychiatric disorder was associated with an increased all-cause and TGCT-specific death. CONCLUSIONS We report an association between neurodevelopmental disorders and testicular seminoma, and an increased TGCT-specific mortality for TGCT patients with psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Jansson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics & Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jonas Söderling
- Clinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Reutfors
- Clinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Thor
- Division of Urology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Camilla Sköld
- Department of Immunology, Genetics & Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gabriella Cohn-Cedermark
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Genitourinary Oncology Unit, Department of Pelvic Cancer, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Olof Ståhl
- Department of Oncology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
| | - Karin E Smedby
- Clinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andreas Pettersson
- Clinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ingrid Glimelius
- Department of Immunology, Genetics & Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Clinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Gonzales S, Zhao JZ, Choi NY, Acharya P, Jeong S, Lee MY. SOX7: Novel Autistic Gene Identified by Analysis of Multi-Omics Data. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.26.542456. [PMID: 37292933 PMCID: PMC10245991 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.26.542456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Background Genome-wide association studies and next generation sequencing data analyses based on DNA information have identified thousands of mutations associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, more than 99% of identified mutations are non-coding. Thus, it is unclear which of these mutations might be functional and thus potentially causal variants. Transcriptomic profiling using total RNA-sequencing has been one of the most utilized approaches to link protein levels to genetic information at the molecular level. The transcriptome captures molecular genomic complexity that the DNA sequence solely does not. Some mutations alter a gene's DNA sequence but do not necessarily change expression and/or protein function. To date, few common variants reliably associated with the diagnosis status of ASD despite consistently high estimates of heritability. In addition, reliable biomarkers used to diagnose ASD or molecular mechanisms to define the severity of ASD do not exist. Objectives It is necessary to integrate DNA and RNA testing together to identify true causal genes and propose useful biomarkers for ASD. Methods We performed gene-based association studies with adaptive test using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary statistics with two large GWAS datasets (ASD 2019 data: 18,382 ASD cases and 27,969 controls [discovery data]; ASD 2017 data: 6,197 ASD cases and 7,377 controls [replication data]) which were obtained from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC). In addition, we investigated differential expression for genes identified in gene-based GWAS with a RNA-seq dataset (GSE30573: 3 cases and 3 controls) using the DESeq2 package. Results We identified 5 genes significantly associated with ASD in ASD 2019 data (KIZ-AS1, p=8.67×10-10; KIZ, p=1.16×10-9; XRN2, p=7.73×10-9; SOX7, p=2.22×10-7; PINX1-DT, p=2.14×10-6). Among these 5 genes, gene SOX7 (p=0.00087), LOC101929229 (p=0.009), and KIZ-AS1 (p=0.059) were replicated in ASD 2017 data. KIZ (p=0.06) was close to the boundary of replication in ASD 2017 data. Genes SOX7 (p=0.0017, adjusted p=0.0085), LOC101929229 (also known as PINX1-DT, p=5.83×10-7, adjusted p=1.18×10-5), and KIZ (p=0.00099, adjusted p=0.0055) indicated significant expression differences between cases and controls in the RNA-seq data. SOX7 encodes a member of the SOX (SRY-related HMG-box) family of transcription factors pivotally contributing to determining of the cell fate and identity in many lineages. The encoded protein may act as a transcriptional regulator after forming a protein complex with other proteins leading to autism. Conclusion Gene SOX7 in the transcription factor family could be associated with ASD. This finding may provide new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Gonzales
- Department of Biostatistics, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199
| | - Jane Zizhen Zhao
- Miami Dade College Kendall Campus and School for Advanced Studies, Miami, FL 33176
| | - Na Young Choi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76207
| | - Prabha Acharya
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76207
| | - Sehoon Jeong
- Department of Healthcare Information Technology Inje University, Gimhae, South Korea, 50834
| | - Moo-Yeal Lee
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76207
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Abstract
Immunity could be viewed as the common factor in neurodevelopmental disorders and cancer. The immune and nervous systems coevolve as the embryo develops. Immunity can release cytokines that activate MAPK signaling in neural cells. In specific embryonic brain cell types, dysregulated signaling that results from germline or embryonic mutations can promote changes in chromatin organization and gene accessibility, and thus expression levels of essential genes in neurodevelopment. In cancer, dysregulated signaling can emerge from sporadic somatic mutations during human life. Neurodevelopmental disorders and cancer share similarities. In neurodevelopmental disorders, immunity, and cancer, there appears an almost invariable involvement of small GTPases (e.g., Ras, RhoA, and Rac) and their pathways. TLRs, IL-1, GIT1, and FGFR signaling pathways, all can be dysregulated in neurodevelopmental disorders and cancer. Although there are signaling similarities, decisive differentiating factors are timing windows, and cell type specific perturbation levels, pointing to chromatin reorganization. Finally, we discuss drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Nussinov
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Cancer Innovation Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Corresponding author
| | - Chung-Jung Tsai
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Cancer Innovation Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Hyunbum Jang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Cancer Innovation Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
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Liu Q, Yin W, Meijsen J, Reichenberg A, Gådin J, Schork A, Adami HO, Kolevzon A, Sandin S, Fang F. Cancer risk in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Ann Oncol 2022; 33:713-719. [DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2022.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
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Li S, Guo Z, Ioffe JB, Hu Y, Zhen Y, Zhou X. Text mining of gene-phenotype associations reveals new phenotypic profiles of autism-associated genes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15269. [PMID: 34315992 PMCID: PMC8316556 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94742-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism is a spectrum disorder with wide variation in type and severity of symptoms. Understanding gene-phenotype associations is vital to unravel the disease mechanisms and advance its diagnosis and treatment. To date, several databases have stored a large portion of gene-phenotype associations which are mainly obtained from genetic experiments. However, a large proportion of gene-phenotype associations are still buried in the autism-related literature and there are limited resources to investigate autism-associated gene-phenotype associations. Given the abundance of the autism-related literature, we were thus motivated to develop Autism_genepheno, a text mining pipeline to identify sentence-level mentions of autism-associated genes and phenotypes in literature through natural language processing methods. We have generated a comprehensive database of gene-phenotype associations in the last five years' autism-related literature that can be easily updated as new literature becomes available. We have evaluated our pipeline through several different approaches, and we are able to rank and select top autism-associated genes through their unique and wide spectrum of phenotypic profiles, which could provide a unique resource for the diagnosis and treatment of autism. The data resources and the Autism_genpheno pipeline are available at: https://github.com/maiziezhoulab/Autism_genepheno .
