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Mediane DH, Basu S, Cahill EN, Anastasiades PG. Medial prefrontal cortex circuitry and social behaviour in autism. Neuropharmacology 2024; 260:110101. [PMID: 39128583 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.110101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2024] [Revised: 07/22/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has proven to be highly enigmatic due to the diversity of its underlying genetic causes and the huge variability in symptom presentation. Uncovering common phenotypes across people with ASD and pre-clinical models allows us to better understand the influence on brain function of the many different genetic and cellular processes thought to contribute to ASD aetiology. One such feature of ASD is the convergent evidence implicating abnormal functioning of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) across studies. The mPFC is a key part of the 'social brain' and may contribute to many of the changes in social behaviour observed in people with ASD. Here we review recent evidence for mPFC involvement in both ASD and social behaviours. We also highlight how pre-clinical mouse models can be used to uncover important cellular and circuit-level mechanisms that may underly atypical social behaviours in ASD. This article is part of the Special Issue on "PFC circuit function in psychiatric disease and relevant models".
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego H Mediane
- Department of Translational Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Whitson Street, Bristol, BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
| | - Shinjini Basu
- Department of Translational Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Whitson Street, Bristol, BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
| | - Emma N Cahill
- Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TD, United Kingdom
| | - Paul G Anastasiades
- Department of Translational Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Whitson Street, Bristol, BS1 3NY, United Kingdom.
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2
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Lukin J, Smith CM, De Rubeis S. Emerging X-linked genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in females. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 88:102902. [PMID: 39167997 PMCID: PMC11392613 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102902] [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: 04/16/2024] [Revised: 07/22/2024] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
A significant source of risk for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), lies in genes located on the X chromosome. Males can be particularly vulnerable to X-linked variation because of hemizygosity, and male-specific segregation in pedigrees has guided earlier gene discovery for X-linked recessive conditions. More recently, X-linked disorders disproportionally affecting females, with complex inheritance patterns and/or presenting with sex differences, have surfaced. Here, we discuss the genetics and neurobiology of X-linked genes that are paradigmatic to understand NDDs in females. Integrating genetic, clinical, and functional data will be key to understand how X-linked variation contributes to the risk architecture of NDDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeronimo Lukin
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; The Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; The Alper Center for Neural Development and Regeneration, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Corinne M Smith
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; The Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; The Alper Center for Neural Development and Regeneration, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Silvia De Rubeis
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; The Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; The Alper Center for Neural Development and Regeneration, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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3
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Dinneen TJ, Ní Ghrálaigh F, Ormond C, Heron EA, Kirov G, Lopez LM, Gallagher L. Polygenic scores stratify neurodevelopmental copy number variant carrier cognitive outcomes in the UK Biobank. NPJ Genom Med 2024; 9:43. [PMID: 39341812 PMCID: PMC11438881 DOI: 10.1038/s41525-024-00426-8] [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: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 09/04/2024] [Indexed: 10/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Rare copy-number variants associated with neurodevelopmental conditions (ND-CNVs) exhibit variable expressivity of clinical, physical, behavioural outcomes. Findings from clinically ascertained cohorts suggest this variability may be partly due to additional genetic variation. Here, we assessed the impact of polygenic scores (PGS) and rare variants on ND-CNV carrier fluid intelligence (FI) scores in the UK Biobank. Greater PGS for cognition (PSCog) and educational attainment (PSEA) is associated with increased FI scores in all ND-CNVs (n = 1317), 15q11.2 del. (n = 543), and 16p13.11 dup. carriers (n = 275). No association of rare variants associated with intellectual disability, autism, or putatively loss-of-function, brain-expressed genes was found. Positive predictive values in the first deciles of PScog and PSEA showed a two- to five-fold increase in the rate of low FI scores compared to baseline rates. These findings demonstrate that PGS can stratify ND-CNV carrier cognitive outcomes in a population-based cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Dinneen
- Trinity College Dublin, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
- The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay St., Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.
