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Brandner DD, Mashal MA, Grissom NM, Rothwell PE. Sex differences in morphine sensitivity of neuroligin-3 knockout mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024:10.1007/s00213-024-06660-3. [PMID: 39083079 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06660-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024]
Abstract
Sex has a strong influence on the prevalence and course of brain conditions, including autism spectrum disorders. The mechanistic basis for these sex differences remains poorly understood, due in part to historical bias in biomedical research favoring analysis of male subjects, and the exclusion of female subjects. For example, studies of male mice carrying autism-associated mutations in neuroligin-3 are over-represented in the literature, including our own prior work showing diminished responses to chronic morphine exposure in male neuroligin-3 knockout mice. We therefore studied how constitutive and conditional genetic knockout of neuroligin-3 affects morphine sensitivity of female mice, using locomotor activity as a proxy for differences in opioid sensitivity that may be related to the pathophysiology and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. In contrast to male mice, female neuroligin-3 knockout mice showed normal psychomotor sensitization after chronic morphine exposure. However, in the absence of neuroligin-3 expression, both female and male mice show a similar change in the topography of locomotor stimulation produced by morphine. Conditional genetic deletion of neuroligin-3 from dopamine neurons increased the locomotor response of female mice to high doses of morphine, contrasting with the decrease in psychomotor sensitization caused by the same manipulation in male mice. Together, our data reveal that knockout of neuroligin-3 has both common and distinct effects on morphine sensitivity in female and male mice. These results also support the notion that female sex can confer resilience against the impact of autism-associated gene variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dieter D Brandner
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Mohammed A Mashal
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 4-142 Wallin Medical Biosciences Building, 2101 6 Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Nicola M Grissom
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Patrick E Rothwell
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 4-142 Wallin Medical Biosciences Building, 2101 6 Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
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Sandin S, Yip BHK, Yin W, Weiss LA, Dougherty JD, Fass S, Constantino JN, Hailin Z, Turner TN, Marrus N, Gutmann DH, Sanders SJ, Christoffersson B. Examining Sex Differences in Autism Heritability. JAMA Psychiatry 2024; 81:673-680. [PMID: 38630491 PMCID: PMC11024771 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.0525] [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: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Importance Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder more prevalent in males than in females. The cause of ASD is largely genetic, but the association of genetics with the skewed sex ratio is not yet understood. To our knowledge, no large population-based study has provided estimates of heritability by sex. Objective To estimate the sex-specific heritability of ASD. Design, Setting, and Participants This was a population-based, retrospective analysis using national health registers of nontwin siblings and cousins from Sweden born between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 1998, with follow-up to 19 years of age. Data analysis occurred from August 2022 to November 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures Models were fitted to estimate the relative variance in risk for ASD occurrence owing to sex-specific additive genetics, shared environmental effects, and a common residual term. The residual term conceptually captured other factors that promote individual behavioral variation (eg, maternal effects, de novo variants, rare genetic variants not additively inherited, or gene-environment interactions). Estimates were adjusted for differences in prevalence due to birth year and maternal and paternal age by sex. Results The sample included 1 047 649 individuals in 456 832 families (538 283 males [51.38%]; 509 366 females [48.62%]). Within the entire sample, 12 226 (1.17%) received a diagnosis of ASD, comprising 8128 (1.51%) males and 4098 (0.80%) females. ASD heritability was estimated at 87.0% (95% CI, 81.4%-92.6%) for males and 75.7% (95% CI, 68.4%-83.1%) for females with a difference in heritability estimated at 11.3% (95% CI, 1.0%-21.6%). There was no support for shared environmental contributions. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that the degree of phenotypic variation attributable to genetic differences (heritability) differs between males and females, indicating that some of the underlying causes of the condition may differ between the 2 sexes. The skewed sex ratio in ASD may be partly explained by differences in genetic variance between the sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Sandin
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Benjamin H. K. Yip
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Weiyao Yin
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lauren A. Weiss
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco
| | - Joseph D. Dougherty
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Stuart Fass
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
| | - John N. Constantino
- Pediatric Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
- Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Zhu Hailin
- Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Tychele N. Turner
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Natasha Marrus
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
| | - David H. Gutmann
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
- Neurofibromatosis Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Stephan J. Sanders
- Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Benjamin Christoffersson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Churney ApS, Copenhagen, Denmark
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3
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Xu S, Wang J, Mao K, Jiao D, Li Z, Zhao H, Sun Y, Feng J, Lai Y, Peng R, Fu Y, Gan R, Chen S, Zhao HY, Wei HJ, Cheng Y. Generation and transcriptomic characterization of MIR137 knockout miniature pig model for neurodevelopmental disorders. Cell Biosci 2024; 14:86. [PMID: 38937838 PMCID: PMC11212353 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-024-01268-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disorders (ID), are highly debilitating childhood psychiatric conditions. Genetic factors are recognized as playing a major role in NDD, with a multitude of genes and genomic regions implicated. While the functional validation of NDD-associated genes has predominantly been carried out using mouse models, the significant differences in brain structure and gene function between mice and humans have limited the effectiveness of mouse models in exploring the underlying mechanisms of NDD. Therefore, it is important to establish alternative animal models that are more evolutionarily aligned with humans. RESULTS In this study, we employed CRISPR/Cas9 and somatic cell nuclear transplantation technologies to successfully generate a knockout miniature pig model of the MIR137 gene, which encodes the neuropsychiatric disorder-associated microRNA miR-137. The homozygous knockout of MIR137 (MIR137-/-) effectively suppressed the expression of mature miR-137 and led to the birth of stillborn or short-lived piglets. Transcriptomic analysis revealed significant changes in genes associated with neurodevelopment and synaptic signaling in the brains of MIR137-/- miniature pig, mirroring findings from human ASD transcriptomic data. In comparison to miR-137-deficient mouse and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neuron models, the miniature pig model exhibited more consistent changes in critical neuronal genes relevant to humans following the loss of miR-137. Furthermore, a comparative analysis identified differentially expressed genes associated with ASD and ID risk genes in both miniature pig and hiPSC-derived neurons. Notably, human-specific miR-137 targets, such as CAMK2A, known to be linked to cognitive impairments and NDD, exhibited dysregulation in MIR137-/- miniature pigs. These findings suggest that the loss of miR-137 in miniature pigs affects genes crucial for neurodevelopment, potentially contributing to the development of NDD. CONCLUSIONS Our study highlights the impact of miR-137 loss on critical genes involved in neurodevelopment and related disorders in MIR137-/- miniature pigs. It establishes the miniature pig model as a valuable tool for investigating neurodevelopmental disorders, providing valuable insights for potential applications in human research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengyun Xu
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Jiaoxiang Wang
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Kexin Mao
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
- Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming, 650092, China
| | - Deling Jiao
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Zhu Li
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Heng Zhao
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Yifei Sun
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Jin Feng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
- Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming, 650092, China
| | - Yuanhao Lai
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Ruiqi Peng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Yu Fu
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Ruoyi Gan
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
- Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming, 650092, China
| | - Shuhan Chen
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Hong-Ye Zhao
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China.
| | - Hong-Jiang Wei
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China.
| | - Ying Cheng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China.
- Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming, 650092, China.
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Cortés BI, Meza RC, Ancatén-González C, Ardiles NM, Aránguiz MI, Tomita H, Kaplan DR, Cornejo F, Nunez-Parra A, Moya PR, Chávez AE, Cancino GI. Loss of protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor delta PTPRD increases the number of cortical neurons, impairs synaptic function and induces autistic-like behaviors in adult mice. Biol Res 2024; 57:40. [PMID: 38890753 PMCID: PMC11186208 DOI: 10.1186/s40659-024-00522-0] [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: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The brain cortex is responsible for many higher-level cognitive functions. Disruptions during cortical development have long-lasting consequences on brain function and are associated with the etiology of brain disorders. We previously found that the protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor delta Ptprd, which is genetically associated with several human neurodevelopmental disorders, is essential to cortical brain development. Loss of Ptprd expression induced an aberrant increase of excitatory neurons in embryonic and neonatal mice by hyper-activating the pro-neurogenic receptors TrkB and PDGFRβ in neural precursor cells. However, whether these alterations have long-lasting consequences in adulthood remains unknown. RESULTS Here, we found that in Ptprd+/- or Ptprd-/- mice, the developmental increase of excitatory neurons persists through adulthood, affecting excitatory synaptic function in the medial prefrontal cortex. Likewise, heterozygosity or homozygosity for Ptprd also induced an increase of inhibitory cortical GABAergic neurons and impaired inhibitory synaptic transmission. Lastly, Ptprd+/- or Ptprd-/- mice displayed autistic-like behaviors and no learning and memory impairments or anxiety. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that loss of Ptprd has long-lasting effects on cortical neuron number and synaptic function that may aberrantly impact ASD-like behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastián I Cortés
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, 8331150, Chile
| | - Rodrigo C Meza
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
| | - Carlos Ancatén-González
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias mención Neurociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
| | - Nicolás M Ardiles
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
| | - María-Ignacia Aránguiz
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, 8331150, Chile
| | - Hideaki Tomita
- Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, M5G 1X8, Canada
- Ludna Biotech Co., Ltd, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - David R Kaplan
- Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, M5G 1X8, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 1X8, Canada
| | - Francisca Cornejo
- Center for Integrative Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, 8580745, Chile
| | - Alexia Nunez-Parra
- Cell Physiology Laboratory, Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, 7800003, Chile
| | - Pablo R Moya
- Centro de Estudios Traslacionales en Estrés y Salud Mental (C-ESTRES), Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
- Instituto de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
| | - Andrés E Chávez
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
| | - Gonzalo I Cancino
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, 8331150, Chile.
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5
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Nautiyal H, Jaiswar A, Jha PK, Dwivedi S. Exploring key genes and pathways associated with sex differences in autism spectrum disorder: integrated bioinformatic analysis. Mamm Genome 2024; 35:280-295. [PMID: 38594551 DOI: 10.1007/s00335-024-10036-5] [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: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogenous neurodevelopmental disorder marked by functional abnormalities in brain that causes social and linguistic difficulties. The incidence of ASD is more prevalent in males compared to females, but the underlying mechanism, as well as molecular indications for identifying sex-specific differences in ASD symptoms remain unknown. Thus, impacting the development of personalized strategy towards pharmacotherapy of ASD. The current study employs an integrated bioinformatic approach to investigate the genes and pathways uniquely associated with sex specific differences in autistic individuals. Based on microarray dataset (GSE6575) extracted from the gene expression omnibus, the dysregulated genes between the autistic and the neurotypical individuals for both sexes were identified. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed to ascertain biological activities linked to the dysregulated genes. Protein-protein interaction network analysis was carried out to identify hub genes. The identified hub genes were examined to determine their functions and involvement in the associated pathways using Enrichr. Additionally, hub genes were validated from autism-associated databases and the potential small molecules targeting the hub genes were identified. The present study utilized whole blood transcriptomic gene expression analysis data and identified 2211 and 958 differentially expressed unique genes in males and females respectively. The functional enrichment analysis revealed that male hub genes were functionally associated with RNA polymerase II mediated transcriptional regulation whereas female hub genes were involved in intracellular signal transduction and cell migration. The top male hub genes exhibited functional enrichment in tyrosine kinase signalling pathway. The pathway enrichment analysis of male hub genes indicates the enrichment of papillomavirus infection. Female hub genes were enriched in androgen receptor signalling pathway and functionally enriched in focal adhesion specific excision repair. Identified drug like candidates targeting these genes may serve as a potential sex specific therapeutics. Wortmannin for males, 5-Fluorouracil for females had the highest scores. Targeted and sex-specific pharmacotherapies may be created for the management of ASD. The current investigation identifies sex-specific molecular signatures derived from whole blood which may serve as a potential peripheral sex-specific biomarkers for ASD. The study also uncovers the possible pharmacological interventions against the selected genes/pathway, providing support in development of therapeutic strategies to mitigate ASD. However, experimental proofs on biological systems are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Himani Nautiyal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Health Sciences and Technology, UPES, Dehradun, 248001, India
| | - Akanksha Jaiswar
- Laboratory of Human Disease Multiomics, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Prabhash Kumar Jha
- Center for Excellence in Vascular Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shubham Dwivedi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Health Sciences and Technology, UPES, Dehradun, 248001, India.