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Affiliation(s)
- Sijie Li
- Department of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, UK
| | - Ziqi Guo
- Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Jacob B Ioffe
- Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Yunfei Hu
- Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Yi Zhen
- Department of Software and Information Systems, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28213, USA.
| | - Xin Zhou
- Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA.
- Data Science Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA.
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Weir E, Allison C, Warrier V, Baron-Cohen S. Increased prevalence of non-communicable physical health conditions among autistic adults. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2021; 25:681-694. [PMID: 32907337 PMCID: PMC7610707 DOI: 10.1177/1362361320953652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Previous research indicates autistic individuals die at a younger age than others and that this is possibly due in part to chronic physical health conditions. The present study used an anonymous, online survey to determine how common certain physical health conditions are among autistic adults, compared with non-autistic adults. We found autistic adults are more likely to develop heart conditions, lung conditions, and diabetes than non-autistic adults. Autistic females may be at higher risk of developing certain conditions (including respiratory conditions, asthma, and prediabetes) than autistic males. Finally, autistic individuals have increased health risks even when considering lifestyle factors (such as smoking, alcohol, and body mass index). This is still a relatively small study, and future research needs to confirm these findings and identify why these risks exist.
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Castro-Piedras I, Vartak D, Sharma M, Pandey S, Casas L, Molehin D, Rasha F, Fokar M, Nichols J, Almodovar S, Rahman RL, Pruitt K. Identification of Novel MeCP2 Cancer-Associated Target Genes and Post-Translational Modifications. Front Oncol 2020; 10:576362. [PMID: 33363010 PMCID: PMC7758440 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.576362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Abnormal regulation of DNA methylation and its readers has been associated with a wide range of cellular dysfunction. Disruption of the normal function of DNA methylation readers contributes to cancer progression, neurodevelopmental disorders, autoimmune disease and other pathologies. One reader of DNA methylation known to be especially important is MeCP2. It acts a bridge and connects DNA methylation with histone modifications and regulates many gene targets contributing to various diseases; however, much remains unknown about how it contributes to cancer malignancy. We and others previously described novel MeCP2 post-translational regulation. We set out to test the hypothesis that MeCP2 would regulate novel genes linked with tumorigenesis and that MeCP2 is subject to additional post-translational regulation not previously identified. Herein we report novel genes bound and regulated by MeCP2 through MeCP2 ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analyses in two breast cancer cell lines representing different breast cancer subtypes. Through genomics analyses, we localize MeCP2 to novel gene targets and further define the full range of gene targets within breast cancer cell lines. We also further examine the scope of clinical and pre-clinical lysine deacetylase inhibitors (KDACi) that regulate MeCP2 post-translationally. Through proteomics analyses, we identify many additional novel acetylation sites, nine of which are mutated in Rett Syndrome. Our study provides important new insight into downstream targets of MeCP2 and provide the first comprehensive map of novel sites of acetylation associated with both pre-clinical and FDA-approved KDACi used in the clinic. This report examines a critical reader of DNA methylation and has important implications for understanding MeCP2 regulation in cancer models and identifying novel molecular targets associated with epigenetic therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Castro-Piedras
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - David Vartak
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Monica Sharma
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Somnath Pandey
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Laura Casas
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Deborah Molehin
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Fahmida Rasha
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Mohamed Fokar
- Center for Biotechnology & Genomics, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Jacob Nichols
- Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Sharilyn Almodovar
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | | | - Kevin Pruitt
- Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, United States
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Patak J, Faraone SV, Zhang-James Y. Sodium hydrogen exchanger 9 NHE9 (SLC9A9) and its emerging roles in neuropsychiatric comorbidity. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2020; 183:289-305. [PMID: 32400953 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Revised: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Variations in SLC9A9 gene expression and protein function are associated with multiple human diseases, which range from Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to glioblastoma multiforme. In an effort to determine the full spectrum of human disease associations with SLC9A9, we performed a systematic review of the literature. We also review SLC9A9's biochemistry, protein structure, and function, as well as its interacting partners with the goal of identifying mechanisms of disease and druggable targets. We report gaps in the literature regarding the genes function along with consistent trends in disease associations that can be used to further research into treating the respective diseases. We report that SLC9A9 has strong associations with neuropsychiatric diseases and various cancers. Interestingly, we find strong overlap in SLC9A9 disease associations and propose a novel role for SLC9A9 in neuropsychiatric comorbidity. In conclusion, SLC9A9 is a multifunctional protein that, through both its endosome regulatory function and its protein-protein interaction network, has the ability to modulate signaling axes, such as the PI3K pathway, among others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jameson Patak
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA.,College of Medicine, MD Program, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Stephen V Faraone
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Yanli Zhang-James
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
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12
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Attia SM, Al-Hamamah MA, Ahmad SF, Nadeem A, Attia MSM, Ansari MA, Bakheet SA, Al-Ayadhi LY. Evaluation of DNA repair efficiency in autistic children by molecular cytogenetic analysis and transcriptome profiling. DNA Repair (Amst) 2019; 85:102750. [PMID: 31765876 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2019.102750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Data regarding DNA repair perturbations in autism, which might increase the risk of malignancy, are scarce. To evaluate whether DNA repair may be disrupted in autistic children, we assessed the incidence of endogenous basal DNA strand breaks as well as the efficiency of repairing DNA damage caused by γ-ray in lymphocytes isolated from autistic and healthy children. The incidence of DNA damage and the kinetics of DNA repair were determined by comet assay, while the incidence of residual DNA damage was evaluated by structural chromosomal aberration analysis. Transcriptome profiling of 84 genes associated with DNA damage and repair-signaling pathways was performed by RT² Profiler PCR Array. The array data were confirmed by RT-PCR and western blot studies. Our data indicate that the incidence of basal oxidative DNA strand breaks in autistic children was greater than that in nonautistic controls. Lymphocytes from autistic children displayed higher susceptibility to damage by γ-irradiation and slower repair rate than those from nonautistic children. Although the total unstable chromosomal aberrations were unaffected, lymphocytes from autistic children were more susceptible to chromosomal damage caused by γ-ray than those from nonautistic children. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that several genes associated with repair were downregulated in lymphocytes from autistic individuals and in those exposed to γ-irradiation. This may explain the increased oxidative DNA damage and reduced repair rate in lymphocytes from autistic individuals. These features may be related to the possible correlation between autism and the elevated risk of cancer and may explain the role of the disruption of the DNA repair process in the pathogenesis of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabry M Attia
