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Forsberg SL, Ilieva M, Maria Michel T. Epigenetics and cerebral organoids: promising directions in autism spectrum disorders. Transl Psychiatry 2018; 8:14. [PMID: 29317608 PMCID: PMC5802583 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-017-0062-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect 1 in 68 children in the US according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is characterized by impairments in social interactions and communication, restrictive and repetitive patterns of behaviors, and interests. Owing to disease complexity, only a limited number of treatment options are available mainly for children that alleviate but do not cure the debilitating symptoms. Studies confirm a genetic link, but environmental factors, such as medications, toxins, and maternal infection during pregnancy, as well as birth complications also play a role. Some studies indicate a set of candidate genes with different DNA methylation profiles in ASD compared to healthy individuals. Thus epigenetic alterations could help bridging the gene-environment gap in deciphering the underlying neurobiology of autism. However, epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have mainly included a very limited number of postmortem brain samples. Hence, cellular models mimicking brain development in vitro will be of great importance to study the critical epigenetic alterations and when they might happen. This review will give an overview of the state of the art concerning knowledge on epigenetic changes in autism and how new, cutting edge expertise based on three-dimensional (3D) stem cell technology models (brain organoids) can contribute in elucidating the multiple aspects of disease mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheena Louise Forsberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Mirolyuba Ilieva
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
| | - Tanja Maria Michel
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatry in the region of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Odense Center for Applied Neuroscience BRIDGE, University of Southern Denmark, Psychiatry in the Region of Southern Denmark, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
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Kumar S, Blangero J, Curran JE. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Disease Modeling and Gene Identification. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1706:17-38. [PMID: 29423791 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7471-9_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Experimental modeling of human inherited disorders provides insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved, and the underlying genetic component influencing, the disease phenotype. The breakthrough development of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology represents a quantum leap in experimental modeling of human diseases, providing investigators with a self-renewing and, thus, unlimited source of pluripotent cells for targeted differentiation. In principle, the entire range of cell types found in the human body can be interrogated using an iPSC approach. Therefore, iPSC technology, and the increasingly refined abilities to differentiate iPSCs into disease-relevant target cells, has far-reaching implications for understanding disease pathophysiology, identifying disease-causing genes, and developing more precise therapeutics, including advances in regenerative medicine. In this chapter, we discuss the technological perspectives and recent developments in the application of patient-derived iPSC lines for human disease modeling and disease gene identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satish Kumar
- South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine, 1214 W Schunior St, Edinburg, TX, 78541, USA.
| | - John Blangero
- South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine, 1214 W Schunior St, Edinburg, TX, 78541, USA
| | - Joanne E Curran
- South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine, 1214 W Schunior St, Edinburg, TX, 78541, USA
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Ardhanareeswaran K, Mariani J, Coppola G, Abyzov A, Vaccarino FM. Human induced pluripotent stem cells for modelling neurodevelopmental disorders. Nat Rev Neurol 2017; 13:265-278. [PMID: 28418023 DOI: 10.1038/nrneurol.2017.45] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
We currently have a poor understanding of the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders, owing to the fact that postmortem and imaging studies can only measure the postnatal status quo and offer little insight into the processes that give rise to the observed outcomes. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) should, in principle, prove powerful for elucidating the pathways that give rise to neurodevelopmental disorders. hiPSCs are embryonic-stem-cell-like cells that can be derived from somatic cells. They retain the unique genetic signature of the individual from whom they were derived, and thus enable researchers to recapitulate that individual's idiosyncratic neural development in a dish. In the case of individuals with disease, we can re-enact the disease-altered trajectory of brain development and examine how and why phenotypic and molecular abnormalities arise in these diseased brains. Here, we review hiPSC biology and possible experimental designs when using hiPSCs to model disease. We then discuss existing hiPSC models of neurodevelopmental disorders. Our hope is that, as some studies have already shown, hiPSCs will illuminate the pathophysiology of developmental disorders of the CNS and lead to therapeutic options for the millions that are affected by these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthikeyan Ardhanareeswaran
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
| | - Jessica Mariani
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
| | - Gianfilippo Coppola
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
| | - Alexej Abyzov
- Department of Health Sciences Research, Center for Individualized Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA
| | - Flora M Vaccarino
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Yale Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 200 South Frontage Road, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA
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Modeling psychiatric disorders: from genomic findings to cellular phenotypes. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21:1167-79. [PMID: 27240529 PMCID: PMC4995546 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2016.89] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Revised: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Major programs in psychiatric genetics have identified >150 risk loci for psychiatric disorders. These loci converge on a small number of functional pathways, which span conventional diagnostic criteria, suggesting a partly common biology underlying schizophrenia, autism and other psychiatric disorders. Nevertheless, the cellular phenotypes that capture the fundamental features of psychiatric disorders have not yet been determined. Recent advances in genetics and stem cell biology offer new prospects for cell-based modeling of psychiatric disorders. The advent of cell reprogramming and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) provides an opportunity to translate genetic findings into patient-specific in vitro models. iPSC technology is less than a decade old but holds great promise for bridging the gaps between patients, genetics and biology. Despite many obvious advantages, iPSC studies still present multiple challenges. In this expert review, we critically review the challenges for modeling of psychiatric disorders, potential solutions and how iPSC technology can be used to develop an analytical framework for the evaluation and therapeutic manipulation of fundamental disease processes.