| | - Fiana Ní Ghrálaigh
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co, Kildare, Ireland
| | - Cathal Ormond
- Trinity College Dublin, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Elizabeth A Heron
- Trinity College Dublin, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - George Kirov
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Lorna M Lopez
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co, Kildare, Ireland
| | - Louise Gallagher
- Trinity College Dublin, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
- The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay St., Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A1, Canada
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4
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Kim SW, Lee H, Song DY, Lee GH, Ji J, Park JW, Han JH, Lee JW, Byun HJ, Son JH, Kim YR, Lee Y, Kim J, Jung A, Lee J, Kim E, Kim SH, Lee JH, Satterstrom FK, Girirajan S, Børglum AD, Grove J, Kim E, Werling DM, Yoo HJ, An JY. Whole genome sequencing analysis identifies sex differences of familial pattern contributing to phenotypic diversity in autism. Genome Med 2024; 16:114. [PMID: 39334436 PMCID: PMC11429951 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-024-01385-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2024] [Accepted: 09/18/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analyses have found higher genetic burden in autistic females compared to males, supporting higher liability threshold in females. However, genomic evidence of sex differences has been limited to European ancestry to date and little is known about how genetic variation leads to autism-related traits within families across sex. METHODS To address this gap, we present WGS data of Korean autism families (n = 2255) and a Korean general population sample (n = 2500), the largest WGS data of East Asian ancestry. We analyzed sex differences in genetic burden and compared with cohorts of European ancestry (n = 15,839). Further, with extensively collected family-wise Korean autism phenotype data (n = 3730), we investigated sex differences in phenotypic scores and gene-phenotype associations within family. RESULTS We observed robust female enrichment of de novo protein-truncating variants in autistic individuals across cohorts. However, sex differences in polygenic burden varied across cohorts and we found that the differential proportion of comorbid intellectual disability and severe autism symptoms mainly drove these variations. In siblings, males of autistic females exhibited the most severe social communication deficits. Female siblings exhibited lower phenotypic severity despite the higher polygenic burden than male siblings. Mothers also showed higher tolerance for polygenic burden than fathers, supporting higher liability threshold in females. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that genetic liability in autism is both sex- and phenotype-dependent, expanding the current understanding of autism's genetic complexity. Our work further suggests that family-based assessments of sex differences can help unravel underlying sex-differential liability in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soo-Whee Kim
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeji Lee
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Da Yea Song
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Gang-Hee Lee
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jungeun Ji
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung Woo Park
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Hyun Han
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jee Won Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, South Korea
| | - Hee Jung Byun
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul Metropolitan Children's Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Hyun Son
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul Metropolitan Children's Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ye Rim Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoojeong Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaewon Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Ashish Jung
- School of Biosystem and Biomedical Science, College of Health Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Junehawk Lee
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Eunha Kim
- School of Neuroscience, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- BK21 Graduate Program, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - So Hyun Kim
- Department of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong Ho Lee
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - F Kyle Satterstrom
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research and Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Santhosh Girirajan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Anders D Børglum
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus, Denmark
- Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jakob Grove
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus, Denmark
- Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Bioinformatics Research Centre, BiRC, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Eunjoon Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
- Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Donna M Werling
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Hee Jeong Yoo
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Joon-Yong An
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- School of Biosystem and Biomedical Science, College of Health Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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5