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Mohammed A Al-Hamamah
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sheikh F Ahmad
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed Nadeem
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Mushtaq A Ansari
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saleh A Bakheet
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Laila Y Al-Ayadhi
- Autism Research and Treatment Center, AL-Amodi Autism Research Chair, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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13
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Al-Mazroua HA, Alomar HA, Ahmad SF, Attia MSA, Nadeem A, Bakheet SA, Alsaad AMS, Alotaibi MR, Attia SM. Assessment of DNA repair efficiency in the inbred BTBR T +tf/J autism spectrum disorder mouse model exposed to gamma rays and treated with JNJ7777120. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 93:189-196. [PMID: 30959085 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2018] [Revised: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Information regarding DNA repair in autism is limited to a few studies, which have reported inconsistent results. Therefore, we designed a study to determine whether DNA repair efficiency is altered in autism and to investigate whether the H4 ligand JNJ7777120 can enhance DNA repair efficiency in BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) mice; we also attempted to elucidate the mechanism(s) underlying this amelioration. Evaluation of DNA damage using the comet assay on bone marrow cells showed increased levels of DNA damage in BTBR mice compared with age-matched control C57BL/6J mice. Conversely, BTBR animals pretreated with 20 mg/kg JNJ7777120 for five days exhibited significant decreases in DNA damage compared with that of control BTBR mice. Our results also indicated higher sensitivity of BTBR mice exposed to gamma rays to DNA damage generation. A marked difference was observed between BTBR and C57BL/6J mice at different sampling times after irradiation, with BTBR mice showing a higher percentage of DNA damage and slower repair rate than that of C57BL/6J mice. JNJ7777120 led to enhanced repair of the DNA damage induced by radiation when administered to BTBR mice five days prior to radiation. Additionally, oxidative stress in BTBR mice was significantly elevated with a reduced GSH/GSSG ratio; significant amelioration was subsequently observed in JNJ7777120-pretreated BTBR mice. Furthermore, repetitive behaviors were also attenuated in BTBR mice by JNJ7777120 treatment without altering locomotor activity. Our results suggest that JNJ7777120 can be developed for use as a therapeutic agent to enhance DNA repair efficiency in autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- H A Al-Mazroua
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - H A Alomar
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - S F Ahmad
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - M S A Attia
- College of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - A Nadeem
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - S A Bakheet
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - A M S Alsaad
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - M R Alotaibi
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - S M Attia
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
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14
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Gabrielli AP, Manzardo AM, Butler MG. GeneAnalytics Pathways and Profiling of Shared Autism and Cancer Genes. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20051166. [PMID: 30866437 PMCID: PMC6429377 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20051166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent research revealed that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and cancer may share common genetic architecture, with evidence first reported with the PTEN gene. There are approximately 800 autism genes and 3500 genes associated with cancer. The VarElect phenotype program was chosen to identify genes jointly associated with both conditions based on genomic information stored in GeneCards. In total, 138 overlapping genes were then profiled with GeneAnalytics, an analysis pathway enrichment tool utilizing existing gene datasets to identify shared pathways, mechanisms, and phenotypes. Profiling the shared gene data identified seven significantly associated diseases of 2310 matched disease entities with factors implicated in shared pathology of ASD and cancer. These included 371 super-pathways of 455 matched entities reflecting major cell-signaling pathways and metabolic disturbances (e.g., CREB, AKT, GPCR); 153 gene ontology (GO) biological processes of 226 matched processes; 41 GO molecular functions of 78 matched functions; and 145 phenotypes of 232 matched phenotypes. The entries were scored and ranked using a matching algorithm that takes into consideration genomic expression, sequencing, and microarray datasets with cell or tissue specificity. Shared mechanisms may lead to the identification of a common pathology and a better understanding of causation with potential treatment options to lessen the severity of ASD-related symptoms in those affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander P Gabrielli
- Departments of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences & Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
| | - Ann M Manzardo
- Departments of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences & Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
| | - Merlin G Butler
- Departments of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences & Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
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15
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So HC, Wong YH. Implications of de novo mutations in guiding drug discovery: A study of four neuropsychiatric disorders. J Psychiatr Res 2019; 110:83-92. [PMID: 30597425 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Revised: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have suggested an important role of de novo mutations (DNMs) in neuropsychiatric disorders. As DNMs are not subject to elimination due to evolutionary pressure, they are likely to have greater disruptions on biological functions. While a number of sequencing studies have been performed on neuropsychiatric disorders, the implications of DNMs for drug discovery remain to be explored. In this study, we employed a gene-set analysis approach to address this issue. Four neuropsychiatric disorders were studied, including schizophrenia (SCZ), autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), intellectual disability (ID) and epilepsy. We first identified gene-sets associated with different drugs, and analyzed whether the gene-set pertaining to each drug overlaps with DNMs more than expected by chance. We also assessed which medication classes are enriched among the prioritized drugs. We discovered that neuropsychiatric drug classes were indeed significantly enriched for DNMs of all four disorders; in particular, antipsychotics and antiepileptics were the most strongly enriched drug classes for SCZ and epilepsy respectively. Interestingly, we revealed enrichment of several unexpected drug classes, such as lipid-lowering agents for SCZ and anti-neoplastic agents. By inspecting individual hits, we also uncovered other interesting drug candidates or mechanisms (e.g. histone deacetylase inhibition and retinoid signaling) that might warrant further investigations. Taken together, this study provided evidence for the usefulness of DNMs in guiding drug discovery or repositioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hon-Cheong So
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China; KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources, Molecular Research of Common Diseases, Kunming Zoology Institute of Zoology, China.
