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Griffith EC, West AE, Greenberg ME. Neuronal enhancers fine-tune adaptive circuit plasticity. Neuron 2024:S0896-6273(24)00574-9. [PMID: 39208805 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 07/22/2024] [Accepted: 08/06/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Neuronal activity-regulated gene expression plays a crucial role in sculpting neural circuits that underpin adaptive brain function. Transcriptional enhancers are now recognized as key components of gene regulation that orchestrate spatiotemporally precise patterns of gene transcription. We propose that the dynamics of enhancer activation uniquely position these genomic elements to finely tune activity-dependent cellular plasticity. Enhancer specificity and modularity can be exploited to gain selective genetic access to specific cell states, and the precise modulation of target gene expression within restricted cellular contexts enabled by targeted enhancer manipulation allows for fine-grained evaluation of gene function. Mounting evidence also suggests that enduring stimulus-induced changes in enhancer states can modify target gene activation upon restimulation, thereby contributing to a form of cell-wide metaplasticity. We advocate for focused exploration of activity-dependent enhancer function to gain new insight into the mechanisms underlying brain plasticity and cognitive dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric C Griffith
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anne E West
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
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2
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Chapman G, Determan J, Jetter H, Kaushik K, Prakasam R, Kroll KL. Defining cis-regulatory elements and transcription factors that control human cortical interneuron development. iScience 2024; 27:109967. [PMID: 38827400 PMCID: PMC11140214 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Although human cortical interneurons (cINs) are a minority population in the cerebral cortex, disruption of interneuron development is a frequent contributor to neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we utilized a model for deriving cINs from human embryonic stem cells to profile chromatin state changes and generate an atlas of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) controlling human cIN development. We used these data to define candidate transcription factors (TFs) that may bind these CREs to regulate interneuron progenitor specification. Among these were RFX3 and RFX4, risk genes for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with uncharacterized roles in human neuronal development. Using RFX3 and RFX4 knockdown models, we demonstrated new requirements for both genes in interneuron progenitor specification, with RFX3 deficiency causing precocious neuronal differentiation while RFX4 deficiency instead resulted in cessation of progenitor cell proliferation. Together, this work both defined central features of cis-regulatory control and identified new TF requirements for human interneuron development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gareth Chapman
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Julianna Determan
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Haley Jetter
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Komal Kaushik
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Ramachandran Prakasam
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Kristen L. Kroll
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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3
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Roberts BS, Anderson AG, Partridge EC, Cooper GM, Myers RM. Probabilistic association of differentially expressed genes with cis-regulatory elements. Genome Res 2024; 34:620-632. [PMID: 38631728 PMCID: PMC11146588 DOI: 10.1101/gr.278598.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Differential gene expression in response to perturbations is mediated at least in part by changes in binding of transcription factors (TFs) and other proteins at specific genomic regions. Association of these cis-regulatory elements (CREs) with their target genes is a challenging task that is essential to address many biological and mechanistic questions. Many current approaches rely on chromatin conformation capture techniques or single-cell correlational methods to establish CRE-to-gene associations. These methods can be effective but have limitations, including resolution, gaps in detectable association distances, and cost. As an alternative, we have developed DegCre, a nonparametric method that evaluates correlations between measurements of perturbation-induced differential gene expression and differential regulatory signal at CREs to score possible CRE-to-gene associations. It has several unique features, including the ability to use any type of CRE activity measurement, yield probabilistic scores for CRE-to-gene pairs, and assess CRE-to-gene pairings across a wide range of sequence distances. We apply DegCre to six data sets, each using different perturbations and containing a variety of regulatory signal measurements, including chromatin openness, histone modifications, and TF occupancy. To test their efficacy, we compare DegCre associations to Hi-C loop calls and CRISPR-validated CRE-to-gene associations, establishing good performance by DegCre that is comparable or superior to competing methods. DegCre is a novel approach to the association of CREs to genes from a perturbation-differential perspective, with strengths that are complementary to existing approaches and allow for new insights into gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian S Roberts
- HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama 35806, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama 35899, USA
| | - Ashlyn G Anderson
- HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama 35806, USA
| | | | - Gregory M Cooper
- HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama 35806, USA
| | - Richard M Myers
- HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama 35806, USA