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Qiao L, Welch CL, Hernan R, Wynn J, Krishnan US, Zalieckas JM, Buchmiller T, Khlevner J, De A, Farkouh-Karoleski C, Wagner AJ, Heydweiller A, Mueller AC, de Klein A, Warner BW, Maj C, Chung D, McCulley DJ, Schindel D, Potoka D, Fialkowski E, Schulz F, Kipfmuller F, Lim FY, Magielsen F, Mychaliska GB, Aspelund G, Reutter HM, Needelman H, Schnater JM, Fisher JC, Azarow K, Elfiky M, Nöthen MM, Danko ME, Li M, Kosiński P, Wijnen RMH, Cusick RA, Soffer SZ, Cochius-Den Otter SCM, Schaible T, Crombleholme T, Duron VP, Donahoe PK, Sun X, High FA, Bendixen C, Brosens E, Shen Y, Chung WK. Common variants increase risk for congenital diaphragmatic hernia within the context of de novo variants. Am J Hum Genet 2024:S0002-9297(24)00334-3. [PMID: 39332409 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.08.024] [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: 04/23/2024] [Revised: 08/24/2024] [Accepted: 08/30/2024] [Indexed: 09/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe congenital anomaly often accompanied by other structural anomalies and/or neurobehavioral manifestations. Rare de novo protein-coding variants and copy-number variations contribute to CDH in the population. However, most individuals with CDH remain genetically undiagnosed. Here, we perform integrated de novo and common-variant analyses using 1,469 CDH individuals, including 1,064 child-parent trios and 6,133 ancestry-matched, unaffected controls for the genome-wide association study. We identify candidate CDH variants in 15 genes, including eight novel genes, through deleterious de novo variants. We further identify two genomic loci contributing to CDH risk through common variants with similar effect sizes among Europeans and Latinx. Both loci are in putative transcriptional regulatory regions of developmental patterning genes. Estimated heritability in common variants is ∼19%. Strikingly, there is no significant difference in estimated polygenic risk scores between isolated and complex CDH or between individuals harboring deleterious de novo variants and individuals without these variants. The data support a polygenic model as part of the CDH genetic architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Qiao
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Carrie L Welch
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Rebecca Hernan
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Julia Wynn
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Usha S Krishnan
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Jill M Zalieckas
- Department of Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Terry Buchmiller
- Department of Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Julie Khlevner
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Aliva De
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | | | - Amy J Wagner
- Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Andreas Heydweiller
- Department of General, Visceral, Vascular, and Thoracic Surgery, Unit of Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Andreas C Mueller
- Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Children's Hospital, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Annelies de Klein
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Brad W Warner
- Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Carlo Maj
- Institute for Genomic Statistics and Bioinformatics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Dai Chung
- Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - David J McCulley
- Department of Pediatrics, San Diego Medical School, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92092, USA
| | | | | | | | - Felicitas Schulz
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Florian Kipfmuller
- Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Children's Hospital, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Foong-Yen Lim
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Frank Magielsen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Gudrun Aspelund
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Heiko Martin Reutter
- Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Howard Needelman
- University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68114, USA
| | - J Marco Schnater
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jason C Fisher
- New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Kenneth Azarow
- Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | | | - Markus M Nöthen
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Melissa E Danko
- Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Mindy Li
- Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Przemyslaw Kosiński
- Department of Obstetrics, Perinatology and Gynecology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Rene M H Wijnen
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Robert A Cusick
- University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68114, USA
| | | | - Suzan C M Cochius-Den Otter
- Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Thomas Schaible
- Department of Neonatology, University Children's Hospital Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Vincent P Duron
- Department of Surgery (Pediatrics), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Patricia K Donahoe
- Pediatric Surgical Research Laboratories, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Xin Sun
- Department of Pediatrics, San Diego Medical School, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92092, USA
| | - Frances A High
- Department of Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Pediatric Surgical Research Laboratories, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Charlotte Bendixen