| | - Yui-Hang Wong
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
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16
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Zhuo C, Wang D, Zhou C, Chen C, Li J, Tian H, Li S, Ji F, Liu C, Chen M, Zhang L. Double-Edged Sword of Tumour Suppressor Genes in Schizophrenia. Front Mol Neurosci 2019; 12:1. [PMID: 30809121 PMCID: PMC6379290 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a common psychiatric disorder with polygenetic pathogenesis. Among the many identified candidate genes and loci, the group of tumour suppressor genes has drawn our interest. In this mini-review article, we describe evidence of a correlation between major tumour suppressor genes and SCZ development. Genetic mutations ranging from single nucleotide polymorphisms to large structural alterations have been found in tumour-related genes in patients with SCZ. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation/acetylation and microRNA regulation of tumour suppressor genes, have also been implicated in SCZ. Beyond genetic correlations, we hope to establish causal relationships between tumour suppressor gene function and SCZ risk. Accumulating evidence shows that tumour suppressor genes may mediate cell survival and neural development, both of which contribute to SCZ aetiology. Moreover, converging intracellular signalling pathways indicate a role of tumour suppressor genes in SCZ pathogenesis. Tumour suppressor gene function may mediate a direct link between neural development and function and psychiatric disorders, including SCZ. A deeper understanding of how neural cell development is affected by tumour suppressors may lead to improved anti-psychotic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanjun Zhuo
- Genetics Laboratory, Department of Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, Nankai University Affiliated Anding Hospital, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Psychiatric Genetic Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Jining Medical University, Jining, China.,Department of Psychiatric Genetics, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.,Department of Psychiatry, Wenzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Wenzhou, China
| | - Dawei Wang
- Department of Neuroimaging Laboratory, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Chunhua Zhou
- Department of Pharmacy, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Ce Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Wenzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jie Li
- Genetics Laboratory, Department of Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, Nankai University Affiliated Anding Hospital, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Hongjun Tian
- Genetics Laboratory, Department of Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, Nankai University Affiliated Anding Hospital, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Shen Li
- Genetics Laboratory, Department of Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, Nankai University Affiliated Anding Hospital, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Department of Psychiatric Genetics, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Feng Ji
- Psychiatric Genetic Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Jining Medical University, Jining, China
| | - Chuanxin Liu
- Psychiatric Genetic Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Jining Medical University, Jining, China
| | - Min Chen
- Psychiatric Genetic Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Jining Medical University, Jining, China
| | - Li Zhang
- GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
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17
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Houck AL, Seddighi S, Driver JA. At the Crossroads Between Neurodegeneration and Cancer: A Review of Overlapping Biology and Its Implications. Curr Aging Sci 2018; 11:77-89. [PMID: 29552989 PMCID: PMC6519136 DOI: 10.2174/1874609811666180223154436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Revised: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A growing body of epidemiologic evidence suggests that neurodegenerative diseases occur less frequently in cancer survivors, and vice versa. While unusual, this inverse comorbidity is biologically plausible and could be explained, in part, by the evolutionary tradeoffs made by neurons and cycling cells to optimize the performance of their very different functions. The two cell types utilize the same proteins and pathways in different, and sometimes opposite, ways. However, cancer and neurodegeneration also share many pathophysiological features. OBJECTIVE In this review, we compare three overlapping aspects of neurodegeneration and cancer. METHOD First, we contrast the priorities and tradeoffs of dividing cells and neurons and how these manifest in disease. Second, we consider the hallmarks of biological aging that underlie both neurodegeneration and cancer. Finally, we utilize information from genetic databases to outline specific genes and pathways common to both diseases. CONCLUSION We argue that a detailed understanding of the biologic and genetic relationships between cancer and neurodegeneration can guide future efforts in designing disease-modifying therapeutic interventions. Lastly, strategies that target aging may prevent or delay both conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander L. Houck
- College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Sahba Seddighi
- Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Unit, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jane A. Driver
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Boston Healthcare System and the Division of Aging, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women ‘s Hospital, Harvard Medical School (J.A.D.), Boston, MA, USA
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18