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Gedik H, Peterson R, Chatzinakos C, Dozmorov MG, Vladimirov V, Riley BP, Bacanu SA. A novel multi-omics mendelian randomization method for gene set enrichment and its application to psychiatric disorders. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.04.14.24305811. [PMID: 38699366 PMCID: PMC11065030 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.14.24305811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of psychiatric disorders (PD) yield numerous loci with significant signals, but often do not implicate specific genes. Because GWAS risk loci are enriched in expression/protein/methylation quantitative loci (e/p/mQTL, hereafter xQTL), transcriptome/proteome/methylome-wide association studies (T/P/MWAS, hereafter XWAS) that integrate xQTL and GWAS information, can link GWAS signals to effects on specific genes. To further increase detection power, gene signals are aggregated within relevant gene sets (GS) by performing gene set enrichment (GSE) analyses. Often GSE methods test for enrichment of "signal" genes in curated GS while overlooking their linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, allowing for the possibility of increased false positive rates. Moreover, no GSE tool uses xQTL information to perform mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. To make causal inference on association between PD and GS, we develop a novel MR GSE (MR-GSE) procedure. First, we generate a "synthetic" GWAS for each MSigDB GS by aggregating summary statistics for x-level (mRNA, protein or DNA methylation (DNAm) levels) from the largest xQTL studies available) of genes in a GS. Second, we use synthetic GS GWAS as exposure in a generalized summary-data-based-MR analysis of complex trait outcomes. We applied MR-GSE to GWAS of nine important PD. When applied to the underpowered opioid use disorder GWAS, none of the four analyses yielded any signals, which suggests a good control of false positive rates. For other PD, MR-GSE greatly increased the detection of GO terms signals (2,594) when compared to the commonly used (non-MR) GSE method (286). Some of the findings might be easier to adapt for treatment, e.g., our analyses suggest modest positive effects for supplementation with certain vitamins and/or omega-3 for schizophrenia, bipolar and major depression disorder patients. Similar to other MR methods, when applying MR-GSE researchers should be mindful of the confounding effects of horizontal pleiotropy on statistical inference.
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Ma Y, Bendl J, Hartley BJ, Fullard JF, Abdelaal R, Ho SM, Kosoy R, Gochman P, Rapoport J, Hoffman GE, Brennand KJ, Roussos P. Activity-Dependent Transcriptional Program in NGN2+ Neurons Enriched for Genetic Risk for Brain-Related Disorders. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 95:187-198. [PMID: 37454787 PMCID: PMC10787819 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Converging evidence from large-scale genetic and postmortem studies highlights the role of aberrant neurotransmission and genetic regulation in brain-related disorders. However, identifying neuronal activity-regulated transcriptional programs in the human brain and understanding how changes contribute to disease remain challenging. METHODS To better understand how the activity-dependent regulome contributes to risk for brain-related disorders, we profiled the transcriptomic and epigenomic changes following neuronal depolarization in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived glutamatergic neurons (NGN2) from 6 patients with schizophrenia and 5 control participants. RESULTS Multiomic data integration associated global patterns of chromatin accessibility with gene expression and identified enhancer-promoter interactions in glutamatergic neurons. Within 1 hour of potassium chloride-induced depolarization, independent of diagnosis, glutamatergic neurons displayed substantial activity-dependent changes in the expression of genes regulating synaptic function. Depolarization-induced changes in the regulome revealed significant heritability enrichment for schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease, adding to mounting evidence that sequence variation within activation-dependent regulatory elements contributes to the genetic risk for brain-related disorders. Gene coexpression network analysis elucidated interactions among activity-dependent and disease-associated genes and pointed to a key driver (NAV3) that interacted with multiple genes involved in axon guidance. CONCLUSIONS Overall, we demonstrated that deciphering the activity-dependent regulome in glutamatergic neurons reveals novel targets for advanced diagnosis and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yixuan Ma
- Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Genetics and Genomic Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Jaroslav Bendl
- Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Genetics and Genomic Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Brigham J Hartley
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Black Family Stem Cell Institute, New York, New York
| | - John F Fullard
- Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Genetics and Genomic Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Rawan Abdelaal
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Black Family Stem Cell Institute, New York, New York
| | - Seok-Man Ho
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Black Family Stem Cell Institute, New York, New York
| | - Roman Kosoy
- Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Genetics and Genomic Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Peter Gochman
- Childhood Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Judith Rapoport
- Childhood Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Gabriel E Hoffman
- Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Genetics and Genomic Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Kristen J Brennand
- Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Black Family Stem Cell Institute, New York, New York.