- Department of General, Visceral, Vascular, and Thoracic Surgery, Unit of Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Erwin Brosens
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Yufeng Shen
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; JP Sulzberger Columbia Genome Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | - Wendy K Chung
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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6
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Al-Beltagi M, Saeed NK, Bediwy AS, Bediwy EA, Elbeltagi R. Decoding the genetic landscape of autism: A comprehensive review. World J Clin Pediatr 2024; 13:98468. [PMID: 39350903 PMCID: PMC11438927 DOI: 10.5409/wjcp.v13.i3.98468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2024] [Revised: 07/29/2024] [Accepted: 08/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by heterogeneous symptoms and genetic underpinnings. Recent advancements in genetic and epigenetic research have provided insights into the intricate mechanisms contributing to ASD, influencing both diagnosis and therapeutic strategies. AIM To explore the genetic architecture of ASD, elucidate mechanistic insights into genetic mutations, and examine gene-environment interactions. METHODS A comprehensive systematic review was conducted, integrating findings from studies on genetic variations, epigenetic mechanisms (such as DNA methylation and histone modifications), and emerging technologies [including Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 and single-cell RNA sequencing]. Relevant articles were identified through systematic searches of databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar. RESULTS Genetic studies have identified numerous risk genes and mutations associated with ASD, yet many cases remain unexplained by known factors, suggesting undiscovered genetic components. Mechanistic insights into how these genetic mutations impact neural development and brain connectivity are still evolving. Epigenetic modifications, particularly DNA methylation and non-coding RNAs, also play significant roles in ASD pathogenesis. Emerging technologies like CRISPR-Cas9 and advanced bioinformatics are advancing our understanding by enabling precise genetic editing and analysis of complex genomic data. CONCLUSION Continued research into the genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of ASD is crucial for developing personalized and effective treatments. Collaborative efforts integrating multidisciplinary expertise and international collaborations are essential to address the complexity of ASD and translate genetic discoveries into clinical practice. Addressing unresolved questions and ethical considerations surrounding genetic research will pave the way for improved diagnostic tools and targeted therapies, ultimately enhancing outcomes for individuals affected by ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Al-Beltagi
- Department of Pediatric, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Alghrabia, Tanta 31511, Egypt
- Department of Pediatric, University Medical Center, King Abdulla Medical City, Arabian Gulf University, Manama 26671, Bahrain
| | - Nermin Kamal Saeed
- Medical Microbiology Section, Department of Pathology, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Bahrain, Manama 12, Bahrain
- Medical Microbiology Section, Department of Pathology, Irish Royal College of Surgeon, Muharraq, Busaiteen 15503, Bahrain
| | - Adel Salah Bediwy
- Department of Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Alghrabia, Tanta 31527, Egypt
- Department of Pulmonology, University Medical Center, King Abdulla Medical City, Arabian Gulf University, Manama 26671, Bahrain
| | - Eman A Bediwy
- Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Algharbia, Tanta 31527, Egypt
| | - Reem Elbeltagi
- Department of Medicine, The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland-Bahrain, Muharraq, Busiateen 15503, Bahrain
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7
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Vorstman J, Sebat J, Bourque VR, Jacquemont S. Integrative genetic analysis: cornerstone of precision psychiatry. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02706-2. [PMID: 39215185 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02706-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2024] [Accepted: 08/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
The role of genetic testing in the domain of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders (NPDs) is gradually changing from providing etiological explanation for the presence of NPD phenotypes to also identifying young individuals at high risk of developing NPDs before their clinical manifestation. In clinical practice, the latter implies a shift towards the availability of individual genetic information predicting a certain liability to develop an NPD (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, psychosis etc.). The shift from mostly a posteriori explanation to increasingly a priori risk prediction is the by-product of the systematic implementation of whole exome or genome sequencing as part of routine diagnostic work-ups during the neonatal and prenatal periods. This rapid uptake of genetic testing early in development has far-reaching consequences for psychiatry: Whereas until recently individuals would come to medical attention because of signs of abnormal developmental and/or behavioral symptoms, increasingly, individuals are presented based on genetic liability for NPD outcomes before NPD symptoms emerge. This novel clinical scenario, while challenging, also creates opportunities for research on prevention interventions and precision medicine approaches. Here, we review why optimization of individual risk prediction is a key prerequisite for precision medicine in the sphere of NPDs, as well as the technological and statistical methods required to achieve this ambition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Vorstman
- Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - Jonathan Sebat
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Beyster Center of Psychiatric Genomics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Vincent-Raphaël Bourque
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Sébastien Jacquemont
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Département de Pédiatrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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8
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Jensen M, Smolen C, Tyryshkina A, Pizzo L, Banerjee D, Oetjens M, Shimelis H, Taylor CM, Pounraja VK, Song H, Rohan L, Huber E, El Khattabi L, van de Laar I, Tadros R, Bezzina C, van Slegtenhorst M, Kammeraad J, Prontera P, Caberg JH, Fraser H, Banka S, Van Dijck A, Schwartz C, Voorhoeve E, Callier P, Mosca-Boidron AL, Marle N, Lefebvre M, Pope K, Snell P, Boys A, Lockhart PJ, Ashfaq M, McCready E, Nowacyzk M, Castiglia L, Galesi O, Avola E, Mattina T, Fichera M, Bruccheri MG, Mandarà GML, Mari F, Privitera F, Longo I, Curró A, Renieri A, Keren B, Charles P, Cuinat S, Nizon M, Pichon O, Bénéteau C, Stoeva R, Martin-Coignard D, Blesson S, Le Caignec C, Mercier S, Vincent M, Martin C, Mannik K, Reymond A, Faivre L, Sistermans E, Kooy RF, Amor DJ, Romano C, Andrieux J, Girirajan S. Genetic modifiers and ascertainment drive variable expressivity of complex disorders. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.08.27.24312158. [PMID: 39252907 PMCID: PMC11383473 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.27.24312158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/11/2024]
Abstract
Variable expressivity of disease-associated variants implies a role for secondary variants that modify clinical features. We assessed the effects of modifier variants towards clinical outcomes of 2,252 individuals with primary variants. Among 132 families with the 16p12.1 deletion, distinct rare and common variant classes conferred risk for specific developmental features, including short tandem repeats for neurological defects and SNVs for microcephaly, while additional disease-associated variants conferred multiple genetic diagnoses. Within disease and population cohorts of 773 individuals with the 16p12.1 deletion, we found opposing effects of secondary variants towards clinical features across ascertainments. Additional analysis of 1,479 probands with other primary variants, such as 16p11.2 deletion and CHD8 variants, and 1,084 without primary variants, showed that phenotypic associations differed by primary variant context and were influenced by synergistic interactions between primary and secondary variants. Our study provides a paradigm to dissect the genomic architecture of complex disorders towards personalized treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Jensen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Corrine Smolen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Anastasia Tyryshkina
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Lucilla Pizzo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Deepro Banerjee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Matthew Oetjens
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA
| | - Hermela Shimelis
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA
| | - Cora M. Taylor
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA
| | - Vijay Kumar Pounraja
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Hyebin Song
- Department of Statistics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Laura Rohan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Emily Huber
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Laila El Khattabi
- Institut Cochin, Inserm U1016, CNRS UMR8104, Université Paris Cité, CARPEM, Paris, France
| | - Ingrid van de Laar
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Univ. Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Rafik Tadros
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Univ. Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Connie Bezzina
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Univ. Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marjon van Slegtenhorst
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Univ. Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Janneke Kammeraad
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Univ. Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Paolo Prontera
- Medical Genetics Unit, Hospital Santa Maria della Misericordia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Jean-Hubert Caberg
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège. Domaine Universitaire du Sart Tilman, Liège, Belgium
| | - Harry Fraser
- Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Siddhartha Banka
- Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, St. Mary’s Hospital, Central Manchester University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK
| | - Anke Van Dijck
- Department of Medical Genetics, University and University Hospital Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Els Voorhoeve
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Patrick Callier
- Center for Rare Diseases and Reference Developmental Anomalies and Malformation Syndromes, CHU Dijon, Dijon, France
| | - Anne-Laure Mosca-Boidron