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Fairthorne JC, de Klerk NH, Leonard HM, Whitehouse AJO. Mothers of Children with Autism have Different Rates of Cancer According to the Presence of Intellectual Disability in Their Child. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 46:3106-14. [PMID: 27384537 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-016-2847-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) are neurodevelopmental disorders with strong genetic components. Increasingly, research attention has focused on whether genetic factors conveying susceptibility for these conditions, also influence the risk of other health conditions, such as cancer. We examined the occurrence of hospital admissions and treatment/services for cancer in mothers of children with ASD with or without ID compared with other mothers. After linking Western Australian administrative health databases, we used Cox regression to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) of any hospitalisations and treatment/services for cancer in these groups of mothers. Mothers of children with ASD without ID had greater risk of admissions for cancer (HR 1.29 [95 % CI 1.1, 1.7]), and for treatment/services in particular (HR 1.41 [95 % CI 1.0, 2.0]), than mothers of children with no ASD/ID, while mothers of children with ASD with ID were no more likely to have a cancer-related hospital admission than other mothers. Mothers of children with autism without ID had increased risk of cancer, which may relate to common genetic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer C Fairthorne
- Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. .,Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
| | | | - Helen M Leonard
- Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
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19
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Godar DE, Merrill SJ. Untangling the most probable role for vitamin D 3 in autism. DERMATO-ENDOCRINOLOGY 2017; 9:e1387702. [PMID: 29484101 PMCID: PMC5821151 DOI: 10.1080/19381980.2017.1387702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Revised: 09/02/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies indicate an important role for vitamin D3 in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), although its mechanism is not completely understood. The most puzzling aspect of ASD is that identical twins, who share identical DNA, do not have 100% concordance rates (∼88% for identical and ∼31% for fraternal twins). These findings provide major clues into the etiology: ASD must involve an environmental factor present in the prenatal milieu that both identical twins are not always exposed to because they do not always share it (i.e., placentas). Combined with the exponential increasing rates of ASD around the world, these observations suggest a contagious disease is probably transferred to the fetus via the placenta becoming infected by a cervical virus. Vitamin D3 boosts immune responses clearing viral infections and increases serotonin and estrogen brain levels. Here we review the different roles and untangle the most probable one vitamin D3 plays in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dianne E. Godar
- Body of Knowledge, Inc., Division of Human Disease Research Worldwide, Racine, WI, USA
| | - Stephen J. Merrill
- Marquette University, Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, Milwaukee, WI, USA
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20
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Mosca E, Bersanelli M, Gnocchi M, Moscatelli M, Castellani G, Milanesi L, Mezzelani A. Network Diffusion-Based Prioritization of Autism Risk Genes Identifies Significantly Connected Gene Modules. Front Genet 2017; 8:129. [PMID: 28993790 PMCID: PMC5622537 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is marked by a strong genetic heterogeneity, which is underlined by the low overlap between ASD risk gene lists proposed in different studies. In this context, molecular networks can be used to analyze the results of several genome-wide studies in order to underline those network regions harboring genetic variations associated with ASD, the so-called "disease modules." In this work, we used a recent network diffusion-based approach to jointly analyze multiple ASD risk gene lists. We defined genome-scale prioritizations of human genes in relation to ASD genes from multiple studies, found significantly connected gene modules associated with ASD and predicted genes functionally related to ASD risk genes. Most of them play a role in synapsis and neuronal development and function; many are related to syndromes that can be in comorbidity with ASD and the remaining are involved in epigenetics, cell cycle, cell adhesion and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore Mosca
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Segrate, Italy
| | - Matteo Bersanelli
- Applied Physics Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Gnocchi
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Segrate, Italy
| | - Marco Moscatelli
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Segrate, Italy
| | - Gastone Castellani
- Applied Physics Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Luciano Milanesi
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Segrate, Italy
| | - Alessandra Mezzelani
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Segrate, Italy
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21
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Connecting the dots: Overlaps between autism and cancer suggest possible common mechanisms regarding signaling pathways related to metabolic alterations. Med Hypotheses 2017; 103:118-123. [PMID: 28571796 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2017.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Revised: 04/24/2017] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Common features between autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and cancer have been discerned using methodologies from a number of disciplines, including genetics, bioinformatics and epidemiological studies. To understand such apparent overlaps between these two conditions and the mechanisms that may underlie these linkages, it is important to look at their multi-level systems context. Here we discuss ASDs and cancer linkages across levels ranging from genes to pathways and systems, as well as from the vantage points of mechanism and of clinical and epidemiological studies. Review of existing findings yielded evidence that ASDs and cancer overlap extensively in signal transduction pathways that are involved in metabolic processes. We hypothesize that further studies focusing on illuminating the relationships between ASDs and cancer, specifically with regard to signaling pathways that regulate metabolic activities, could help shed new insight on these conditions and develop treatment strategies that, by targeting underlying mechanisms, may be more efficient and effective for both conditions.