| | - Panos Roussos
- Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Genetics and Genomic Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Center for Dementia Research, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York; Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, New York.
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6
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Phillips RA, Wan E, Tuscher JJ, Reid D, Drake OR, Ianov L, Day JJ. Temporally specific gene expression and chromatin remodeling programs regulate a conserved Pdyn enhancer. eLife 2023; 12:RP89993. [PMID: 37938195 PMCID: PMC10631760 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89993] [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] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuronal and behavioral adaptations to novel stimuli are regulated by temporally dynamic waves of transcriptional activity, which shape neuronal function and guide enduring plasticity. Neuronal activation promotes expression of an immediate early gene (IEG) program comprised primarily of activity-dependent transcription factors, which are thought to regulate a second set of late response genes (LRGs). However, while the mechanisms governing IEG activation have been well studied, the molecular interplay between IEGs and LRGs remain poorly characterized. Here, we used transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility profiling to define activity-driven responses in rat striatal neurons. As expected, neuronal depolarization generated robust changes in gene expression, with early changes (1 hr) enriched for inducible transcription factors and later changes (4 hr) enriched for neuropeptides, synaptic proteins, and ion channels. Remarkably, while depolarization did not induce chromatin remodeling after 1 hr, we found broad increases in chromatin accessibility at thousands of sites in the genome at 4 hr after neuronal stimulation. These putative regulatory elements were found almost exclusively at non-coding regions of the genome, and harbored consensus motifs for numerous activity-dependent transcription factors such as AP-1. Furthermore, blocking protein synthesis prevented activity-dependent chromatin remodeling, suggesting that IEG proteins are required for this process. Targeted analysis of LRG loci identified a putative enhancer upstream of Pdyn (prodynorphin), a gene encoding an opioid neuropeptide implicated in motivated behavior and neuropsychiatric disease states. CRISPR-based functional assays demonstrated that this enhancer is both necessary and sufficient for Pdyn transcription. This regulatory element is also conserved at the human PDYN locus, where its activation is sufficient to drive PDYN transcription in human cells. These results suggest that IEGs participate in chromatin remodeling at enhancers and identify a conserved enhancer that may act as a therapeutic target for brain disorders involving dysregulation of Pdyn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Phillips
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUnited States
| | - Ethan Wan
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUnited States
| | - Jennifer J Tuscher
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUnited States
| | - David Reid
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUnited States
| | - Olivia R Drake
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUnited States
| | - Lara Ianov
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUnited States
- Civitan International Research Center, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUnited States
| | - Jeremy J Day
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamUnited States
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Zheng X, Wu B, Liu Y, Simmons SK, Kim K, Clarke GS, Ashiq A, Park J, Wang Z, Tong L, Wang Q, Xu X, Levin JZ, Jin X. Massively parallel in vivo Perturb-seq reveals cell type-specific transcriptional networks in cortical development. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.18.558077. [PMID: 37790302 PMCID: PMC10542124 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.18.558077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Systematic analysis of gene function across diverse cell types in vivo is hindered by two challenges: obtaining sufficient cells from live tissues and accurately identifying each cell's perturbation in high-throughput single-cell assays. Leveraging AAV's versatile cell type tropism and high labeling capacity, we expanded the resolution and scale of in vivo CRISPR screens: allowing phenotypic analysis at single-cell resolution across a multitude of cell types in the embryonic brain, adult brain, and peripheral nervous system. We undertook extensive tests of 86 AAV serotypes, combined with a transposon system, to substantially amplify labeling and accelerate in vivo gene delivery from weeks to days. Using this platform, we performed an in utero genetic screen as proof-of-principle and identified pleiotropic regulatory networks of Foxg1 in cortical development, including Layer 6 corticothalamic neurons where it tightly controls distinct networks essential for cell fate specification. Notably, our platform can label >6% of cerebral cells, surpassing the current state-of-the-art efficacy at <0.1% (mediated by lentivirus), and achieve analysis of over 30,000 cells in one experiment, thus enabling massively parallel in vivo Perturb-seq. Compatible with various perturbation techniques (CRISPRa/i) and phenotypic measurements (single-cell or spatial multi-omics), our platform presents a flexible, modular approach to interrogate gene function across diverse cell types in vivo, connecting gene variants to their causal functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinhe Zheng