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6
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Brandner DD, Mashal MA, Grissom NM, Rothwell PE. Sex Differences in Morphine Sensitivity of Neuroligin-3 Knockout Mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.01.596965. [PMID: 38854153 PMCID: PMC11160712 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.01.596965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Sex has a strong influence on the prevalence and course of brain conditions, including autism spectrum disorders. The mechanistic basis for these sex differences remains poorly understood, due in part to historical bias in biomedical research favoring analysis of male subjects, and the exclusion of female subjects. For example, studies of male mice carrying autism-associated mutations in neuroligin-3 are over-represented in the literature, including our own prior work showing diminished responses to chronic morphine exposure in male neuroligin-3 knockout mice. We therefore studied how constitutive and conditional genetic knockout of neuroligin-3 affects morphine sensitivity of female mice. In contrast to male mice, female neuroligin-3 knockout mice showed normal psychomotor sensitization after chronic morphine exposure. However, in the absence of neuroligin-3 expression, both female and male mice show a similar change in the topography of locomotor stimulation produced by morphine. Conditional genetic deletion of neuroligin-3 from dopamine neurons increased the locomotor response of female mice to high doses of morphine, contrasting with the decrease in psychomotor sensitization caused by the same manipulation in male mice. Together, our data reveal that knockout of neuroligin-3 has both common and distinct effects on morphine sensitivity in female and male mice. These results also support the notion that female sex can confer resilience against the impact of autism-associated gene variants.
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7
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Nóbrega IDS, Teles e Silva AL, Yokota-Moreno BY, Sertié AL. The Importance of Large-Scale Genomic Studies to Unravel Genetic Risk Factors for Autism. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5816. [PMID: 38892002 PMCID: PMC11172008 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25115816] [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: 04/17/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common and highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder. During the last 15 years, advances in genomic technologies and the availability of increasingly large patient cohorts have greatly expanded our knowledge of the genetic architecture of ASD and its neurobiological mechanisms. Over two hundred risk regions and genes carrying rare de novo and transmitted high-impact variants have been identified. Additionally, common variants with small individual effect size are also important, and a number of loci are now being uncovered. At the same time, these new insights have highlighted ongoing challenges. In this perspective article, we summarize developments in ASD genetic research and address the enormous impact of large-scale genomic initiatives on ASD gene discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Andréa Laurato Sertié
- Faculdade Israelita de Ciências da Saúde Albert Einstein, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Rua Comendador Elias Jafet, 755. Morumbi, São Paulo 05653-000, Brazil; (I.d.S.N.); (A.L.T.e.S.); (B.Y.Y.-M.)
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Cooper JN, Mittal J, Sangadi A, Klassen DL, King AM, Zalta M, Mittal R, Eshraghi AA. Landscape of NRXN1 Gene Variants in Phenotypic Manifestations of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. J Clin Med 2024; 13:2067. [PMID: 38610832 PMCID: PMC11012327 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13072067] [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: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication challenges and repetitive behaviors. Recent research has increasingly focused on the genetic underpinnings of ASD, with the Neurexin 1 (NRXN1) gene emerging as a key player. This comprehensive systematic review elucidates the contribution of NRXN1 gene variants in the pathophysiology of ASD. Methods: The protocol for this systematic review was designed a priori and was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42023450418). A risk of bias analysis was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tool. We examined various studies that link NRXN1 gene disruptions with ASD, discussing both the genotypic variability and the resulting phenotypic expressions. Results: Within this review, there was marked heterogeneity observed in ASD genotypic and phenotypic manifestations among individuals with NRXN1 mutations. The presence of NRXN1 mutations in this population emphasizes the gene's role in synaptic function and neural connectivity. Conclusion: This review not only highlights the role of NRXN1 in the pathophysiology of ASD but also highlights the need for further research to unravel the complex genetic underpinnings of the disorder. A better knowledge about the multifaceted role of NRXN1 in ASD can provide crucial insights into the neurobiological foundations of autism and pave the way for novel therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaimee N. Cooper
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing Research and Communication Disorders Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.N.C.); (J.M.); (A.S.); (D.L.K.); (A.M.K.); (M.Z.); (R.M.)
- School of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Jeenu Mittal
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing Research and Communication Disorders Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.N.C.); (J.M.); (A.S.); (D.L.K.); (A.M.K.); (M.Z.); (R.M.)
| | - Akhila Sangadi
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing Research and Communication Disorders Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.N.C.); (J.M.); (A.S.); (D.L.K.); (A.M.K.); (M.Z.); (R.M.)
| | - Delany L. Klassen
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing Research and Communication Disorders Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.N.C.); (J.M.); (A.S.); (D.L.K.); (A.M.K.); (M.Z.); (R.M.)
| | - Ava M. King
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing Research and Communication Disorders Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.N.C.); (J.M.); (A.S.); (D.L.K.); (A.M.K.); (M.Z.); (R.M.)
| | - Max Zalta
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing Research and Communication Disorders Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.N.C.); (J.M.); (A.S.); (D.L.K.); (A.M.K.); (M.Z.); (R.M.)
| | - Rahul Mittal
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing Research and Communication Disorders Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.N.C.); (J.M.); (A.S.); (D.L.K.); (A.M.K.); (M.Z.); (R.M.)
| | - Adrien A. Eshraghi
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing Research and Communication Disorders Laboratory, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.N.C.); (J.M.); (A.S.); (D.L.K.); (A.M.K.); (M.Z.); (R.M.)
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
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Sánchez RM, Bermeo Losada JF, Marín Martínez JA. The research landscape concerning environmental factors in neurodevelopmental disorders: Endocrine disrupters and pesticides-A review. Front Neuroendocrinol 2024; 73:101132. [PMID: 38561126 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2024.101132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, environmental epidemiology and toxicology have seen a growing interest in the environmental factors that contribute to the increased prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, with the purpose of establishing appropriate prevention strategies. A literature review was performed, and 192 articles covering the topic of endocrine disruptors and neurodevelopmental disorders were found, focusing on polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, bisphenol A, and pesticides. This study contributes to analyzing their effect on the molecular mechanism in maternal and infant thyroid function, essential for infant neurodevelopment, and whose alteration has been associated with various neurodevelopmental disorders. The results provide scientific evidence of the association that exists between the environmental neurotoxins and various neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition, other possible molecular mechanisms by which pesticides and endocrine disruptors may be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders are being discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca Mira Sánchez
- Universidad de Murcia, Spain; Instituto de Ciencias Medioambientales y Neurodesarrollo ICMYN, Murcia, Spain.
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10
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Cornejo F, Franchini N, Cortés BI, Elgueta D, Cancino GI. Neural conditional ablation of the protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor Delta PTPRD impairs gliogenesis in the developing mouse brain cortex. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1357862. [PMID: 38487272 PMCID: PMC10937347 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1357862] [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: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders are characterized by alterations in the development of the cerebral cortex, including aberrant changes in the number and function of neural cells. Although neurogenesis is one of the most studied cellular processes in these pathologies, little evidence is known about glial development. Genetic association studies have identified several genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Indeed, variations in the PTPRD gene have been associated with numerous brain disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, restless leg syndrome, and schizophrenia. We previously demonstrated that constitutive loss of PTPRD expression induces significant alterations in cortical neurogenesis, promoting an increase in intermediate progenitors and neurons in mice. However, its role in gliogenesis has not been evaluated. To assess this, we developed a conditional knockout mouse model lacking PTPRD expression in telencephalon cells. Here, we found that the lack of PTPRD in the mouse cortex reduces glial precursors, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. According to our results, this decrease in gliogenesis resulted from a reduced number of radial glia cells at gliogenesis onset and a lower gliogenic potential in cortical neural precursors due to less activation of the JAK/STAT pathway and reduced expression of gliogenic genes. Our study shows PTPRD as a regulator of the glial/neuronal balance during cortical neurodevelopment and highlights the importance of studying glial development to understand the etiology of neurodevelopmental diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisca Cornejo
- Center for Integrative Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Nayhara Franchini
- Center for Integrative Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Bastián I. Cortés
- Center for Integrative Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniela Elgueta
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gonzalo I. Cancino
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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11
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Chorbadjiev L, Cokol M, Weinstein Z, Shi K, Fleisch C, Dimitrov N, Mladenov S, Xu S, Hall J, Ford S, Lee YH, Yamrom B, Marks S, Munoz A, Lash A, Volfovsky N, Iossifov I. The Genotype and Phenotypes in Families (GPF) platform manages the large and complex data at SFARI. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.08.579330. [PMID: 38370639 PMCID: PMC10871337 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.08.579330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
The exploration of genotypic variants impacting phenotypes is a cornerstone in genetics research. The emergence of vast collections containing deeply genotyped and phenotyped families has made it possible to pursue the search for variants associated with complex diseases. However, managing these large-scale datasets requires specialized computational tools tailored to organize and analyze the extensive data. GPF (Genotypes and Phenotypes in Families) is an open-source platform ( https://github.com/iossifovlab/gpf ) that manages genotypes and phenotypes derived from collections of families. The GPF interface allows interactive exploration of genetic variants, enrichment analysis for de novo mutations, and phenotype/genotype association tools. In addition, GPF allows researchers to share their data securely with the broader scientific community. GPF is used to disseminate two large-scale family collection datasets (SSC, SPARK) for the study of autism funded by the SFARI foundation. However, GPF is versatile and can manage genotypic data from other small or large family collections. Our GPF-SFARI GPF instance ( https://gpf.sfari.org/ ) provides protected access to comprehensive genotypic and phenotypic data for the SSC and SPARK. In addition, GPF-SFARI provides public access to an extensive collection of de novo mutations identified in individuals with autism and related disorders and to gene-level statistics of the protected datasets characterizing the genes' roles in autism. Here, we highlight the primary features of GPF within the context of GPF-SFARI.