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22
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Rizos E, Siafakas N, Skourti E, Papageorgiou C, Tsoporis J, Parker TH, Christodoulou DI, Spandidos DA, Katsantoni E, Zoumpourlis V. miRNAs and their role in the correlation between schizophrenia and cancer (Review). Mol Med Rep 2016; 14:4942-4946. [PMID: 27748930 PMCID: PMC5355746 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2016.5853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2016] [Accepted: 09/30/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) and cancer (Ca) have a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes and a complex biological background, implicating a large number of genetic and epigenetic factors. SZ is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder signified by an increase in the expression of apoptotic molecular signals, whereas Ca is conversely characterized by an increase in appropriate molecular signaling that stimulates uncontrolled cell proliferation. The rather low risk of developing Ca in patients suffering from SZ is a hypothesis that is still under debate. Recent evidence has indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs), a large group of small non-coding oligonoucleotides, may play a significant role in the development of Ca and major psychiatric disorders, such as SZ, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorders, suicidality and depression, through their interference with the expression of multiple genes. For instance, the possible role of let-7, miR-98 and miR-183 as biomarkers for Ca and SZ was investigated in our previous research studies. Therefore, further investigations on the expression profiles of these regulatory, small RNA molecules and the molecular pathways through which they exert their control may provide a plausible explanation as to whether there is a correlation between psychiatric disorders and low risk of developing Ca.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Rizos
- 2nd Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, University General Hospital 'ATTIKON', Athens 124 62, Greece
| | - N Siafakas
- Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, University General Hospital 'ATTIKON', Athens 124 62, Greece
| | - E Skourti
- Unit of Biomedical Applications, Institute of Biology, Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 116 35, Greece
| | - C Papageorgiou
- 1st Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, 'Eginition' Hospital, Athens 115 28, Greece
| | - J Tsoporis
- Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Centre, Institute of Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada
| | - T H Parker
- Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Centre, Institute of Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada
| | - D I Christodoulou
- Unit of Biomedical Applications, Institute of Biology, Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 116 35, Greece
| | - D A Spandidos
- Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003, Greece
| | - E Katsantoni
- Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Hematology‑Oncology Division, Athens 115 27, Greece
| | - V Zoumpourlis
- Unit of Biomedical Applications, Institute of Biology, Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 116 35, Greece
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23
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DNA Damage and Repair in Schizophrenia and Autism: Implications for Cancer Comorbidity and Beyond. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17:ijms17060856. [PMID: 27258260 PMCID: PMC4926390 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17060856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Revised: 05/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are multi-factorial and multi-symptomatic psychiatric disorders, each affecting 0.5%-1% of the population worldwide. Both are characterized by impairments in cognitive functions, emotions and behaviour, and they undermine basic human processes of perception and judgment. Despite decades of extensive research, the aetiologies of schizophrenia and ASD are still poorly understood and remain a significant challenge to clinicians and scientists alike. Adding to this unsatisfactory situation, patients with schizophrenia or ASD often develop a variety of peripheral and systemic disturbances, one prominent example of which is cancer, which shows a direct (but sometimes inverse) comorbidity in people affected with schizophrenia and ASD. Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of cells, the molecular origin of which derives from mutations of a cell's DNA sequence. To counteract such mutations and repair damaged DNA, cells are equipped with intricate DNA repair pathways. Oxidative stress, oxidative DNA damage, and deficient repair of oxidative DNA lesions repair have been proposed to contribute to the development of schizophrenia and ASD. In this article, we summarize the current evidence of cancer comorbidity in these brain disorders and discuss the putative roles of oxidative stress, DNA damage and DNA repair in the aetiopathology of schizophrenia and ASD.
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24
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Darbro BW, Singh R, Zimmerman MB, Mahajan VB, Bassuk AG. Autism Linked to Increased Oncogene Mutations but Decreased Cancer Rate. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0149041. [PMID: 26934580 PMCID: PMC4774916 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one phenotypic aspect of many monogenic, hereditary cancer syndromes. Pleiotropic effects of cancer genes on the autism phenotype could lead to repurposing of oncology medications to treat this increasingly prevalent neurodevelopmental condition for which there is currently no treatment. To explore this hypothesis we sought to discover whether autistic patients more often have rare coding, single-nucleotide variants within tumor suppressor and oncogenes and whether autistic patients are more often diagnosed with neoplasms. Exome-sequencing data from the ARRA Autism Sequencing Collaboration was compared to that of a control cohort from the Exome Variant Server database revealing that rare, coding variants within oncogenes were enriched for in the ARRA ASD cohort (p<1.0 x 10(-8)). In contrast, variants were not significantly enriched in tumor suppressor genes. Phenotypically, children and adults with ASD exhibited a protective effect against cancer, with a frequency of 1.3% vs. 3.9% (p<0.001), but the protective effect decreased with age. The odds ratio of neoplasm for those with ASD relative to controls was 0.06 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.19; p<0.0001) in the 0 to 14 age group; 0.35 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.87; p = 0.024) in the 15 to 29 age group; 0.41 (95% CI: 0.15, 1.17; p = 0.095) in the 30 to 54 age group; and 0.49 (95% CI: 0.14, 1.74; p = 0.267) in those 55 and older. Both males and females demonstrated the protective effect. These findings suggest that defects in cellular proliferation, and potentially senescence, might influence both autism and neoplasm, and already approved drugs targeting oncogenic pathways might also have therapeutic value for treating autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin W. Darbro
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- * E-mail: (BD); (AB)
| | - Rohini Singh
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - M. Bridget Zimmerman
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Vinit B. Mahajan
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Alexander G. Bassuk
- Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- University of Iowa eHealth and eNovation Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
- * E-mail: (BD); (AB)
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Crawley JN, Heyer WD, LaSalle JM. Autism and Cancer Share Risk Genes, Pathways, and Drug Targets. Trends Genet 2016; 32:139-146. [PMID: 26830258 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2016.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2015] [Revised: 12/20/2015] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, diagnosed behaviorally by social and communication deficits, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests. Recent genome-wide exome sequencing has revealed extensive overlap in risk genes for autism and for cancer. Understanding the genetic commonalities of autism(s) and cancer(s), with a focus on mechanistic pathways, could lead to repurposed therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline N Crawley
- MIND Institute, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
| | - Wolf-Dietrich Heyer
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Janine M LaSalle
- MIND Institute, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA; Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA; Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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26
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Neupane M, Clark AP, Landini S, Birkbak NJ, Eklund AC, Lim E, Culhane AC, Barry WT, Schumacher SE, Beroukhim R, Szallasi Z, Vidal M, Hill DE, Silver DP. MECP2 Is a Frequently Amplified Oncogene with a Novel Epigenetic Mechanism That Mimics the Role of Activated RAS in Malignancy. Cancer Discov 2015; 6:45-58. [PMID: 26546296 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-15-0341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED An unbiased genome-scale screen for unmutated genes that drive cancer growth when overexpressed identified methyl cytosine-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) binding protein 2 (MECP2) as a novel oncogene. MECP2 resides in a region of the X-chromosome that is significantly amplified across 18% of cancers, and many cancer cell lines have amplified, overexpressed MECP2 and are dependent on MECP2 expression for growth. MECP2 copy-number gain and RAS family member alterations are mutually exclusive in several cancer types. The MECP2 splicing isoforms activate the major growth factor pathways targeted by activated RAS, the MAPK and PI3K pathways. MECP2 rescued the growth of a KRAS(G12C)-addicted cell line after KRAS downregulation, and activated KRAS rescues the growth of an MECP2-addicted cell line after MECP2 downregulation. MECP2 binding to the epigenetic modification 5-hydroxymethylcytosine is required for efficient transformation. These observations suggest that MECP2 is a commonly amplified oncogene with an unusual epigenetic mode of action. SIGNIFICANCE MECP2 is a commonly amplified oncogene in human malignancies with a unique epigenetic mechanism of action. Cancer Discov; 6(1); 45-58. ©2015 AACR.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manish Neupane