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Stevens HE, Vaccarino FM. How animal models inform child and adolescent psychiatry. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2015; 54:352-9. [PMID: 25901771 PMCID: PMC4407022 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2015.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2014] [Revised: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Every available approach should be used to advance the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. Biological systems are important for the behavioral problems of children. Close examination of nonhuman animals and the biology and behavior that they share with humans is an approach that must be used to advance the clinical work of child psychiatry. METHOD We review here how model systems are used to contribute to significant insights into childhood psychiatric disorders. Model systems have not only demonstrated causality of risk factors for psychiatric pathophysiology, but have also allowed child psychiatrists to think in different ways about risks for psychiatric disorders and multiple levels that might be the basis of recovery and prevention. RESULTS We present examples of how animal systems are used to benefit child psychiatry, including through environmental, genetic, and acute biological manipulations. Animal model work has been essential in our current thinking about childhood disorders, including the importance of dose and timing of risk factors, specific features of risk factors that are significant, neurochemistry involved in brain functioning, molecular components of brain development, and the importance of cellular processes previously neglected in psychiatric theories. CONCLUSION Animal models have clear advantages and disadvantages that must be considered for these systems to be useful. Coupled with increasingly sophisticated methods for investigating human behavior and biology, animal model systems will continue to make essential contributions to our field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna E. Stevens
- University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City and the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
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Ardhanareeswaran K, Coppola G, Vaccarino F. The use of stem cells to study autism spectrum disorder. THE YALE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2015; 88:5-16. [PMID: 25745370 PMCID: PMC4345539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects as many as 1 in 68 children and is said to be the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States. There is currently no medical cure or diagnostic test for ASD. Furthermore, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve a single drug for the treatment of autism's core symptoms. Despite numerous genome studies and the identification of hundreds of genes that may cause or predispose children to ASD, the pathways underlying the pathogenesis of idiopathic ASD still remain elusive. Post-mortem brain samples, apart from being difficult to obtain, offer little insight into a disorder that arises through the course of development. Furthermore, ASD is a disorder of highly complex, human-specific behaviors, making it difficult to model in animals. Stem cell models of ASD can be generated by performing skin biopsies of ASD patients and then dedifferentiating these fibroblasts into human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). iPSCs closely resemble embryonic stem cells and retain the unique genetic signature of the ASD patient from whom they were originally derived. Differentiation of these iPSCs into neurons essentially recapitulates the ASD patient's neuronal development in a dish, allowing for a patient-specific model of ASD. Here we review our current understanding of the underlying neurobiology of ASD and how the use of stem cells can advance this understanding, possibly leading to new therapeutic avenues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthikeyan Ardhanareeswaran
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,Program in Neurodevelopment and Regeneration, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Gianfilippo Coppola
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,Program in Neurodevelopment and Regeneration, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Flora Vaccarino
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,Program in Neurodevelopment and Regeneration, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,Yale Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,Department of Neurobiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,To whom all correspondence should be addressed: Flora Vaccarino MD, Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Rd, New Haven, CT 06520; Tele: 203-737-4147; Fax: 203-737-3524;
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