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12
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Ng JK, Chen Y, Akinwe TM, Heins HB, Mehinovic E, Chang Y, Payne ZL, Manuel JG, Karchin R, Turner TN. Proteome-Wide Assessment of Clustering of Missense Variants in Neurodevelopmental Disorders Versus Cancer. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.02.02.24302238. [PMID: 38352539 PMCID: PMC10863034 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.02.24302238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
Missense de novo variants (DNVs) and missense somatic variants contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and cancer, respectively. Proteins with statistical enrichment based on analyses of these variants exhibit convergence in the differing NDD and cancer phenotypes. Herein, the question of why some of the same proteins are identified in both phenotypes is examined through investigation of clustering of missense variation at the protein level. Our hypothesis is that missense variation is present in different protein locations in the two phenotypes leading to the distinct phenotypic outcomes. We tested this hypothesis in 1D protein space using our software CLUMP. Furthermore, we newly developed 3D-CLUMP that uses 3D protein structures to spatially test clustering of missense variation for proteome-wide significance. We examined missense DNVs in 39,883 parent-child sequenced trios with NDDs and missense somatic variants from 10,543 sequenced tumors covering five TCGA cancer types and two COSMIC pan-cancer aggregates of tissue types. There were 57 proteins with proteome-wide significant missense variation clustering in NDDs when compared to cancers and 79 proteins with proteome-wide significant missense clustering in cancers compared to NDDs. While our main objective was to identify differences in patterns of missense variation, we also identified a novel NDD protein BLTP2. Overall, our study is innovative, provides new insights into differential missense variation in NDDs and cancer at the protein-level, and contributes necessary information toward building a framework for thinking about prognostic and therapeutic aspects of these proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey K. Ng
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Yilin Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Titilope M. Akinwe
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Molecular Genetics & Genomics Graduate Program, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Hillary B. Heins
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Elvisa Mehinovic
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Yoonhoo Chang
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Human & Statistical Genetics Graduate Program, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Zachary L. Payne
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Molecular Genetics & Genomics Graduate Program, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Juana G. Manuel
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Rachel Karchin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Tychele N. Turner
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
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13
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Daenekas B, Pérez E, Boniolo F, Stefan S, Benfatto S, Sill M, Sturm D, Jones DTW, Capper D, Zapatka M, Hovestadt V. Conumee 2.0: enhanced copy-number variation analysis from DNA methylation arrays for humans and mice. Bioinformatics 2024; 40:btae029. [PMID: 38244574 PMCID: PMC10868300 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Copy-number variations (CNVs) are common genetic alterations in cancer and their detection may impact tumor classification and therapeutic decisions. However, detection of clinically relevant large and focal CNVs remains challenging when sample material or resources are limited. This has motivated us to create a software tool to infer CNVs from DNA methylation arrays which are often generated as part of clinical routines and in research settings. RESULTS We present our R package, conumee 2.0, that combines tangent normalization, an adjustable genomic binning heuristic, and weighted circular binary segmentation to utilize DNA methylation arrays for CNV analysis and mitigate technical biases and batch effects. Segmentation results were validated in a lung squamous cell carcinoma dataset from TCGA (n = 367 samples) by comparison to segmentations derived from genotyping arrays (Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.91). We further introduce a segmented block bootstrapping approach to detect focal alternations that achieved 60.9% sensitivity and 98.6% specificity for deletions affecting CDKN2A/B (60.0% and 96.9% for RB1, respectively) in a low-grade glioma cohort from TCGA (n = 239 samples). Finally, our tool provides functionality to detect and summarize CNVs across large sample cohorts. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Conumee 2.0 is available under open-source license at: https://github.com/hovestadtlab/conumee2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bjarne Daenekas
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, United States
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, United States
- Department of Neuropathology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Eilís Pérez
- Department of Neuropathology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Fabio Boniolo
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, United States
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, United States
| | - Sabina Stefan
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, United States
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, United States
| | - Salvatore Benfatto
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, United States
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, United States
| | - Martin Sill
- Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dominik Sturm
- Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Glioma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology & Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - David T W Jones
- Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Glioma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - David Capper
- Department of Neuropathology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Berlin, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marc Zapatka
- Division of Molecular Genetics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Volker Hovestadt
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, United States
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, United States
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14
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Pizzarelli R, Pimpinella D, Jacobs C, Tartacca A, Kullolli U, Monyer H, Alberini CM, Griguoli M. Insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) rescues social deficits in NLG3 -/y mouse model of ASDs. Front Cell Neurosci 2024; 17:1332179. [PMID: 38298376 PMCID: PMC10827848 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1332179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) comprise developmental disabilities characterized by impairments of social interaction and repetitive behavior, often associated with cognitive deficits. There is no current treatment that can ameliorate most of the ASDs symptomatology; thus, identifying novel therapies is urgently needed. Here, we used the Neuroligin 3 knockout mouse (NLG3-/y), a model that recapitulates the social deficits reported in ASDs patients, to test the effects of systemic administration of IGF-2, a polypeptide that crosses the blood-brain barrier and acts as a cognitive enhancer. We show that systemic IGF-2 treatment reverses the typical defects in social interaction and social novelty discrimination reflective of ASDs-like phenotypes. This effect was not accompanied by any change in spontaneous glutamatergic synaptic transmission in CA2 hippocampal region, a mechanism found to be crucial for social novelty discrimination. However, in both NLG3+/y and NLG3-/y mice IGF-2 increased cell excitability. Although further investigation is needed to clarify the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning IGF-2 effect on social behavior, our findings highlight IGF-2 as a potential pharmacological tool for the treatment of social dysfunctions associated with ASDs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Hannah Monyer
- European Brain Research Institute (EBRI), Rome, Italy
- Department of Clinical Neurobiology at the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Marilena Griguoli
- European Brain Research Institute (EBRI), Rome, Italy
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology of the National Council of Research (IBPM-CNR), Rome, Italy
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15
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Zarate-Lopez D, Torres-Chávez AL, Gálvez-Contreras AY, Gonzalez-Perez O. Three Decades of Valproate: A Current Model for Studying Autism Spectrum Disorder. Curr Neuropharmacol 2024; 22:260-289. [PMID: 37873949 PMCID: PMC10788883 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x22666231003121513] [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: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with increased prevalence and incidence in recent decades. Its etiology remains largely unclear, but it seems to involve a strong genetic component and environmental factors that, in turn, induce epigenetic changes during embryonic and postnatal brain development. In recent decades, clinical studies have shown that inutero exposure to valproic acid (VPA), a commonly prescribed antiepileptic drug, is an environmental factor associated with an increased risk of ASD. Subsequently, prenatal VPA exposure in rodents has been established as a reliable translational model to study the pathophysiology of ASD, which has helped demonstrate neurobiological changes in rodents, non-human primates, and brain organoids from human pluripotent stem cells. This evidence supports the notion that prenatal VPA exposure is a valid and current model to replicate an idiopathic ASD-like disorder in experimental animals. This review summarizes and describes the current features reported with this animal model of autism and the main neurobiological findings and correlates that help elucidate the pathophysiology of ASD. Finally, we discuss the general framework of the VPA model in comparison to other environmental and genetic ASD models.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Zarate-Lopez
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, School of Psychology, University of Colima, Colima 28040, México
- Physiological Science Ph.D. Program, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Ana Laura Torres-Chávez
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, School of Psychology, University of Colima, Colima 28040, México
- Physiological Science Ph.D. Program, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040, Mexico
| | - Alma Yadira Gálvez-Contreras
- Department of Neuroscience, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, México
| | - Oscar Gonzalez-Perez
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, School of Psychology, University of Colima, Colima 28040, México
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16
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Meng X, Wang M, Luo M, Sun L, Yan Q, Liu Y. Systematic evaluation of multiple NGS platforms for structural variants detection. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105436. [PMID: 37944616 PMCID: PMC10724692 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Structural variations (SV) are critical genome changes affecting human diseases. Although many hybridization-based methods exist, evaluating SVs through next-generation sequencing (NGS) data is still necessary for broader research exploration. Here, we comprehensively compared the performance of 16 SV callers and multiple NGS platforms using NA12878 whole genome sequencing (WGS) datasets. The results indicated that several SV callers performed well relatively, such as Manta, GRIDSS, LUMPY, TARDIS, FermiKit, and Wham. Meanwhile, all NGS platforms have a similar performance using a single software. Additionally, we found that the source of undetected SVs was mostly from long reads datasets, therefore, the more appropriate strategy for accurate SV detection will be an integration of long and shorter reads in the future. At present, in the period of NGS as a mainstream method in bioinformatics, our study would provide helpful and comprehensive guidelines for specific categories of SV research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Meng
- School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Miao Wang
- Research Cooperation Department, GeneMind Biosciences Company Limited, Shenzhen, China
| | - Mingjie Luo
- Research Cooperation Department, GeneMind Biosciences Company Limited, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lei Sun
- Research Cooperation Department, GeneMind Biosciences Company Limited, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qin Yan
- Research Cooperation Department, GeneMind Biosciences Company Limited, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yongfeng Liu
- Research Cooperation Department, GeneMind Biosciences Company Limited, Shenzhen, China.
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17
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Pastore SF, Muhammad T, Stan C, Frankland PW, Hamel PA, Vincent JB. Neuronal transcription of autism gene PTCHD1 is regulated by a conserved downstream enhancer sequence. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20391. [PMID: 37990104 PMCID: PMC10663455 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46673-0] [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: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Patched domain-containing 1 (PTCHD1) is a well-established susceptibility gene for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). Previous studies have suggested that alterations in the dosage of PTCHD1 may contribute to the etiology of both ASD and ID. However, there has not yet been a thorough investigation regarding mechanisms that regulate PTCHD1 expression. We sought to characterize the Ptchd1 promoter in a mouse neuronal model, as well as to identify and validate cis regulatory elements. We defined specific regions of the Ptchd1 promoter essential for robust expression in P19-induced neurons. Evolutionarily-conserved putative transcription factor binding sites within these regions were subsequently identified. Using a pairwise comparison of chromatin accessibility between mouse forebrain and liver tissues, a candidate regulatory region, ~ 9.1 kbp downstream of the Ptchd1 stop codon was defined. This region harbours two ENCODE-predicted enhancer cis-regulatory elements. Further, using DNase footprint analysis, a putative YY1-binding motif was also identified. Genomic deletion of the entire 8 kbp downstream open chromatin region attenuated Ptchd1 transcription by over 60% in our neuronal model, corroborating its predicted regulatory function. This study provides mechanistic insights related to the expression of PTCHD1, and provides important context to interpret genetic and genomic variation at this locus which may influence neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen F Pastore
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry & Development (MiND) Lab, Molecular Brain Science Research Department, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, M5T 1RS, Canada
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Tahir Muhammad
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry & Development (MiND) Lab, Molecular Brain Science Research Department, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, M5T 1RS, Canada
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Cassandra Stan
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry & Development (MiND) Lab, Molecular Brain Science Research Department, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, M5T 1RS, Canada
| | - Paul W Frankland
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada
| | - Paul A Hamel
- Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - John B Vincent
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry & Development (MiND) Lab, Molecular Brain Science Research Department, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, M5T 1RS, Canada.
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R8, Canada.
- Molecular Brain Science Research Department, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 250 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R8, Canada.
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18
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Noh YW, Kim Y, Lee S, Kim Y, Shin JJ, Kang H, Kim IH, Kim E. The PFC-LH-VTA pathway contributes to social deficits in IRSp53-mutant mice. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:4642-4654. [PMID: 37730842 PMCID: PMC10914623 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02257-y] [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: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) promote social brain functions by releasing DA onto nucleus accumbens neurons, but it remains unclear how VTA neurons communicate with cortical neurons. Here, we report that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-lateral hypothalamus (LH)-VTA pathway contributes to social deficits in mice with IRSp53 deletion restricted to cortical excitatory neurons (Emx1-Cre;Irsp53fl/fl mice). LH-projecting mutant mPFC neurons display abnormally increased excitability involving decreased potassium channel gene expression, leading to excessive excitatory synaptic input to LH-GABA neurons. A circuit-specific IRSp53 deletion in LH-projecting mPFC neurons also increases neuronal excitability and induces social deficits. LH-GABA neurons with excessive mPFC excitatory synaptic input show a compensatory decrease in excitability, weakening the inhibitory LHGABA-VTAGABA pathway and subsequently over-activating VTA-GABA neurons and over-inhibiting VTA-DA neurons. Accordingly, optogenetic activation of the LHGABA-VTAGABA pathway improves social deficits in Emx1-Cre;Irsp53fl/fl mice. Therefore, the mPFC-LHGABA-VTAGABA-VTADA pathway contributes to the social deficits in Emx1-Cre;Irsp53fl/fl mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Woo Noh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 34141, Korea
| | - Yangsik Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Inha University Hospital, Incheon, 22332, Korea
| | - Soowon Lee
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Korea
| | - Yeonghyeon Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 34141, Korea
| | - Jae Jin Shin
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, 34141, Korea
| | - Hyojin Kang
- Division of National Supercomputing, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Daejeon, 34141, Korea
| | - Il Hwan Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, 38163, USA
| | - Eunjoon Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 34141, Korea.