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Boli Wu
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Yuejia Liu
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sean K. Simmons
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kwanho Kim
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Grace S. Clarke
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Abdullah Ashiq
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Joshua Park
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Zhilin Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Liqi Tong
- Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Qizhao Wang
- Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Xiangmin Xu
- Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Joshua Z. Levin
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Xin Jin
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA, USA
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8
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Phillips RA, Wan E, Tuscher JJ, Reid D, Drake OR, Ianov L, Day JJ. Temporally specific gene expression and chromatin remodeling programs regulate a conserved Pdyn enhancer. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.02.543489. [PMID: 37333110 PMCID: PMC10274686 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.02.543489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Neuronal and behavioral adaptations to novel stimuli are regulated by temporally dynamic waves of transcriptional activity, which shape neuronal function and guide enduring plasticity. Neuronal activation promotes expression of an immediate early gene (IEG) program comprised primarily of activity-dependent transcription factors, which are thought to regulate a second set of late response genes (LRGs). However, while the mechanisms governing IEG activation have been well studied, the molecular interplay between IEGs and LRGs remain poorly characterized. Here, we used transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility profiling to define activity-driven responses in rat striatal neurons. As expected, neuronal depolarization generated robust changes in gene expression, with early changes (1 h) enriched for inducible transcription factors and later changes (4 h) enriched for neuropeptides, synaptic proteins, and ion channels. Remarkably, while depolarization did not induce chromatin remodeling after 1 h, we found broad increases in chromatin accessibility at thousands of sites in the genome at 4 h after neuronal stimulation. These putative regulatory elements were found almost exclusively at non-coding regions of the genome, and harbored consensus motifs for numerous activity-dependent transcription factors such as AP-1. Furthermore, blocking protein synthesis prevented activity-dependent chromatin remodeling, suggesting that IEG proteins are required for this process. Targeted analysis of LRG loci identified a putative enhancer upstream of Pdyn (prodynorphin), a gene encoding an opioid neuropeptide implicated in motivated behavior and neuropsychiatric disease states. CRISPR-based functional assays demonstrated that this enhancer is both necessary and sufficient for Pdyn transcription. This regulatory element is also conserved at the human PDYN locus, where its activation is sufficient to drive PDYN transcription in human cells. These results suggest that IEGs participate in chromatin remodeling at enhancers and identify a conserved enhancer that may act as a therapeutic target for brain disorders involving dysregulation of Pdyn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Phillips
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Ethan Wan
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Jennifer J Tuscher
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - David Reid
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Olivia R Drake
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Lara Ianov
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
- Civitan International Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Jeremy J Day
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
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Gedik H, Nguyen TH, Peterson RE, Chatzinakos C, Vladimirov VI, Riley BP, Bacanu SA. Identifying potential risk genes and pathways for neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders using intermediate molecular mediator information. Front Genet 2023; 14:1191264. [PMID: 37415601 PMCID: PMC10320396 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1191264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders (NPSUDs) have a complex etiology that includes environmental and polygenic risk factors with significant cross-trait genetic correlations. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of NPSUDs yield numerous association signals. However, for most of these regions, we do not yet have a firm understanding of either the specific risk variants or the effects of these variants. Post-GWAS methods allow researchers to use GWAS summary statistics and molecular mediators (transcript, protein, and methylation abundances) infer the effect of these mediators on risk for disorders. One group of post-GWAS approaches is commonly referred to as transcriptome/proteome/methylome-wide association studies, which are abbreviated as T/P/MWAS (or collectively as XWAS). Since these approaches use biological mediators, the multiple testing burden is reduced to the number of genes (∼20,000) instead of millions of GWAS SNPs, which leads to increased signal detection. In this work, our aim is to uncover likely risk genes for NPSUDs by performing XWAS analyses in two tissues-blood