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Allison P Clark
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Serena Landini
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Nicolai J Birkbak
- Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Aron C Eklund
- Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Elgene Lim
- The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Aedin C Culhane
- Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - William T Barry
- Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Steven E Schumacher
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Rameen Beroukhim
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Zoltan Szallasi
- Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark. Children's Hospital Informatics Program at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Marc Vidal
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Center for Cancer Systems Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - David E Hill
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Center for Cancer Systems Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Daniel P Silver
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Center for Cancer Systems Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Crespi BJ, Go MC. Diametrical diseases reflect evolutionary-genetic tradeoffs: Evidence from psychiatry, neurology, rheumatology, oncology and immunology. Evol Med Public Health 2015; 2015:216-53. [PMID: 26354001 PMCID: PMC4600345 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eov021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Tradeoffs centrally mediate the expression of human adaptations. We propose that tradeoffs also influence the prevalence and forms of human maladaptation manifest in disease. By this logic, increased risk for one set of diseases commonly engenders decreased risk for another, diametric, set of diseases. We describe evidence for such diametric sets of diseases from epidemiological, genetic and molecular studies in four clinical domains: (i) psychiatry (autism vs psychotic-affective conditions), (ii) rheumatology (osteoarthritis vs osteoporosis), (iii) oncology and neurology (cancer vs neurodegenerative disorders) and (iv) immunology (autoimmunity vs infectious disease). Diametric disorders are important to recognize because genotypes or environmental factors that increase risk for one set of disorders protect from opposite disorders, thereby providing novel and direct insights into disease causes, prevention and therapy. Ascertaining the mechanisms that underlie disease-related tradeoffs should also indicate means of circumventing or alleviating them, and thus reducing the incidence and impacts of human disease in a more general way.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew C Go
- Department of Biological Sciences; Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6 Present address: Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 109 Davenport Hall, 607 S Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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Croen LA, Zerbo O, Qian Y, Massolo ML, Rich S, Sidney S, Kripke C. The health status of adults on the autism spectrum. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2015; 19:814-23. [DOI: 10.1177/1362361315577517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 534] [Impact Index Per Article: 59.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Compared to the general pediatric population, children with autism have higher rates of co-occurring medical and psychiatric illnesses, yet very little is known about the general health status of adults with autism. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of psychiatric and medical conditions among a large, diverse, insured population of adults with autism in the United States. Participants were adult members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California enrolled from 2008 to 2012. Autism spectrum disorder cases ( N = 1507) were adults with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses (International Classification of Diseases-9-Clinical Modification codes 299.0, 299.8, 299.9) recorded in medical records on at least two separate occasions. Controls ( N = 15,070) were adults without any autism spectrum disorder diagnoses sampled at a 10:1 ratio and frequency matched to cases on sex and age. Adults with autism had significantly increased rates of all major psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and suicide attempts. Nearly all medical conditions were significantly more common in adults with autism, including immune conditions, gastrointestinal and sleep disorders, seizure, obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. Rarer conditions, such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease, were also significantly more common among adults with autism. Future research is needed to understand the social, healthcare access, and biological factors underlying these observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa A Croen
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California—Oakland, USA
| | | | - Yinge Qian
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California—Oakland, USA
| | | | - Steve Rich
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California—Santa Rosa, USA
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Chiang HL, Liu CJ, Hu YW, Chen SC, Hu LY, Shen CC, Yeh CM, Chen TJ, Gau SSF. Risk of cancer in children, adolescents, and young adults with autistic disorder. J Pediatr 2015; 166:418-23.e1. [PMID: 25453246 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.10.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2014] [Revised: 09/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/13/2014] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate whether individuals with autism have an increased risk for cancer relative to the general population. STUDY DESIGN We enrolled patients with autistic disorder from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database in years 1997-2011. A total of 8438 patients diagnosed with autism were retrieved from the Registry for Catastrophic Illness Patients database. The diagnosis of cancers was also based on the certificate of catastrophic illness, which requires histological confirmation. The risk of cancer among the autism cohort was determined with a standardized incidence ratio (SIR). RESULTS During the observation period, cancer occurred in 20 individuals with autism, which was significantly higher than a total number of expected cancers with a SIR estimate of 1.94 (95% CI 1.18-2.99). The number of cancer in males was greater than the expected number with a SIR of 1.95 (1.11-3.16), but no excess risk was found for females with a SIR of 1.91 (0.52-4.88). Cancer developed more than expected in individuals age 15-19 years with the SIR of 3.58 (1.44-7.38), but did not differ in other age range groups. The number of cancers of genitourinary system was significantly in excess of the expected number (SIR 4.15; 95% CI 1.13-10.65), and increased risk was found in ovarian cancer with SIR of 9.21 (1.12-33.29). CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrated that patients with autistic disorder have an increased risk of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huey-Ling Chiang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Jen Liu
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Wen Hu
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Cancer Center, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - San-Chi Chen
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Li-Yu Hu
- Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Che Shen
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiayi Branch, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan
| | - Chiu-Mei Yeh
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tzeng-Ji Chen
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Co-morditities of environmental diseases: A common cause. Interdiscip Toxicol 2014; 7:117-22. [PMID: 26109888 PMCID: PMC4434104 DOI: 10.2478/intox-2014-0016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Revised: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 08/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The global pandemic of non-vector borne environmental diseases may, in large part, be attributed to chronic exposures to ever increasing levels of exogenous lipophilic chemicals. These chemicals include persistent organic pollutants, semi-volatile compounds and low molecular weight hydrocarbons. Such chemicals facilitate the sequential absorption of otherwise not absorbed more toxic hydrophilic species that attack numerous body organs and systems, leading to environmental disease. Co-morbidities of non-communicable environmental diseases are alarmingly high, with as many as half of all individuals chronically ill with two or more diseases. Co-morbidity is to be anticipated, since all of the causative chemicals identified have independently been shown to trigger the individual diseases.