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, 34141, Korea.
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19
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Paskov K, Chrisman B, Stockham N, Washington PY, Dunlap K, Jung JY, Wall DP. Identifying crossovers and shared genetic material in whole genome sequencing data from families. Genome Res 2023; 33:1747-1756. [PMID: 37879861 PMCID: PMC10691535 DOI: 10.1101/gr.277172.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Large, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data sets containing families provide an important opportunity to identify crossovers and shared genetic material in siblings. However, the high variant calling error rates of WGS in some areas of the genome can result in spurious crossover calls, and the special inheritance status of the X Chromosome presents challenges. We have developed a hidden Markov model that addresses these issues by modeling the inheritance of variants in families in the presence of error-prone regions and inherited deletions. We call our method PhasingFamilies. We validate PhasingFamilies using the platinum genome family NA1281 (precision: 0.81; recall: 0.97), as well as simulated genomes with known crossover positions (precision: 0.93; recall: 0.92). Using 1925 quads from the Simons Simplex Collection, we found that PhasingFamilies resolves crossovers to a median resolution of 3527.5 bp. These crossovers recapitulate existing recombination rate maps, including for the X Chromosome; produce sibling pair IBD that matches expected distributions; and are validated by the haplotype estimation tool SHAPEIT. We provide an efficient, open-source implementation of PhasingFamilies that can be used to identify crossovers from family sequencing data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelley Paskov
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA;
| | - Brianna Chrisman
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Nathaniel Stockham
- Department of Neuroscience, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | | | - Kaitlyn Dunlap
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Jae-Yoon Jung
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Dennis P Wall
- Department of Biomedical Data Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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20
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Herath M, Cho E, Marklund U, Franks AE, Bornstein JC, Hill-Yardin EL. Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Neuroligin-3 mRNA Expression in the Enteric Nervous System Reveals a Potential Role in Neuronal-Glial Synapses and Reduced Expression in Nlgn3R451C Mice. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1063. [PMID: 37509099 PMCID: PMC10377306 DOI: 10.3390/biom13071063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations in the Neuroligin-3 (Nlgn3) gene are implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction, but cellular Nlgn3 expression in the enteric nervous system remains to be characterised. We combined RNAScope in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence to measure Nlgn3 mRNA expression in cholinergic and VIP-expressing submucosal neurons, nitrergic and calretinin-containing myenteric neurons and glial cells in both WT and Nlgn3R451C mutant mice. We measured Nlgn3 mRNA neuronal and glial expression via quantitative three-dimensional image analysis. To validate dual RNAScope/immunofluorescence data, we interrogated available single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNASeq) data to assess for Nlgn3, Nlgn1, Nlgn2 and their binding partners, Nrxn1-3, MGDA1 and MGDA2, in enteric neural subsets. Most submucosal and myenteric neurons expressed Nlgn3 mRNA. In contrast to other Nlgns and binding partners, Nlgn3 was strongly expressed in enteric glia, suggesting a role for neuroligin-3 in mediating enteric neuron-glia interactions. The autism-associated R451C mutation reduces Nlgn3 mRNA expression in cholinergic but not in VIPergic submucosal neurons. In the myenteric plexus, Nlgn3 mRNA levels are reduced in calretinin, nNOS-labelled neurons and S100 β -labelled glia. We provide a comprehensive cellular profile for neuroligin-3 expression in ileal neuronal subpopulations of mice expressing the R451C autism-associated mutation in Nlgn3, which may contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of GI dysfunction in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madushani Herath
- Department of Anatomy & Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Ellie Cho
- Biological Optical Microscopy Platform, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Ulrika Marklund
- Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institute, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ashley E Franks
- Department of Microbiology, Anatomy Physiology & Pharmacology, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Joel C Bornstein
- Department of Anatomy & Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Elisa L Hill-Yardin
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, STEM College, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
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21
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Wroten M, Yoon S, Andrews P, Yamrom B, Ronemus M, Buja A, Krieger AM, Levy D, Ye K, Wigler M, Iossifov I. Sharing parental genomes by siblings concordant or discordant for autism. CELL GENOMICS 2023; 3:100319. [PMID: 37388917 PMCID: PMC10300587 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Studying thousands of families, we find siblings concordant for autism share more of their parental genomes than expected by chance, and discordant siblings share less, consistent with a role of transmission in autism incidence. The excess sharing of the father is highly significant (p value of 0.0014), with less significance for the mother (p value of 0.31). To compare parental sharing, we adjust for differences in meiotic recombination to obtain a p value of 0.15 that they are shared equally. These observations are contrary to certain models in which the mother carries a greater load than the father. Nevertheless, we present models in which greater sharing of the father is observed even though the mother carries a greater load. More generally, our observations of sharing establish quantitative constraints that any complete genetic model of autism must satisfy, and our methods may be applicable to other complex disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew Wroten
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Seungtai Yoon
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Peter Andrews
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Boris Yamrom
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | | | - Andreas Buja
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, NY, USA
| | - Abba M. Krieger
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Dan Levy
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Kenny Ye
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Michael Wigler
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ivan Iossifov
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
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22
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Abi-Dargham A, Moeller SJ, Ali F, DeLorenzo C, Domschke K, Horga G, Jutla A, Kotov R, Paulus MP, Rubio JM, Sanacora G, Veenstra-VanderWeele J, Krystal JH. Candidate biomarkers in psychiatric disorders: state of the field. World Psychiatry 2023; 22:236-262. [PMID: 37159365 PMCID: PMC10168176 DOI: 10.1002/wps.21078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The field of psychiatry is hampered by a lack of robust, reliable and valid biomarkers that can aid in objectively diagnosing patients and providing individualized treatment recommendations. Here we review and critically evaluate the evidence for the most promising biomarkers in the psychiatric neuroscience literature for autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression and bipolar disorder, and substance use disorders. Candidate biomarkers reviewed include various neuroimaging, genetic, molecular and peripheral assays, for the purposes of determining susceptibility or presence of illness, and predicting treatment response or safety. This review highlights a critical gap in the biomarker validation process. An enormous societal investment over the past 50 years has identified numerous candidate biomarkers. However, to date, the overwhelming majority of these measures have not been proven sufficiently reliable, valid and useful to be adopted clinically. It is time to consider whether strategic investments might break this impasse, focusing on a limited number of promising candidates to advance through a process of definitive testing for a specific indication. Some promising candidates for definitive testing include the N170 signal, an event-related brain potential measured using electroencephalography, for subgroup identification within autism spectrum disorder; striatal resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures, such as the striatal connectivity index (SCI) and the functional striatal abnormalities (FSA) index, for prediction of treatment response in schizophrenia; error-related negativity (ERN), an electrophysiological index, for prediction of first onset of generalized anxiety disorder, and resting-state and structural brain connectomic measures for prediction of treatment response in social anxiety disorder. Alternate forms of classification may be useful for conceptualizing and testing potential biomarkers. Collaborative efforts allowing the inclusion of biosystems beyond genetics and neuroimaging are needed, and online remote acquisition of selected measures in a naturalistic setting using mobile health tools may significantly advance the field. Setting specific benchmarks for well-defined target application, along with development of appropriate funding and partnership mechanisms, would also be crucial. Finally, it should never be forgotten that, for a biomarker to be actionable, it will need to be clinically predictive at the individual level and viable in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anissa Abi-Dargham
- Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Scott J Moeller
- Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Farzana Ali
- Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Christine DeLorenzo
- Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Katharina Domschke
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Centre for Basics in Neuromodulation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Guillermo Horga
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Amandeep Jutla
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Roman Kotov
- Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | | | - Jose M Rubio
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra-Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA
- Feinstein Institute for Medical Research - Northwell, Manhasset, NY, USA
- Zucker Hillside Hospital - Northwell Health, Glen Oaks, NY, USA
| | - Gerard Sanacora
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - John H Krystal
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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23
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Yen TL, Huang TN, Lin MH, Hsu TT, Lu MH, Shih PY, Ellegood J, Lerch J, Hsueh YP. Sex bias in social deficits, neural circuits and nutrient demand in Cttnbp2 autism models. Brain 2023; 146:2612-2626. [PMID: 36385662 PMCID: PMC10232293 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders caused by both genetic and environmental factors are strongly male-biased neuropsychiatric conditions. However, the mechanism underlying the sex bias of autism spectrum disorders remains elusive. Here, we use a mouse model in which the autism-linked gene Cttnbp2 is mutated to explore the potential mechanism underlying the autism sex bias. Autism-like features of Cttnbp2 mutant mice were assessed via behavioural assays. C-FOS staining identified sex-biased brain regions critical to social interaction, with their roles and connectivity then validated by chemogenetic manipulation. Proteomic and bioinformatic analyses established sex-biased molecular deficits at synapses, prompting our hypothesis that male-biased nutrient demand magnifies Cttnbp2 deficiency. Accordingly, intakes of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and zinc were experimentally altered to assess their effect on autism-like behaviours. Both deletion and autism-linked mutation of Cttnbp2 result in male-biased social deficits. Seven brain regions, including the infralimbic area of the medial prefrontal cortex (ILA), exhibit reduced neural activity in male mutant mice but not in females upon social stimulation. ILA activation by chemogenetic manipulation is sufficient to activate four of those brain regions susceptible to Cttnbp2 deficiency and consequently to ameliorate social deficits in male mice, implying an ILA-regulated neural circuit is critical to male-biased social deficits. Proteomics analysis reveals male-specific downregulated proteins (including SHANK2 and PSD-95, two synaptic zinc-binding proteins) and female-specific upregulated proteins (including RRAGC) linked to neuropsychiatric disorders, which are likely relevant to male-biased deficits and a female protective effect observed in Cttnbp2 mutant mice. Notably, RRAGC is an upstream regulator of mTOR that senses BCAA, suggesting that mTOR exerts a beneficial effect on females. Indeed, increased BCAA intake activates the mTOR pathway and rescues neuronal responses and social behaviours of male Cttnbp2 mutant mice. Moreover, mutant males exhibit greatly increased zinc demand to display normal social behaviours. Mice carrying an autism-linked Cttnbp2 mutation exhibit male-biased social deficits linked to specific brain regions, differential synaptic proteomes and higher demand for BCAA and zinc. We postulate that lower demand for zinc and BCAA are relevant to the female protective effect. Our study reveals a mechanism underlying sex-biased social defects and also suggests a potential therapeutic approach for autism spectrum disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzu-Li Yen
- Molecular and Cell Biology, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica and Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Tzyy-Nan Huang
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Ming-Hui Lin
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Tsan-Ting Hsu
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Ming-Hsuan Lu
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Pu-Yun Shih
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Jacob Ellegood
- Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3H7, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada
| | - Jason Lerch
- Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3H7, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Yi-Ping Hsueh
- Molecular and Cell Biology, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica and Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan, ROC
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24
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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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25
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Maurer JJ, Choi A, An I, Sathi N, Chung S. Sleep disturbances in autism spectrum disorder: Animal models, neural mechanisms, and therapeutics. Neurobiol Sleep Circadian Rhythms 2023; 14:100095. [PMID: 37188242 PMCID: PMC10176270 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbscr.2023.100095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Sleep is crucial for brain development. Sleep disturbances are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Strikingly, these sleep problems are positively correlated with the severity of ASD core symptoms such as deficits in social skills and stereotypic behavior, indicating that sleep problems and the behavioral characteristics of ASD may be related. In this review, we will discuss sleep disturbances in children with ASD and highlight mouse models to study sleep disturbances and behavioral phenotypes in ASD. In addition, we will review neuromodulators controlling sleep and wakefulness and how these neuromodulatory systems are disrupted in animal models and patients with ASD. Lastly, we will address how the therapeutic interventions for patients with ASD improve various aspects of sleep. Together, gaining mechanistic insights into the neural mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances in children with ASD will help us to develop better therapeutic interventions.
