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Rijlaarsdam J, Cosin-Tomas M, Schellhas L, Abrishamcar S, Malmberg A, Neumann A, Felix JF, Sunyer J, Gutzkow KB, Grazuleviciene R, Wright J, Kampouri M, Zar HJ, Stein DJ, Heinonen K, Räikkönen K, Lahti J, Hüls A, Caramaschi D, Alemany S, Cecil CAM. DNA methylation and general psychopathology in childhood: an epigenome-wide meta-analysis from the PACE consortium. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:1128-1136. [PMID: 36385171 PMCID: PMC7614743 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01871-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The general psychopathology factor (GPF) has been proposed as a way to capture variance shared between psychiatric symptoms. Despite a growing body of evidence showing both genetic and environmental influences on GPF, the biological mechanisms underlying these influences remain unclear. In the current study, we conducted epigenome-wide meta-analyses to identify both probe- and region-level associations of DNA methylation (DNAm) with school-age general psychopathology in six cohorts from the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) Consortium. DNAm was examined both at birth (cord blood; prospective analysis) and during school-age (peripheral whole blood; cross-sectional analysis) in total samples of N = 2178 and N = 2190, respectively. At school-age, we identified one probe (cg11945228) located in the Bromodomain-containing protein 2 gene (BRD2) that negatively associated with GPF (p = 8.58 × 10-8). We also identified a significant differentially methylated region (DMR) at school-age (p = 1.63 × 10-8), implicating the SHC Adaptor Protein 4 (SHC4) gene and the EP300-interacting inhibitor of differentiation 1 (EID1) gene that have been previously implicated in multiple types of psychiatric disorders in adulthood, including obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder. In contrast, no prospective associations were identified with DNAm at birth. Taken together, results of this study revealed some evidence of an association between DNAm at school-age and GPF. Future research with larger samples is needed to further assess DNAm variation associated with GPF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolien Rijlaarsdam
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/ Psychology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marta Cosin-Tomas
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain.
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
- Centro de investigación biomédica en red en epidemiología y salud pública (ciberesp), Madrid, Spain.
| | - Laura Schellhas
- School of Psychological Science, MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Institute for Sex Research, Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry, University Medical Center Hamburg, Eppendorf, Germany
| | - Sarina Abrishamcar
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Anni Malmberg
- Department of Psychology & Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Janine F Felix
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jordi Sunyer
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de investigación biomédica en red en epidemiología y salud pública (ciberesp), Madrid, Spain
| | - Kristine B Gutzkow
- Division of Climate and Environmental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Oslo, Norway
| | - Regina Grazuleviciene
- Department of Environmental Science, Vytautas Magnus University, 44248, Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - John Wright
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK
| | - Mariza Kampouri
- Department of Social Medicine, University of Crete, Crete, Greece
| | - Heather J Zar
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Dan J Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Kati Heinonen
- Department of Psychology & Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Psychology/ Welfare Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Katri Räikkönen
- Department of Psychology & Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jari Lahti
- Department of Psychology & Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anke Hüls
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Doretta Caramaschi
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Science, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Psychology, , University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Silvia Alemany
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain
- Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Group of Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Charlotte A M Cecil
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/ Psychology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Williams JA, Burgess S, Suckling J, Lalousis PA, Batool F, Griffiths SL, Palmer E, Karwath A, Barsky A, Gkoutos GV, Wood S, Barnes NM, David AS, Donohoe G, Neill JC, Deakin B, Khandaker GM, Upthegrove R. Inflammation and Brain Structure in Schizophrenia and Other Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Mendelian Randomization Study. JAMA Psychiatry 2022; 79:498-507. [PMID: 35353173 PMCID: PMC8968718 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.0407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Importance Previous in vitro and postmortem research suggests that inflammation may lead to structural brain changes via activation of microglia and/or astrocytic dysfunction in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Objective To investigate the relationship between inflammation and changes in brain structures in vivo and to explore a transcriptome-driven functional basis with relevance to mental illness. Design, Setting, and Participants This study used multistage linked analyses, including mendelian randomization (MR), gene expression correlation, and connectivity analyses. A total of 20 688 participants in the UK Biobank, which includes clinical, genomic, and neuroimaging data, and 6 postmortem brains from neurotypical individuals in the Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA), including RNA microarray data. Data were extracted in February 2021 and analyzed between March and October 2021. Exposures Genetic variants regulating levels and activity of circulating interleukin 1 (IL-1), IL-2, IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were used as exposures in MR analyses. Main Outcomes and Measures Brain imaging measures, including gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness (CT), were used as outcomes. Associations were considered significant at a multiple testing-corrected threshold of P < 1.1 × 10-4. Differential gene expression in AHBA data was modeled in brain regions mapped to areas significant in MR analyses; genes were tested for biological and disease overrepresentation in annotation databases and for connectivity in protein-protein interaction networks. Results Of 20 688 participants in the UK Biobank sample, 10 828 (52.3%) were female, and the mean (SD) age was 55.5 (7.5) years. In the UK Biobank sample, genetically predicted levels of IL-6 were associated with GMV in the middle temporal cortex (z score, 5.76; P = 8.39 × 10-9), inferior temporal (z score, 3.38; P = 7.20 × 10-5), fusiform (z score, 4.70; P = 2.60 × 10-7), and frontal (z score, -3.59; P = 3.30 × 10-5) cortex together with CT in the superior frontal region (z score, -5.11; P = 3.22 × 10-7). No significant associations were found for IL-1, IL-2, CRP, or BDNF after correction for multiple comparison. In the AHBA sample, 5 of 6 participants (83%) were male, and the mean (SD) age was 42.5 (13.4) years. Brain-wide coexpression analysis showed a highly interconnected network of genes preferentially expressed in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), which further formed a highly connected protein-protein interaction network with IL-6 (enrichment test of expected vs observed network given the prevalence and degree of interactions in the STRING database: 43 nodes/30 edges observed vs 8 edges expected; mean node degree, 1.4; genome-wide significance, P = 4.54 × 10-9). MTG differentially expressed genes that were functionally enriched for biological processes in schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and epilepsy. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, genetically determined IL-6 was associated with brain structure and potentially affects areas implicated in developmental neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- John A. Williams
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, Centre for Computational Biology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Institute for Translational Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Health Data Research UK (HRD), Midlands Site, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen Burgess
- Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit, Cambridge Institute of Public Health, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - John Suckling
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Paris Alexandros Lalousis
- Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Fatima Batool
- Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit, Cambridge Institute of Public Health, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sian Lowri Griffiths
- Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Edward Palmer
- Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Karwath
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, Centre for Computational Biology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Institute for Translational Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Health Data Research UK (HRD), Midlands Site, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andrey Barsky
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, Centre for Computational Biology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Institute for Translational Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Georgios V. Gkoutos
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, Centre for Computational Biology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Institute for Translational Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Health Data Research UK (HRD), Midlands Site, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen Wood
- Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Orygen, Melbourne, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Nicholas M. Barnes
- Institute for Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony S. David
- Institute of Mental Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Gary Donohoe
- School of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Joanna C. Neill
- Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Bill Deakin
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Golam M. Khandaker
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Bristol, United Kingdom
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel Upthegrove
- Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Early Intervention Service, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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Cheon EJ, Bearden CE, Sun D, Ching CRK, Andreassen OA, Schmaal L, Veltman DJ, Thomopoulos SI, Kochunov P, Jahanshad N, Thompson PM, Turner JA, van Erp TG. Cross disorder comparisons of brain structure in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: A review of ENIGMA findings. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 76:140-161. [PMID: 35119167 PMCID: PMC9098675 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