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Correia C, Oliveira G, Vicente AM. Protein interaction networks reveal novel autism risk genes within GWAS statistical noise. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112399. [PMID: 25409314 PMCID: PMC4237351 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2013] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) thus far met limited success in the identification of common risk variants, consistent with the notion that variants with small individual effects cannot be detected individually in single SNP analysis. To further capture disease risk gene information from ASD association studies, we applied a network-based strategy to the Autism Genome Project (AGP) and the Autism Genetics Resource Exchange GWAS datasets, combining family-based association data with Human Protein-Protein interaction (PPI) data. Our analysis showed that autism-associated proteins at higher than conventional levels of significance (P<0.1) directly interact more than random expectation and are involved in a limited number of interconnected biological processes, indicating that they are functionally related. The functionally coherent networks generated by this approach contain ASD-relevant disease biology, as demonstrated by an improved positive predictive value and sensitivity in retrieving known ASD candidate genes relative to the top associated genes from either GWAS, as well as a higher gene overlap between the two ASD datasets. Analysis of the intersection between the networks obtained from the two ASD GWAS and six unrelated disease datasets identified fourteen genes exclusively present in the ASD networks. These are mostly novel genes involved in abnormal nervous system phenotypes in animal models, and in fundamental biological processes previously implicated in ASD, such as axon guidance, cell adhesion or cytoskeleton organization. Overall, our results highlighted novel susceptibility genes previously hidden within GWAS statistical "noise" that warrant further analysis for causal variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Correia
- Departamento de Promoção da Saúde e Doenças não Transmissíveis, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, 1649-016 Lisboa, Portugal
- Center for Biodiversity, Functional & Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Guiomar Oliveira
- Unidade Neurodesenvolvimento e Autismo, Centro de Desenvolvimento, Hospital Pediátrico (HP) do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra (CHUC), 3000-602 Coimbra, Portugal
- Centro de Investigação e Formação Clinica do HP-CHUC, 3000-602 Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Astrid M. Vicente
- Departamento de Promoção da Saúde e Doenças não Transmissíveis, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, 1649-016 Lisboa, Portugal
- Center for Biodiversity, Functional & Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal
- * E-mail:
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Goriely A, McGrath JJ, Hultman CM, Wilkie AOM, Malaspina D. "Selfish spermatogonial selection": a novel mechanism for the association between advanced paternal age and neurodevelopmental disorders. Am J Psychiatry 2013; 170:599-608. [PMID: 23639989 PMCID: PMC4001324 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12101352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
There is robust evidence from epidemiological studies that the offspring of older fathers have an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism. The authors present a novel mechanism that may contribute to this association. Because the male germ cell undergoes many more cell divisions across the reproductive age range, copy errors taking place in the paternal germline are associated with de novo mutations in the offspring of older men. Recently it has been recognized that somatic mutations in male germ cells that modify proliferation through dysregulation of the RAS protein pathway can lead to within-testis expansion of mutant clonal lines. First identified in association with rare disorders related to paternal age (e.g., Apert syndrome, achondroplasia), this process is known as "selfish spermatogonial selection." This mechanism favors propagation of germ cells carrying pathogenic mutations, increasingly skews the mutational profile of sperm as men age, and enriches de novo mutations in the offspring of older fathers that preferentially affect specific cellular signaling pathways. This mechanism not only offers a parsimonious explanation for the association between advanced paternal age and various neurodevelopmental disorders but also provides insights into the genetic architecture (role of de novo mutations), neurobiological correlates (altered cell cycle), and some epidemiological features of these disorders. The authors outline hypotheses to test this model. Given the secular changes for delayed parenthood in most societies, this hypothesis has important public health implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Goriely
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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Liu DZ, Ander BP. Cell cycle inhibition without disruption of neurogenesis is a strategy for treatment of aberrant cell cycle diseases: an update. ScientificWorldJournal 2012; 2012:491737. [PMID: 22547985 PMCID: PMC3323905 DOI: 10.1100/2012/491737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2011] [Accepted: 11/17/2011] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Since publishing our earlier report describing a strategy for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases by inhibiting the cell cycle and without disrupting neurogenesis (Liu et al. 2010), we now update and extend this strategy to applications in the treatment of cancers as well. Here, we put forth the concept of "aberrant cell cycle diseases" to include both cancer and CNS diseases, the two unrelated disease types on the surface, by focusing on a common mechanism in each aberrant cell cycle reentry. In this paper, we also summarize the pharmacological approaches that interfere with classical cell cycle molecules and mitogenic pathways to block the cell cycle of tumor cells (in treatment of cancer) as well as to block the cell cycle of neurons (in treatment of CNS diseases). Since cell cycle inhibition can also block proliferation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and thus impair brain neurogenesis leading to cognitive deficits, we propose that future strategies aimed at cell cycle inhibition in treatment of aberrant cell cycle diseases (i.e., cancers or CNS diseases) should be designed with consideration of the important side effects on normal neurogenesis and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da-Zhi Liu
- Department of Neurology and the MIND Institute, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
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