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26
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Verbitsky M, Krishnamurthy S, Krithivasan P, Hughes D, Khan A, Marasà M, Vena N, Khosla P, Zhang J, Lim TY, Glessner JT, Weng C, Shang N, Shen Y, Hripcsak G, Hakonarson H, Ionita-Laza I, Levy B, Kenny EE, Loos RJ, Kiryluk K, Sanna-Cherchi S, Crosslin DR, Furth S, Warady BA, Igo RP, Iyengar SK, Wong CS, Parsa A, Feldman HI, Gharavi AG. Genomic Disorders in CKD across the Lifespan. J Am Soc Nephrol 2023; 34:607-618. [PMID: 36302597 PMCID: PMC10103259 DOI: 10.1681/asn.2022060725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Pathogenic structural genetic variants, also known as genomic disorders, have been associated with pediatric CKD. This study extends those results across the lifespan, with genomic disorders enriched in both pediatric and adult patients compared with controls. In the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort study, genomic disorders were also associated with lower serum Mg, lower educational performance, and a higher risk of death. A phenome-wide association study confirmed the link between kidney disease and genomic disorders in an unbiased way. Systematic detection of genomic disorders can provide a molecular diagnosis and refine prediction of risk and prognosis. BACKGROUND Genomic disorders (GDs) are associated with many comorbid outcomes, including CKD. Identification of GDs has diagnostic utility. METHODS We examined the prevalence of GDs among participants in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) cohort II ( n =248), Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study ( n =3375), Columbia University CKD Biobank (CU-CKD; n =1986), and the Family Investigation of Nephropathy and Diabetes (FIND; n =1318) compared with 30,746 controls. We also performed a phenome-wide association analysis (PheWAS) of GDs in the electronic MEdical Records and GEnomics (eMERGE; n =11,146) cohort. RESULTS We found nine out of 248 (3.6%) CKiD II participants carried a GD, replicating prior findings in pediatric CKD. We also identified GDs in 72 out of 6679 (1.1%) adult patients with CKD in the CRIC, CU-CKD, and FIND cohorts, compared with 199 out of 30,746 (0.65%) GDs in controls (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3 to 2.2). Among adults with CKD, we found recurrent GDs at the 1q21.1, 16p11.2, 17q12, and 22q11.2 loci. The 17q12 GD (diagnostic of renal cyst and diabetes syndrome) was most frequent, present in 1:252 patients with CKD and diabetes. In the PheWAS, dialysis and neuropsychiatric phenotypes were the top associations with GDs. In CRIC participants, GDs were associated with lower serum magnesium, lower educational achievement, and higher mortality risk. CONCLUSION Undiagnosed GDs are detected both in children and adults with CKD. Identification of GDs in these patients can enable a precise genetic diagnosis, inform prognosis, and help stratify risk in clinical studies. GDs could also provide a molecular explanation for nephropathy and comorbidities, such as poorer neurocognition for a subset of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Verbitsky
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | | | - Priya Krithivasan
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Daniel Hughes
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Atlas Khan
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Maddalena Marasà
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Natalie Vena
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Pavan Khosla
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Junying Zhang
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Tze Y. Lim
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Joseph T. Glessner
- Center for Applied Genomics and Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Chunhua Weng
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Ning Shang
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Yufeng Shen
- Department of Systems Biology and Columbia Genome Center, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - George Hripcsak
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Hakon Hakonarson
- Center for Applied Genomics and Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Brynn Levy
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Eimear E. Kenny
- Institute for Genomic Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Ruth J.F. Loos
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Krzysztof Kiryluk
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Simone Sanna-Cherchi
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - David R. Crosslin
- Division of Biomedical Informatics and Genomics, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
| | - Susan Furth
- Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Bradley A. Warady
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri
| | - Robert P. Igo
- Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University and Louis Stoke, Cleveland, Ohio
| | - Sudha K. Iyengar
- Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University and Louis Stoke, Cleveland, Ohio
| | - Craig S. Wong
- Division of Pediatric Nephrology, University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Afshin Parsa
- Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Harold I. Feldman
- Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ali G. Gharavi
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York
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27
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Dargenio VN, Dargenio C, Castellaneta S, De Giacomo A, Laguardia M, Schettini F, Francavilla R, Cristofori F. Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction and Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Possible Implications in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Nutrients 2023; 15:nu15071620. [PMID: 37049461 PMCID: PMC10096948 DOI: 10.3390/nu15071620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with multifactorial etiology, characterized by impairment in two main functional areas: (1) communication and social interactions, and (2) skills, interests and activities. ASD patients often suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms associated with dysbiotic states and a “leaky gut.” A key role in the pathogenesis of ASD has been attributed to the gut microbiota, as it influences central nervous system development and neuropsychological and gastrointestinal homeostasis through the microbiota–gut–brain axis. A state of dysbiosis with a reduction in the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio and Bacteroidetes level and other imbalances is common in ASD. In recent decades, many authors have tried to study and identify the microbial signature of ASD through in vivo and ex vivo studies. In this regard, the advent of metabolomics has also been of great help. Based on these data, several therapeutic strategies, primarily the use of probiotics, are investigated to improve the symptoms of ASD through the modulation of the microbiota. However, although the results are promising, the heterogeneity of the studies precludes concrete evidence. The aim of this review is to explore the role of intestinal barrier dysfunction, the gut–brain axis and microbiota alterations in ASD and the possible role of probiotic supplementation in these patients.
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28
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A Gender-Based Point of View in Pediatric Neurology. J Pers Med 2023; 13:jpm13030483. [PMID: 36983665 PMCID: PMC10059661 DOI: 10.3390/jpm13030483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
While the significance of gender has only recently been recognized, gender assigned at birth has long been understood to have a significant influence on a number of illnesses. Due to the paucity of data in this regard in pediatrics, the purpose of this narrative review is to frame the most recent knowledge about the role of gender assigned at birth in the neurological development and neuropsychiatric disorders among young people. Literature analysis showed that gender disparities exist in neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders among the pediatric population and supported the fact that new guidelines should take this into account. However, there is an urgent need for specific studies focused on gender role among children and adolescents in order to better understand how this can relate to diagnosis, development and treatment of different neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases. Moreover, further efforts should be directed to identify unique risks linked to gender disorders and gender dysphoria as well as taking into account a gender point of view when approaching a pediatric patient.
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Apte M, Kumar A. Correlation of Mutated gene and Signalling pathways in ASD. IBRO Neurosci Rep 2023; 14:384-392. [PMID: 37101819 PMCID: PMC10123338 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2023.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism is a complicated spectrum of neurodevelopmental illnesses characterized by repetitive and constrained behaviors and interests, as well as social interaction and communication difficulties that are first shown in infancy. More than 18 million Indians, according to the National Health Portal of India, and 1 in 160 children worldwide, according to the WHO, are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. This review aims to discuss the complex genetic architecture that underlies autism and summarizes the role of proteins likely to play in the development of autism. We also consider how genetic mutations can affect convergent signaling pathways and hinder the development of brain circuitry and the role of cognition development and theory of mind with Cognition-behavior therapy benefits in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhavi Apte
- Quality Assurance and Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, SVKM’s Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Vile Parle, 400056 Mumbai, India
- Correspondence to: SVKM’s Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Mithibai Campus, V.M. Road, Vile Parle West, 400056 Mumbai, India.
| | - Aayush Kumar
- Quality Assurance, SVKM’s Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Vile Parle, 400056 Mumbai, India
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Therapeutic strategies for autism: targeting three levels of the central dogma of molecular biology. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:58. [PMID: 36792602 PMCID: PMC9931756 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02356-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The past decade has yielded much success in the identification of risk genes for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with many studies implicating loss-of-function (LoF) mutations within these genes. Despite this, no significant clinical advances have been made so far in the development of therapeutics for ASD. Given the role of LoF mutations in ASD etiology, many of the therapeutics in development are designed to rescue the haploinsufficient effect of genes at the transcriptional, translational, and protein levels. This review will discuss the various therapeutic techniques being developed from each level of the central dogma with examples including: CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) and gene replacement at the DNA level, antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) at the mRNA level, and small-molecule drugs at the protein level, followed by a review of current delivery methods for these therapeutics. Since central nervous system (CNS) penetrance is of utmost importance for ASD therapeutics, it is especially necessary to evaluate delivery methods that have higher efficiency in crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
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Qiu S, Qiu Y, Li Y, Zhu X, Liu Y, Qiao Y, Cheng Y, Liu Y. Nexus between genome-wide copy number variations and autism spectrum disorder in Northeast Han Chinese population. BMC Psychiatry 2023; 23:96. [PMID: 36750796 PMCID: PMC9906952 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-04565-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder, with an increasing prevalence worldwide. Copy number variation (CNV), as one of genetic factors, is involved in ASD etiology. However, there exist substantial differences in terms of location and frequency of some CNVs in the general Asian population. Whole-genome studies of CNVs in Northeast Han Chinese samples are still lacking, necessitating our ongoing work to investigate the characteristics of CNVs in a Northeast Han Chinese population with clinically diagnosed ASD. METHODS We performed a genome-wide CNVs screening in Northeast Han Chinese individuals with ASD using array-based comparative genomic hybridization. RESULTS We found that 22 kinds of CNVs (6 deletions and 16 duplications) were potentially pathogenic. These CNVs were distributed in chromosome 1p36.33, 1p36.31, 1q42.13, 2p23.1-p22.3, 5p15.33, 5p15.33-p15.2, 7p22.3, 7p22.3-p22.2, 7q22.1-q22.2, 10q23.2-q23.31, 10q26.2-q26.3, 11p15.5, 11q25, 12p12.1-p11.23, 14q11.2, 15q13.3, 16p13.3, 16q21, 22q13.31-q13.33, and Xq12-q13.1. Additionally, we found 20 potential pathogenic genes of ASD in our population, including eight protein coding genes (six duplications [DRD4, HRAS, OPHN1, SHANK3, SLC6A3, and TSC2] and two deletions [CHRNA7 and PTEN]) and 12 microRNAs-coding genes (ten duplications [MIR202, MIR210, MIR3178, MIR339, MIR4516, MIR4717, MIR483, MIR675, MIR6821, and MIR940] and two deletions [MIR107 and MIR558]). CONCLUSION We identified CNVs and genes implicated in ASD risks, conferring perception to further reveal ASD etiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Qiu
- grid.64924.3d0000 0004 1760 5735Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 Jilin China ,grid.64924.3d0000 0004 1760 5735Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jilin University Hospital, Changchun, 130000 Jilin China
| | - Yingjia Qiu
- grid.415954.80000 0004 1771 3349China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, 130033 Jilin China
| | - Yong Li
- grid.64924.3d0000 0004 1760 5735Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 Jilin China
| | - Xiaojuan Zhu
- grid.27446.330000 0004 1789 9163The Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130021 Jilin China
| | - Yunkai Liu
- grid.430605.40000 0004 1758 4110Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 Jilin China ,Key Laboratory for Cardiovascular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130021 Jilin China ,grid.430605.40000 0004 1758 4110Institute of Translational Medicine, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 Jilin China
| | - Yichun Qiao
- grid.64924.3d0000 0004 1760 5735Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 Jilin China
| | - Yi Cheng
- Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China. .,Key Laboratory for Cardiovascular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China. .,Institute of Translational Medicine, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
| | - Yawen Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
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Annunziata S, Bulgheroni S, D'Arrigo S, Esposito S, Taddei M, Saletti V, Alfei E, Sciacca FL, Rizzo A, Pantaleoni C, Riva D. CGH Findings in Children with Complex and Essential Autistic Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2023; 53:615-623. [PMID: 33394245 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04833-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition with a strong genetic basis. We accurately assessed 209 ASD subjects, categorized in complex (47) and essential (162), and performed array comparative genomic hybridization to identify pathogenic and recurrent Copy Number Variants (CNVs). We found 117 CNVs in 75 patients, 11 classified as pathogenic. The complex ASD subjects have higher frequency of pathogenic CNVs with a diagnostic yield of 12.8%. Familiality, cognitive and verbal abilities, severity of autistic symptoms, neuroimaging and neurophysiological findings are not related to genetic data. This study identifies loci of interest for ASD and highlights the importance of a careful phenotypic characterization, as complex ASD is related to higher rate of pathogenic CNVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Annunziata
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy.,Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Brain and Behavioral Sciences Department, University of Pavia, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Sara Bulgheroni
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano D'Arrigo
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Esposito
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy.