This review compares the main brain abnormalities in schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) determined by ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) consortium investigations. We obtained ranked effect sizes for subcortical volumes, regional cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and diffusion tensor imaging abnormalities, comparing each of these disorders relative to healthy controls. In addition, the studies report on significant associations between brain imaging metrics and disorder-related factors such as symptom severity and treatments. Visual comparison of effect size profiles shows that effect sizes are generally in the same direction and scale in severity with the disorders (in the order SZ > BD > MDD). The effect sizes for 22q11DS, a rare genetic syndrome that increases the risk for psychiatric disorders, appear to be much larger than for either of the complex psychiatric disorders. This is consistent with the idea of generally larger effects on the brain of rare compared to common genetic variants. Cortical thickness and surface area effect sizes for 22q11DS with psychosis compared to 22q11DS without psychosis are more similar to those of SZ and BD than those of MDD; a pattern not observed for subcortical brain structures and fractional anisotropy effect sizes. The observed similarities in effect size profiles for cortical measures across the psychiatric disorders mimic those observed for shared genetic variance between these disorders reported based on family and genetic studies and are consistent with shared genetic risk for SZ and BD and structural brain phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun-Jin Cheon
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, 5251 California Ave, Irvine, CA, 92617, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Yeungnam University Medical Center, Daegu, Republic of Korea
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Daqiang Sun
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles
- Department of Mental Health, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Christopher R. K. Ching
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ole A. Andreassen
- NORMENT Centre, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo and Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental disorders, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lianne Schmaal
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
| | - Dick J. Veltman
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, location VUMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sophia I. Thomopoulos
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Peter Kochunov
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Neda Jahanshad
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Paul M. Thompson
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jessica A. Turner
- Psychology Department and Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlant, GA, USA
| | - Theo G.M. van Erp
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, 5251 California Ave, Irvine, CA, 92617, USA
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California Irvine, 309 Qureshey Research Lab, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
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A scoping review and comparison of approaches for measuring genetic heterogeneity in psychiatric disorders. Psychiatr Genet 2022; 32:1-8. [PMID: 34694248 DOI: 10.1097/ypg.0000000000000304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
An improved understanding of genetic etiological heterogeneity in a psychiatric condition may help us (a) isolate a neurophysiological 'final common pathway' by identifying its upstream genetic origins and (b) facilitate characterization of the condition's phenotypic variation. This review aims to identify existing genetic heterogeneity measurements in the psychiatric literature and provides a conceptual review of their mechanisms, limitations, and assumptions. The Scopus database was searched for studies that quantified genetic heterogeneity or correlation of psychiatric phenotypes with human genetic data. Ninety studies were included. Eighty-seven reports quantified genetic correlation, five applied genomic structural equation modelling, three evaluated departure from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at one or more loci, and two applied a novel approach known as MiXeR. We found no study that rigorously measured genetic etiological heterogeneity across a large number of markers. Developing such approaches may help better characterize the biological diversity of psychopathology.
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Disruption of Alternative Splicing in the Amygdala of Pigs Exposed to Maternal Immune Activation. IMMUNO 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/immuno1040035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The inflammatory response of gestating females to infection or stress can disrupt gene expression in the offspring’s amygdala, resulting in lasting neurodevelopmental, physiological, and behavioral disorders. The effects of maternal immune activation (MIA) can be impacted by the offspring’s sex and exposure to additional stressors later in life. The objectives of this study were to investigate the disruption of alternative splicing patterns associated with MIA in the offspring’s amygdala and characterize this disruption in the context of the second stress of weaning and sex. Differential alternative splicing was tested on the RNA-seq profiles of a pig model of viral-induced MIA. Compared to controls, MIA was associated with the differential alternative splicing (FDR-adjusted p-value < 0.1) of 292 and 240 genes in weaned females and males, respectively, whereas 132 and 176 genes were differentially spliced in control nursed female and male, respectively. The majority of the differentially spliced (FDR-adjusted p-value < 0.001) genes (e.g., SHANK1, ZNF672, KCNA6) and many associated enriched pathways (e.g., Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cGMP-PKG signaling) have been reported in MIA-related disorders including autism and schizophrenia in humans. Differential alternative splicing associated with MIA was detected in the gene MAG across all sex-stress groups except for unstressed males and SLC2A11 across all groups except unstressed females. Precise understanding of the effect of MIA across second stressors and sexes necessitates the consideration of splicing isoform profiles.
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