and brain. First, to identify putative causal risk genes, we performed an XWAS using the Summary-data-based Mendelian randomization, which uses GWAS summary statistics, reference xQTL data, and a reference LD panel. Second, given the large comorbidities among NPSUDs and the shared cis-xQTLs between blood and the brain, we improved XWAS signal detection for underpowered analyses by performing joint concordance analyses between XWAS results i) across the two tissues and ii) across NPSUDs. All XWAS signals i) were adjusted for heterogeneity in dependent instruments (HEIDI) (non-causality) p-values and ii) used to test for pathway enrichment. The results suggest that there were widely shared gene/protein signals within the major histocompatibility complex region on chromosome 6 (BTN3A2 and C4A) and elsewhere in the genome (FURIN, NEK4, RERE, and ZDHHC5). The identification of putative molecular genes and pathways underlying risk may offer new targets for therapeutic development. Our study revealed an enrichment of XWAS signals in vitamin D and omega-3 gene sets. So, including vitamin D and omega-3 in treatment plans may have a modest but beneficial effect on patients with bipolar disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huseyin Gedik
- Integrative Life Sciences, Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Tan Hoang Nguyen
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Roseann E. Peterson
- Institute for Genomics in Health, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY, United States
| | - Christos Chatzinakos
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Vladimir I. Vladimirov
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Arizona Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Brien P. Riley
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Silviu-Alin Bacanu
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
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10
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Tomkova M, Tomek J, Chow J, McPherson JD, Segal DJ, Hormozdiari F. Dr.Nod: computational framework for discovery of regulatory non-coding drivers in tissue-matched distal regulatory elements. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:e23. [PMID: 36625266 PMCID: PMC9976879 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The discovery of cancer driver mutations is a fundamental goal in cancer research. While many cancer driver mutations have been discovered in the protein-coding genome, research into potential cancer drivers in the non-coding regions showed limited success so far. Here, we present a novel comprehensive framework Dr.Nod for detection of non-coding cis-regulatory candidate driver mutations that are associated with dysregulated gene expression using tissue-matched enhancer-gene annotations. Applying the framework to data from over 1500 tumours across eight tissues revealed a 4.4-fold enrichment of candidate driver mutations in regulatory regions of known cancer driver genes. An overarching conclusion that emerges is that the non-coding driver mutations contribute to cancer by significantly altering transcription factor binding sites, leading to upregulation of tissue-matched oncogenes and down-regulation of tumour-suppressor genes. Interestingly, more than half of the detected cancer-promoting non-coding regulatory driver mutations are over 20 kb distant from the cancer-associated genes they regulate. Our results show the importance of tissue-matched enhancer-gene maps, functional impact of mutations, and complex background mutagenesis model for the prediction of non-coding regulatory drivers. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that non-coding mutations in enhancers play a previously underappreciated role in cancer and dysregulation of clinically relevant target genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marketa Tomkova
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.,Ludwig Cancer Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7DQ, UK.,UC Davis Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jakub Tomek
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Julie Chow
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - John D McPherson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - David J Segal
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.,UC Davis Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.,UC Davis MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Fereydoun Hormozdiari
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.,UC Davis Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.,UC Davis MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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11
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Duffy EE, Finander B, Choi G, Carter AC, Pritisanac I, Alam A, Luria V, Karger A, Phu W, Sherman MA, Assad EG, Pajarillo N, Khitun A, Crouch EE, Ganesh S, Chen J, Berger B, Sestan N, O'Donnell-Luria A, Huang EJ, Griffith EC, Forman-Kay JD, Moses AM, Kalish BT, Greenberg ME. Developmental dynamics of RNA translation in the human brain. Nat Neurosci 2022; 25:1353-1365. [PMID: 36171426 PMCID: PMC10198132 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01164-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The precise regulation of gene expression is fundamental to neurodevelopment, plasticity and cognitive function. Although several studies have profiled transcription in the developing human brain, there is a gap in understanding of accompanying translational regulation. In this study, we performed ribosome profiling on 73 human prenatal and adult cortex samples. We characterized the translational regulation of annotated open reading frames (ORFs) and identified thousands of previously unknown translation events, including small ORFs that give rise to human-specific and/or brain-specific microproteins, many of which we independently verified using proteomics. Ribosome profiling in stem-cell-derived human neuronal cultures corroborated these findings and revealed that several neuronal activity-induced non-coding RNAs encode previously undescribed microproteins. Physicochemical analysis of brain microproteins identified a class of proteins that contain arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) repeats and, thus, may be regulators of RNA metabolism. This resource expands the known translational landscape of the human brain and illuminates previously unknown brain-specific protein products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E Duffy