| | - Matilde Taddei
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Veronica Saletti
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Enrico Alfei
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy.,Pediatric Neurology Unit, "Vittore Buzzi" Children's Hospital ASST Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, 20100, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Luisa Sciacca
- Laboratory of Clinical Pathology and Medical Genetics, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Ambra Rizzo
- Laboratory of Clinical Pathology and Medical Genetics, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Pantaleoni
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Daria Riva
- Developmental Neurology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
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Scangos KW, State MW, Miller AH, Baker JT, Williams LM. New and emerging approaches to treat psychiatric disorders. Nat Med 2023; 29:317-333. [PMID: 36797480 PMCID: PMC11219030 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-02197-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent, often devastating diseases that negatively impact the lives of millions of people worldwide. Although their etiological and diagnostic heterogeneity has long challenged drug discovery, an emerging circuit-based understanding of psychiatric illness is offering an important alternative to the current reliance on trial and error, both in the development and in the clinical application of treatments. Here we review new and emerging treatment approaches, with a particular emphasis on the revolutionary potential of brain-circuit-based interventions for precision psychiatry. Limitations of circuit models, challenges of bringing precision therapeutics to market and the crucial advances needed to overcome these obstacles are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine W Scangos
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Matthew W State
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Andrew H Miller
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Justin T Baker
- McLean Hospital Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Leanne M Williams
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
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Zhang Y, Li Y, Guo R, Xu W, Liu X, Zhao C, Guo Q, Xu W, Ni X, Hao C, Cui Y, Li W. Genetic diagnostic yields of 354 Chinese ASD children with rare mutations by a pipeline of genomic tests. Front Genet 2023; 14:1108440. [PMID: 37035742 PMCID: PMC10076746 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1108440] [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: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose: To establish an effective genomic diagnosis pipeline for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for its genetic etiology and intervention. Methods: A cohort of 354 autism spectrum disorder patients were obtained from Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University. Peripheral blood samples of the patients were collected for whole genome sequencing (WGS) and RNA sequencing (RNAseq). Sequencing data analyses were performed for mining the single nucleotide variation (SNV), copy number variation (CNV) and structural variation (SV). Sanger sequencing and quantitative PCR were used to verify the positive results. Results: Among 354 patients, 9 cases with pathogenic/likely pathogenic copy number variation and 10 cases with pathogenic/likely pathogenic single nucleotide variations were detected, with a total positive rate of 5.3%. Among these 9 copy number variation cases, 5 were de novo and 4 were inherited. Among the 10 de novo single nucleotide variations, 7 were previously unreported. The pathological de novo mutations account for 4.2% in our cohort. Conclusion: Rare mutations of copy number variations and single nucleotide variations account for a relatively small proportion of autism spectrum disorder children, which can be easily detected by a genomic testing pipeline of combined whole genome sequencing and RNA sequencing. This is important for early etiological diagnosis and precise management of autism spectrum disorder with rare mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
| | - Ruolan Guo
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
| | - Wenjian Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
| | - Xuanshi Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
| | - Chunlin Zhao
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
| | - Qi Guo
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
| | - Wenshan Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Ni
- National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Wei Li, ; Yonghua Cui, ; Chanjuan Hao, ; Xin Ni,
| | - Chanjuan Hao
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Wei Li, ; Yonghua Cui, ; Chanjuan Hao, ; Xin Ni,
| | - Yonghua Cui
- Department of Psychiatry, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Wei Li, ; Yonghua Cui, ; Chanjuan Hao, ; Xin Ni,
| | - Wei Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Genetics of Birth Defects, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Wei Li, ; Yonghua Cui, ; Chanjuan Hao, ; Xin Ni,
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35
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Lee K, Mills Z, Cheung P, Cheyne JE, Montgomery JM. The Role of Zinc and NMDA Receptors in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 16:ph16010001. [PMID: 36678498 PMCID: PMC9866730 DOI: 10.3390/ph16010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
NMDA-type glutamate receptors are critical for synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system. Their unique properties and age-dependent arrangement of subunit types underpin their role as a coincidence detector of pre- and postsynaptic activity during brain development and maturation. NMDAR function is highly modulated by zinc, which is co-released with glutamate and concentrates in postsynaptic spines. Both NMDARs and zinc have been strongly linked to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), suggesting that NMDARs are an important player in the beneficial effects observed with zinc in both animal models and children with ASDs. Significant evidence is emerging that these beneficial effects occur via zinc-dependent regulation of SHANK proteins, which form the backbone of the postsynaptic density. For example, dietary zinc supplementation enhances SHANK2 or SHANK3 synaptic recruitment and rescues NMDAR deficits and hypofunction in Shank3ex13-16-/- and Tbr1+/- ASD mice. Across multiple studies, synaptic changes occur in parallel with a reversal of ASD-associated behaviours, highlighting the zinc-dependent regulation of NMDARs and glutamatergic synapses as therapeutic targets for severe forms of ASDs, either pre- or postnatally. The data from rodent models set a strong foundation for future translational studies in human cells and people affected by ASDs.
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36
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Dougherty JD, Marrus N, Maloney SE, Yip B, Sandin S, Turner TN, Selmanovic D, Kroll KL, Gutmann DH, Constantino JN, Weiss LA. Can the "female protective effect" liability threshold model explain sex differences in autism spectrum disorder? Neuron 2022; 110:3243-3262. [PMID: 35868305 PMCID: PMC9588569 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Male sex is a strong risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The leading theory for a "female protective effect" (FPE) envisions males and females have "differing thresholds" under a "liability threshold model" (DT-LTM). Specifically, this model posits that females require either a greater number or larger magnitude of risk factors (i.e., greater liability) to manifest ASD, which is supported by the finding that a greater proportion of females with ASD have highly penetrant genetic mutations. Herein, we derive testable hypotheses from the DT-LTM for ASD, investigating heritability, familial recurrence, correlation between ASD penetrance and sex ratio, population traits, clinical features, the stability of the sex ratio across diagnostic changes, and highlight other key prerequisites. Our findings reveal that several key predictions of the DT-LTM are not supported by current data, requiring us to establish a different conceptual framework for evaluating alternate models that explain sex differences in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph D Dougherty
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Natasha Marrus
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Susan E Maloney
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Benjamin Yip
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Sven Sandin
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tychele N Turner
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Din Selmanovic
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kristen L Kroll
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - David H Gutmann
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - John N Constantino
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Lauren A Weiss
- Institute for Human Genetics, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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Jaudon F, Thalhammer A, Zentilin L, Cingolani LA. CRISPR-mediated activation of autism gene Itgb3 restores cortical network excitability via mGluR5 signaling. MOLECULAR THERAPY - NUCLEIC ACIDS 2022; 29:462-480. [PMID: 36035754 PMCID: PMC9382421 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2022.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Many mutations in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affect a single allele, indicating a key role for gene dosage in ASD susceptibility. Recently, haplo-insufficiency of ITGB3, the gene encoding the extracellular matrix receptor β3 integrin, was associated with ASD. Accordingly, Itgb3 knockout (KO) mice exhibit autism-like phenotypes. The pathophysiological mechanisms of Itgb3 remain, however, unknown, and the potential of targeting this gene for developing ASD therapies uninvestigated. By combining molecular, biochemical, imaging, and pharmacological analyses, we establish that Itgb3 haplo-insufficiency impairs cortical network excitability by promoting extra-synaptic over synaptic signaling of the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR5, which is similarly dysregulated in fragile X syndrome, the most frequent monogenic form of ASD. To assess the therapeutic potential of regulating Itgb3 gene dosage, we implemented CRISPR activation and compared its efficacy with that of a pharmacological rescue strategy for fragile X syndrome. Correction of neuronal Itgb3 haplo-insufficiency by CRISPR activation rebalanced network excitability as effectively as blockade of mGluR5 with the selective antagonist MPEP. Our findings reveal an unexpected functional interaction between two ASD genes, thereby validating the pathogenicity of ITGB3 haplo-insufficiency. Further, they pave the way for exploiting CRISPR activation as gene therapy for normalizing gene dosage and network excitability in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny Jaudon
- Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology (NSYN), Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 16132 Genoa, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Agnes Thalhammer
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Lorena Zentilin
- AAV Vector Unit, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), 34149 Trieste, Italy
| | - Lorenzo A. Cingolani
- Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology (NSYN), Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 16132 Genoa, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
- Corresponding author Lorenzo A. Cingolani, Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
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Pedrazzi JFC, Ferreira FR, Silva-Amaral D, Lima DA, Hallak JEC, Zuardi AW, Del-Bel EA, Guimarães FS, Costa KCM, Campos AC, Crippa ACS, Crippa JAS. Cannabidiol for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder: hope or hype? Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:2713-2734. [PMID: 35904579 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06196-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined as a group of neurodevelopmental disorders whose symptoms include impaired communication and social interaction, restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, and varying levels of intellectual disability. ASD is observed in early childhood and is one of the most severe chronic childhood disorders in prevalence, morbidity, and impact on society. It is usually accompanied by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and epilepsy. The treatment of ASD has low efficacy, possibly because it has a heterogeneous nature, and its neurobiological basis is not clearly understood. Drugs such as risperidone and aripiprazole are the only two drugs available that are recognized by the Food and Drug Administration, primarily for treating the behavioral symptoms of this disorder. These drugs have limited efficacy and a high potential for inducing undesirable effects, compromising treatment adherence. Therefore, there is great interest in exploring the endocannabinoid system, which modulates the activity of other neurotransmitters, has actions in social behavior and seems to be altered in patients with ASD. Thus, cannabidiol (CBD) emerges as a possible strategy for treating ASD symptoms since it has relevant pharmacological actions on the endocannabinoid system and shows promising results in studies related to disorders in the central nervous system. OBJECTIVES Review the preclinical and clinical data supporting CBD's potential as a treatment for the symptoms and comorbidities associated with ASD, as well as discuss and provide information with the purpose of not trivializing the use of this drug.