- Center for Rare Diseases and Reference Developmental Anomalies and Malformation Syndromes, CHU Dijon, Dijon, France
| | - Nathalie Marle
- Center for Rare Diseases and Reference Developmental Anomalies and Malformation Syndromes, CHU Dijon, Dijon, France
| | - Mathilde Lefebvre
- Laboratoire de Genetique Chromosomique et Moleculaire, CHU Dijon, France
| | - Kate Pope
- Bruce Lefroy Centre, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Penny Snell
- Bruce Lefroy Centre, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Amber Boys
- Bruce Lefroy Centre, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Paul J. Lockhart
- Bruce Lefroy Centre, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Myla Ashfaq
- Department of Pediatrics, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Elizabeth McCready
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Margaret Nowacyzk
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lucia Castiglia
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Troina, Italy
| | - Ornella Galesi
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Troina, Italy
| | - Emanuela Avola
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Troina, Italy
| | - Teresa Mattina
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Troina, Italy
| | - Marco Fichera
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Troina, Italy
- Section of Clinical Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania School of Medicine, Catania, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Bruccheri
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Troina, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Mari
- Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Flavia Privitera
- Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Ilaria Longo
- Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Aurora Curró
- Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandra Renieri
- Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Boris Keren
- Département de Génétique, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Sorbonne Université, 75019 Paris, France
| | - Perrine Charles
- Département de Génétique, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Sorbonne Université, 75019 Paris, France
| | | | | | | | | | - Radka Stoeva
- CHU Nantes, Medical Genetics Department, Nantes, France
| | | | - Sophia Blesson
- Department of Genetics, Bretonneau University Hospital, Tours, France
| | - Cedric Le Caignec
- CHU Toulouse, Department of Medical Genetics, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse Neuro Imaging, Center, Inserm, UPS, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Sandra Mercier
- Department of Genetics, Bretonneau University Hospital, Tours, France
| | - Marie Vincent
- Department of Genetics, Bretonneau University Hospital, Tours, France
| | - Christa Martin
- Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute, Geisinger, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA
| | - Katrin Mannik
- Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Estonia
- Health2030 Genome Center, Fondation Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Alexandre Reymond
- Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Laurence Faivre
- Center for Rare Diseases and Reference Developmental Anomalies and Malformation Syndromes, CHU Dijon, Dijon, France
- Laboratoire de Genetique Chromosomique et Moleculaire, CHU Dijon, France
| | - Erik Sistermans
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - R. Frank Kooy
- Department of Medical Genetics, University and University Hospital Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - David J. Amor
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Corrado Romano
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Troina, Italy
- Section of Clinical Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania School of Medicine, Catania, Italy
| | - Joris Andrieux
- Institut de Genetique Medicale, Hopital Jeanne de Flandre, CHRU de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Santhosh Girirajan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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9
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Dong B, Paracchini S, Gardner A. Kin selection as a modulator of human handedness: sex-specific, parental and parent-of-origin effects. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2024; 6:e32. [PMID: 39314835 PMCID: PMC11418076 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2024.24] [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: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The frequency of left-handedness in humans is ~10% worldwide and slightly higher in males than females. Twin and family studies estimate the heritability of human handedness at around 25%. The low but substantial frequency of left-handedness has been suggested to imply negative frequency-dependent selection, e.g. owing to a 'surprise' advantage of left-handers in combat against opponents more used to fighting right-handers. Because such game-theoretic hypotheses involve social interaction, here we perform an analysis of the evolution of handedness based on kin-selection, which is understood to play a major role in the evolution of social behaviour generally. We show that: (1) relatedness modulates the balance of right-handedness vs. left-handedness, according to whether left-handedness is marginally selfish vs. marginally altruistic; (2) sex differences in relatedness to social partners may drive sex differences in handedness; (3) differential relatedness of parents and offspring may generate parent-offspring conflict and sexual conflict leading to the evolution of maternal and paternal genetic effects in relation to handedness; and (4) differential relatedness of maternal-origin vs. paternal-origin genes may generate intragenomic conflict leading to the evolution of parent-of-origin-specific gene effects - such as 'genomic imprinting' - and associated maladaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Dong