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | | | - GiHun Choi
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ava C Carter
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Iva Pritisanac
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Program in Molecular Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Gottfried Schatz Research Center for Cell Signaling, Metabolism and Aging, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Aqsa Alam
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Victor Luria
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amir Karger
- IT-Research Computing, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William Phu
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maxwell A Sherman
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Elena G Assad
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Naomi Pajarillo
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexandra Khitun
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth E Crouch
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Sanika Ganesh
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jin Chen
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Bonnie Berger
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nenad Sestan
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Anne O'Donnell-Luria
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eric J Huang
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Pathology Service 113B, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Eric C Griffith
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julie D Forman-Kay
- Program in Molecular Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Alan M Moses
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Brian T Kalish
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Paediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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12
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Arjun McKinney A, Petrova R, Panagiotakos G. Calcium and activity-dependent signaling in the developing cerebral cortex. Development 2022; 149:276624. [PMID: 36102617 PMCID: PMC9578689 DOI: 10.1242/dev.198853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Calcium influx can be stimulated by various intra- and extracellular signals to set coordinated gene expression programs into motion. As such, the precise regulation of intracellular calcium represents a nexus between environmental cues and intrinsic genetic programs. Mounting genetic evidence points to a role for the deregulation of intracellular calcium signaling in neuropsychiatric disorders of developmental origin. These findings have prompted renewed enthusiasm for understanding the roles of calcium during normal and dysfunctional prenatal development. In this Review, we describe the fundamental mechanisms through which calcium is spatiotemporally regulated and directs early neurodevelopmental events. We also discuss unanswered questions about intracellular calcium regulation during the emergence of neurodevelopmental disease, and provide evidence that disruption of cell-specific calcium homeostasis and/or redeployment of developmental calcium signaling mechanisms may contribute to adult neurological disorders. We propose that understanding the normal developmental events that build the nervous system will rely on gaining insights into cell type-specific calcium signaling mechanisms. Such an understanding will enable therapeutic strategies targeting calcium-dependent mechanisms to mitigate disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arpana Arjun McKinney
- University of California 1 Graduate Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology , , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California 2 , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
- University of California 3 Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics , , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California 4 , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
| | - Ralitsa Petrova
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California 2 , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
- University of California 3 Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics , , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California 4 , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
| | - Georgia Panagiotakos
- University of California 1 Graduate Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology , , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California 2 , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
- University of California 3 Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics , , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California 4 , San Francisco, CA 94143 , USA
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