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Affiliation(s)
- João F C Pedrazzi
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Frederico R Ferreira
- Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, 21040-900, Brazil
| | - Danyelle Silva-Amaral
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Daniel A Lima
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jaime E C Hallak
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Antônio W Zuardi
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Elaine A Del-Bel
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Morphology, Physiology, and Basic Pathology, School of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Francisco S Guimarães
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Karla C M Costa
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Alline C Campos
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ana C S Crippa
- Graduate Program in Child and Adolescent Health, Neuropediatric Center of the Hospital of Clinics (CENEP), Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
| | - José A S Crippa
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
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Adult re-expression of IRSp53 rescues NMDA receptor function and social behavior in IRSp53-mutant mice. Commun Biol 2022; 5:838. [PMID: 35982261 PMCID: PMC9388611 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03813-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
IRSp53 (or BAIAP2) is an abundant excitatory postsynaptic scaffolding/adaptor protein that is involved in actin regulation and has been implicated in autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. IRSp53 deletion in mice leads to enhanced NMDA receptor (NMDAR) function and social deficits that are responsive to NMDAR inhibition. However, it remains unclear whether IRSp53 re-expression in the adult IRSp53-mutant mouse brain after the completion of brain development could reverse these synaptic and behavioral dysfunctions. Here we employed a brain-blood barrier (BBB)-penetrant adeno-associated virus (AAV) known as PHP.eB to drive adult IRSp53 re-expression in IRSp53-mutant mice. The adult IRSp53 re-expression normalized social deficits without affecting hyperactivity or anxiety-like behavior. In addition, adult IRSp53 re-expression normalized NMDAR-mediated excitatory synaptic transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex. Our results suggest that adult IRSp53 re-expression can normalize synaptic and behavioral deficits in IRSp53-mutant mice and that BBB-penetrant adult gene re-expression has therapeutic potential.
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40
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Anstey NJ, Kapgal V, Tiwari S, Watson TC, Toft AKH, Dando OR, Inkpen FH, Baxter PS, Kozić Z, Jackson AD, He X, Nawaz MS, Kayenaat A, Bhattacharya A, Wyllie DJA, Chattarji S, Wood ER, Hardt O, Kind PC. Imbalance of flight-freeze responses and their cellular correlates in the Nlgn3 -/y rat model of autism. Mol Autism 2022; 13:34. [PMID: 35850732 PMCID: PMC9290228 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-022-00511-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mutations in the postsynaptic transmembrane protein neuroligin-3 are highly correlative with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and intellectual disabilities (IDs). Fear learning is well studied in models of these disorders, however differences in fear response behaviours are often overlooked. We aim to examine fear behaviour and its cellular underpinnings in a rat model of ASD/ID lacking Nlgn3. METHODS This study uses a range of behavioural tests to understand differences in fear response behaviour in Nlgn3-/y rats. Following this, we examined the physiological underpinnings of this in neurons of the periaqueductal grey (PAG), a midbrain area involved in flight-or-freeze responses. We used whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from ex vivo PAG slices, in addition to in vivo local-field potential recordings and electrical stimulation of the PAG in wildtype and Nlgn3-/y rats. We analysed behavioural data with two- and three-way ANOVAS and electrophysiological data with generalised linear mixed modelling (GLMM). RESULTS We observed that, unlike the wildtype, Nlgn3-/y rats are more likely to response with flight rather than freezing in threatening situations. Electrophysiological findings were in agreement with these behavioural outcomes. We found in ex vivo slices from Nlgn3-/y rats that neurons in dorsal PAG (dPAG) showed intrinsic hyperexcitability compared to wildtype. Similarly, stimulating dPAG in vivo revealed that lower magnitudes sufficed to evoke flight behaviour in Nlgn3-/y than wildtype rats, indicating the functional impact of the increased cellular excitability. LIMITATIONS Our findings do not examine what specific cell type in the PAG is likely responsible for these phenotypes. Furthermore, we have focussed on phenotypes in young adult animals, whilst the human condition associated with NLGN3 mutations appears during the first few years of life. CONCLUSIONS We describe altered fear responses in Nlgn3-/y rats and provide evidence that this is the result of a circuit bias that predisposes flight over freeze responses. Additionally, we demonstrate the first link between PAG dysfunction and ASD/ID. This study provides new insight into potential pathophysiologies leading to anxiety disorders and changes to fear responses in individuals with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha J Anstey
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Vijayakumar Kapgal
- Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India.,The University of Transdisciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Shashank Tiwari
- Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Thomas C Watson
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Anna K H Toft
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Owen R Dando
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India.,Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Felicity H Inkpen
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Paul S Baxter
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Zrinko Kozić
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Adam D Jackson
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Xin He
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Mohammad Sarfaraz Nawaz
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Aiman Kayenaat
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India.,The University of Transdisciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Aditi Bhattacharya
- Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - David J A Wyllie
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India.,Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Sumantra Chattarji
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Emma R Wood
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Oliver Hardt
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India.,Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Peter C Kind
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, 5 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK. .,Centre for Brain Development and Repair, InStem, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India.
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Huo Y, Lu W, Tian Y, Hou Q, Man HY. Prkn knockout mice show autistic-like behaviors and aberrant synapse formation. iScience 2022; 25:104573. [PMID: 35789851 PMCID: PMC9249611 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with high genetic heterogeneity, affecting one in 44 children in the United States. Recent genomic sequencing studies from autistic human individuals indicate that PARK2, a gene that has long been considered in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, is involved in ASD. Here, we report that Prkn knockout (KO) mice demonstrate autistic-like behaviors including impaired social interaction, elevated repetitive behaviors, and deficits in communication. In addition, Prkn KO mice show reduced neuronal activity in the context of sociability in the prelimbic cortex. Cell morphological examination of layer 5 prelimbic cortical neurons shows a reduction in dendritic arborization and spine number. Furthermore, biochemistry and immunocytochemistry analyses reveal alterations in synapse density and the molecular composition of synapses. These findings indicate that Prkn is implicated in brain development and suggest the potential use of the Prkn KO mouse as a model for autism research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuda Huo
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Wen Lu
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Yuan Tian
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Qingming Hou
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Heng-Ye Man
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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42
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Wang YW, Hu N, Li XH. Genetic and Epigenetic Regulation of Brain Organoids. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:948818. [PMID: 35846370 PMCID: PMC9283755 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.948818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Revealing the mechanisms of neural development and the pathogenesis of neural diseases are one of the most challenging missions in life science. Pluripotent stem cells derived brain organoids mimic the development, maturation, signal generation, and function of human brains, providing unique advantage for neurology. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) and multielectrode array independently revealed the similarity between brain organoids and immature human brain at early developmental stages, in the context of gene transcription and dynamic network of neuronal signals. Brain organoids provided the unique opportunity to investigate the underlying mechanism of neural differentiation, senescence, and pathogenesis. In this review, we summarized the latest knowledge and technology in the brain organoid field, the current and potential applications in disease models and pre-clinic studies, with emphasizing the importance of transcriptional and epigenetic analysis.
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43
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Alamoudi MU, Hosie S, Shindler AE, Wood JL, Franks AE, Hill-Yardin EL. Comparing the Gut Microbiome in Autism and Preclinical Models: A Systematic Review. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:905841. [PMID: 35846755 PMCID: PMC9286068 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.905841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Many individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction and show microbial dysbiosis. Variation in gut microbial populations is associated with increased risk for GI symptoms such as chronic constipation and diarrhoea, which decrease quality of life. Several preclinical models of autism also demonstrate microbial dysbiosis. Given that much pre-clinical research is conducted in mouse models, it is important to understand the similarities and differences between the gut microbiome in humans and these models in the context of autism. We conducted a systematic review of the literature using PubMed, ProQuest and Scopus databases to compare microbiome profiles of patients with autism and transgenic (NL3R451C, Shank3 KO, 15q dup), phenotype-first (BTBR) and environmental (Poly I:C, Maternal Inflammation Activation (MIA), valproate) mouse models of autism. Overall, we report changes in fecal microbial communities relevant to ASD based on both clinical and preclinical studies. Here, we identify an overlapping cluster of genera that are modified in both fecal samples from individuals with ASD and mouse models of autism. Specifically, we describe an increased abundance of Bilophila, Clostridium, Dorea and Lactobacillus and a decrease in Blautia genera in both humans and rodents relevant to this disorder. Studies in both humans and mice highlighted multidirectional changes in abundance (i.e. in some cases increased abundance whereas other reports showed decreases) for several genera including Akkermansia, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Parabacteroides and Prevotella, suggesting that these genera may be susceptible to modification in autism. Identification of these microbial profiles may assist in characterising underlying biological mechanisms involving host-microbe interactions and provide future therapeutic targets for improving gut health in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed U. Alamoudi
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
| | - Suzanne Hosie
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| | - Anya E. Shindler
- Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| | - Jennifer L. Wood
- Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| | - Ashley E. Franks
- Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| | - Elisa L. Hill-Yardin
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- *Correspondence: Elisa L. Hill-Yardin,
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44
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Mehinovic E, Gray T, Campbell M, Ekholm J, Wenger A, Rowell W, Grudo A, Grimwood J, Korlach J, Gurnett C, Constantino JN, Turner TN. Germline mosaicism of a missense variant in KCNC2 in a multiplex family with autism and epilepsy characterized by long-read sequencing. Am J Med Genet A 2022; 188:2071-2081. [PMID: 35366058 PMCID: PMC9197999 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.62743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Currently, protein-coding de novo variants and large copy number variants have been identified as important for ~30% of individuals with autism. One approach to identify relevant variation in individuals who lack these types of events is by utilizing newer genomic technologies. In this study, highly accurate PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing was applied to a family with autism, epileptic encephalopathy, cognitive impairment, and mild dysmorphic features (two affected female siblings, unaffected parents, and one unaffected male sibling) with no known clinical variant. From our long-read sequencing data, a de novo missense variant in the KCNC2 gene (encodes Kv3.2) was identified in both affected children. This variant was phased to the paternal chromosome of origin and is likely a germline mosaic. In silico assessment revealed the variant was not in controls, highly conserved, and predicted damaging. This specific missense variant (Val473Ala) has been shown in both an ortholog and paralog of Kv3.2 to accelerate current decay, shift the voltage dependence of activation, and prevent the channel from entering a long-lasting open state. Seven additional missense variants have been identified in other individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (p = 1.03 × 10-5 ). KCNC2 is most highly expressed in the brain; in particular, in the thalamus and is enriched in GABAergic neurons. Long-read sequencing was useful in discovering the relevant variant in this family with autism that had remained a mystery for several years and will potentially have great benefits in the clinic once it is widely available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvisa Mehinovic
- Department of GeneticsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Teddi Gray
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Meghan Campbell
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | | | | | | | - Ari Grudo
- Pacific BiosciencesMenlo ParkCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jane Grimwood
- HudsonAlpha Institute for BiotechnologyHuntsvilleAlabamaUSA
| | | | - Christina Gurnett
- Department of NeurologyWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - John N. Constantino
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Tychele N. Turner
- Department of GeneticsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
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45
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Willsey HR, Willsey AJ, Wang B, State MW. Genomics, convergent neuroscience and progress in understanding autism spectrum disorder. Nat Rev Neurosci 2022; 23:323-341. [PMID: 35440779 PMCID: PMC10693992 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-022-00576-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
More than a hundred genes have been identified that, when disrupted, impart large risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Current knowledge about the encoded proteins - although incomplete - points to a very wide range of developmentally dynamic and diverse biological processes. Moreover, the core symptoms of ASD involve distinctly human characteristics, presenting challenges to interpreting evolutionarily distant model systems. Indeed, despite a decade of striking progress in gene discovery, an actionable understanding of pathobiology remains elusive. Increasingly, convergent neuroscience approaches have been recognized as an important complement to traditional uses of genetics to illuminate the biology of human disorders. These methods seek to identify intersection among molecular-level, cellular-level and circuit-level functions across multiple risk genes and have highlighted developing excitatory neurons in the human mid-gestational prefrontal cortex as an important pathobiological nexus in ASD. In addition, neurogenesis, chromatin modification and synaptic function have emerged as key potential mediators of genetic vulnerability. The continued expansion of foundational 'omics' data sets, the application of higher-throughput model systems and incorporating developmental trajectories and sex differences into future analyses will refine and extend these results. Ultimately, a systems-level understanding of ASD genetic risk holds promise for clarifying pathobiology and advancing therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Rankin Willsey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - A Jeremy Willsey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Belinda Wang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Matthew W State
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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46
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Özden F, Alkan C, Çiçek AE. Polishing copy number variant calls on exome sequencing data via deep learning. Genome Res 2022; 32:1170-1182. [PMID: 35697522 DOI: 10.1101/gr.274845.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Accurate and efficient detection of copy number variants (CNVs) is of critical importance owing to their significant association with complex genetic diseases. Although algorithms that use whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data provide stable results with mostly valid statistical assumptions, copy number detection on whole-exome sequencing (WES) data shows comparatively lower accuracy. This is unfortunate as WES data are cost-efficient, compact, and relatively ubiquitous. The bottleneck is primarily due to the noncontiguous nature of the targeted capture: biases in targeted genomic hybridization, GC content, targeting probes, and sample batching during sequencing. Here, we present a novel deep learning model, DECoNT, which uses the matched WES and WGS data, and learns to correct the copy number variations reported by any off-the-shelf WES-based germline CNV caller. We train DECoNT on the 1000 Genomes Project data, and we show that we can efficiently triple the duplication call precision and double the deletion call precision of the state-of-the-art algorithms. We also show that our model consistently improves the performance independent of (1) sequencing technology, (2) exome capture kit, and (3) CNV caller. Using DECoNT as a universal exome CNV call polisher has the potential to improve the reliability of germline CNV detection on WES data sets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Furkan Özden
- Department of Computer Engineering, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
| | - Can Alkan
- Department of Computer Engineering, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
| | - A Ercüment Çiçek
- Department of Computer Engineering, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.,Computational Biology Department, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
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47
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Napolitano A, Schiavi S, La Rosa P, Rossi-Espagnet MC, Petrillo S, Bottino F, Tagliente E, Longo D, Lupi E, Casula L, Valeri G, Piemonte F, Trezza V, Vicari S. Sex Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Diagnostic, Neurobiological, and Behavioral Features. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:889636. [PMID: 35633791 PMCID: PMC9136002 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.889636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with a worldwide prevalence of about 1%, characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication, repetitive patterns of behaviors, and can be associated with hyper- or hypo-reactivity of sensory stimulation and cognitive disability. ASD comorbid features include internalizing and externalizing symptoms such as anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and attention problems. The precise etiology of ASD is still unknown and it is undoubted that the disorder is linked to some extent to both genetic and environmental factors. It is also well-documented and known that one of the most striking and consistent finding in ASD is the higher prevalence in males compared to females, with around 70% of ASD cases described being males. The present review looked into the most significant studies that attempted to investigate differences in ASD males and females thus trying to shade some light on the peculiar characteristics of this prevalence in terms of diagnosis, imaging, major autistic-like behavior and sex-dependent uniqueness. The study also discussed sex differences found in animal models of ASD, to provide a possible explanation of the neurological mechanisms underpinning the different presentation of autistic symptoms in males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Napolitano
- Medical Physics Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Sara Schiavi
- Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Science Department, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Piergiorgio La Rosa
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Camilla Rossi-Espagnet
- Neuroradiology Unit, Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- NESMOS, Neuroradiology Department, S. Andrea Hospital Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Sara Petrillo
- Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Bottino
- Medical Physics Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Emanuela Tagliente
- Medical Physics Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Longo
- Neuroradiology Unit, Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Lupi
- Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Casula
- Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Valeri
- Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Fiorella Piemonte
- Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Diseases Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Viviana Trezza
- Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Science Department, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Life Sciences and Public Health Department, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
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48
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Allen M, Huang BS, Notaras MJ, Lodhi A, Barrio-Alonso E, Lituma PJ, Wolujewicz P, Witztum J, Longo F, Chen M, Greening DW, Klann E, Ross ME, Liston C, Colak D. Astrocytes derived from ASD individuals alter behavior and destabilize neuronal activity through aberrant Ca 2+ signaling. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:2470-2484. [PMID: 35365802 PMCID: PMC9135629 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01486-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The cellular mechanisms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are poorly understood. Cumulative evidence suggests that abnormal synapse function underlies many features of this disease. Astrocytes regulate several key neuronal processes, including the formation of synapses and the modulation of synaptic plasticity. Astrocyte abnormalities have also been identified in the postmortem brain tissue of ASD individuals. However, it remains unclear whether astrocyte pathology plays a mechanistic role in ASD, as opposed to a compensatory response. To address this, we combined stem cell culturing with transplantation techniques to determine disease-specific properties inherent to ASD astrocytes. We demonstrate that ASD astrocytes induce repetitive behavior as well as impair memory and long-term potentiation when transplanted into the healthy mouse brain. These in vivo phenotypes were accompanied by reduced neuronal network activity and spine density caused by ASD astrocytes in hippocampal neurons in vitro. Transplanted ASD astrocytes also exhibit exaggerated Ca2+ fluctuations in chimeric brains. Genetic modulation of evoked Ca2+ responses in ASD astrocytes modulates behavior and neuronal activity deficits. Thus, this study determines that astrocytes derived from ASD iPSCs are sufficient to induce repetitive behavior as well as cognitive deficit, suggesting a previously unrecognized primary role for astrocytes in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Allen
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ben S Huang
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael J Notaras
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Aiman Lodhi
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Estibaliz Barrio-Alonso
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Pablo J Lituma
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Paul Wolujewicz
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jonathan Witztum
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Francesco Longo
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Maoshan Chen
- Molecular Proteomics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Baker Department of Cardiovascular Research, Translation and Implementation, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - David W Greening
- Molecular Proteomics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Baker Department of Cardiovascular Research, Translation and Implementation, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Eric Klann
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - M Elizabeth Ross
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Conor Liston
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dilek Colak
- Center for Neurogenetics, Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA. .,Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children's Health, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
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49
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Auwerx C, Lepamets M, Sadler MC, Patxot M, Stojanov M, Baud D, Mägi R, Porcu E, Reymond A, Kutalik Z, Metspalu A, Milani L, Mägi R, Nelis M. The individual and global impact of copy-number variants on complex human traits. Am J Hum Genet 2022; 109:647-668. [PMID: 35240056 PMCID: PMC9069145 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The impact of copy-number variations (CNVs) on complex human traits remains understudied. We called CNVs in 331,522 UK Biobank participants and performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) between the copy number of CNV-proxy probes and 57 continuous traits, revealing 131 signals spanning 47 phenotypes. Our analysis recapitulated well-known associations (e.g., 1q21 and height), revealed the pleiotropy of recurrent CNVs (e.g., 26 and 16 traits for 16p11.2-BP4-BP5 and 22q11.21, respectively), and suggested gene functionalities (e.g., MARF1 in female reproduction). Forty-eight CNV signals (38%) overlapped with single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-GWASs signals for the same trait. For instance, deletion of PDZK1, which encodes a urate transporter scaffold protein, decreased serum urate levels, while deletion of RHD, which encodes the Rhesus blood group D antigen, associated with hematological traits. Other signals overlapped Mendelian disorder regions, suggesting variable expressivity and broad impact of these loci, as illustrated by signals mapping to Rotor syndrome (SLCO1B1/3), renal cysts and diabetes syndrome (HNF1B), or Charcot-Marie-Tooth (PMP22) loci. Total CNV burden negatively impacted 35 traits, leading to increased adiposity, liver/kidney damage, and decreased intelligence and physical capacity. Thirty traits remained burden associated after correcting for CNV-GWAS signals, pointing to a polygenic CNV architecture. The burden negatively correlated with socio-economic indicators, parental lifespan, and age (survivorship proxy), suggesting a contribution to decreased longevity. Together, our results showcase how studying CNVs can expand biological insights, emphasizing the critical role of this mutational class in shaping human traits and arguing in favor of a continuum between Mendelian and complex diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Auwerx
- Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; University Center for Primary Care and Public Health, Lausanne 1010, Switzerland
| | - Maarja Lepamets
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia; Estonian Genome Centre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia
| | - Marie C Sadler
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; University Center for Primary Care and Public Health, Lausanne 1010, Switzerland
| | - Marion Patxot
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Miloš Stojanov
- Materno-fetal and Obstetrics Research Unit, Department Woman-Mother-Child, CHUV, Lausanne 1011, Switzerland
| | - David Baud
- Materno-fetal and Obstetrics Research Unit, Department Woman-Mother-Child, CHUV, Lausanne 1011, Switzerland
| | - Reedik Mägi
- Estonian Genome Centre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia
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- Estonian Genome Centre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia
| | - Eleonora Porcu
- Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; University Center for Primary Care and Public Health, Lausanne 1010, Switzerland
| | - Alexandre Reymond
- Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland.
| | - Zoltán Kutalik
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; University Center for Primary Care and Public Health, Lausanne 1010, Switzerland.
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50
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Noyes MD, Harvey WT, Porubsky D, Sulovari A, Li R, Rose NR, Audano PA, Munson KM, Lewis AP, Hoekzema K, Mantere T, Graves-Lindsay TA, Sanders AD, Goodwin S, Kramer M, Mokrab Y, Zody MC, Hoischen A, Korbel JO, McCombie WR, Eichler EE. Familial long-read sequencing increases yield of de novo mutations. Am J Hum Genet 2022; 109:631-646. [PMID: 35290762 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of de novo mutation (DNM) have typically excluded some of the most repetitive and complex regions of the genome because these regions cannot be unambiguously mapped with short-read sequencing data. To better understand the genome-wide pattern of DNM, we generated long-read sequence data from an autism parent-child quad with an affected female where no pathogenic variant had been discovered in short-read Illumina sequence data. We deeply sequenced all four individuals by using three sequencing platforms (Illumina, Oxford Nanopore, and Pacific Biosciences) and three complementary technologies (Strand-seq, optical mapping, and 10X Genomics). Using long-read sequencing, we initially discovered and validated 171 DNMs across two children-a 20% increase in the number of de novo single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and indels when compared to short-read callsets. The number of DNMs further increased by 5% when considering a more complete human reference (T2T-CHM13) because of the recovery of events in regions absent from GRCh38 (e.g., three DNMs in heterochromatic satellites). In total, we validated 195 de novo germline mutations and 23 potential post-zygotic mosaic mutations across both children; the overall true substitution rate based on this integrated callset is at least 1.41 × 10-8 substitutions per nucleotide per generation. We also identified six de novo insertions and deletions in tandem repeats, two of which represent structural variants. We demonstrate that long-read sequencing and assembly, especially when combined with a more complete reference genome, increases the number of DNMs by >25% compared to previous studies, providing a more complete catalog of DNM compared to short-read data alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle D Noyes
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - William T Harvey
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - David Porubsky
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Arvis Sulovari
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ruiyang Li
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Nicholas R Rose
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Peter A Audano
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Katherine M Munson
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Alexandra P Lewis
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Kendra Hoekzema
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Tuomo Mantere
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Laboratory of Cancer Genetics and Tumor Biology, Cancer and Translational Medicine Research Unit and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, 90220 Oulu, Finland
| | | | - Ashley D Sanders
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genome Biology Unit, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sara Goodwin
- Stanley Institute for Cognitive Genomics, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Melissa Kramer
- Stanley Institute for Cognitive Genomics, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Younes Mokrab
- Department of Human Genetics, Sidra Medicine, PO Box 26999, Doha, Qatar; Weill Cornell Medicine, PO Box 24144, Doha, Qatar; College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, PO Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - Alexander Hoischen
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Radboud Institute of Medical Life Sciences and Department of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Jan O Korbel
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genome Biology Unit, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - W Richard McCombie
- Stanley Institute for Cognitive Genomics, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Evan E Eichler
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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