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Dyers Brae, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Silvia Paracchini
- School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9TF, UK
| | - Andy Gardner
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Dyers Brae, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
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10
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Litman A, Sauerwald N, Snyder LG, Foss-Feig J, Park CY, Hao Y, Dinstein I, Theesfeld CL, Troyanskaya OG. Decomposition of phenotypic heterogeneity in autism reveals distinct and coherent genetic programs. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.08.15.24312078. [PMID: 39185525 PMCID: PMC11343255 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.15.24312078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
Unraveling the phenotypic and genetic complexity of autism is extremely challenging yet critical for understanding the biology, inheritance, trajectory, and clinical manifestations of the many forms of the condition. Here, we leveraged broad phenotypic data from a large cohort with matched genetics to characterize classes of autism and their patterns of core, associated, and co-occurring traits, ultimately demonstrating that phenotypic patterns are associated with distinct genetic and molecular programs. We used a generative mixture modeling approach to identify robust, clinically-relevant classes of autism which we validate and replicate in a large independent cohort. We link the phenotypic findings to distinct patterns of de novo and inherited variation which emerge from the deconvolution of these genetic signals, and demonstrate that class-specific common variant scores strongly align with clinical outcomes. We further provide insights into the distinct biological pathways and processes disrupted by the sets of mutations in each class. Remarkably, we discover class-specific differences in the developmental timing of genes that are dysregulated, and these temporal patterns correspond to clinical milestone and outcome differences between the classes. These analyses embrace the phenotypic complexity of children with autism, unraveling genetic and molecular programs underlying their heterogeneity and suggesting specific biological dysregulation patterns and mechanistic hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviya Litman
- Quantitative and Computational Biology Program, Princeton University, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Natalie Sauerwald
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Jennifer Foss-Feig
- Simons Foundation, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Yun Hao
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ilan Dinstein
- Cognitive and Brain Sciences Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
- Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
- Psychology Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
| | - Chandra L. Theesfeld
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Princeton Precision Health, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Olga G. Troyanskaya
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Princeton Precision Health, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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11
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Bourque VR, Schmilovich Z, Huguet G, England J, Okewole A, Poulain C, Renne T, Jean-Louis M, Saci Z, Zhang X, Rolland T, Labbé A, Vorstman J, Rouleau GA, Baron-Cohen S, Mottron L, Bethlehem RAI, Warrier V, Jacquemont S. Integrating genomic variants and developmental milestones to predict cognitive and adaptive outcomes in autistic children. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.07.31.24311250. [PMID: 39211846 PMCID: PMC11361213 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.31.24311250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Although the first signs of autism are often observed as early as 18-36 months of age, there is a broad uncertainty regarding future development, and clinicians lack predictive tools to identify those who will later be diagnosed with co-occurring intellectual disability (ID). Here, we developed predictive models of ID in autistic children (n=5,633 from three cohorts), integrating different classes of genetic variants alongside developmental milestones. The integrated model yielded an AUC ROC=0.65, with this predictive performance cross-validated and generalised across cohorts. Positive predictive values reached up to 55%, accurately identifying 10% of ID cases. The ability to stratify the probabilities of ID using genetic variants was up to twofold greater in individuals with delayed milestones compared to those with typical development. These findings underscore the potential of models in neurodevelopmental medicine that integrate genomics and clinical observations to predict outcomes and target interventions.
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12
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Gholamalizadeh H, Amiri-Shahri M, Rasouli F, Ansari A, Baradaran Rahimi V, Reza Askari V. DNA Methylation in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Biomarker or Pharmacological Target? Brain Sci 2024; 14:737. [PMID: 39199432 PMCID: PMC11352561 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14080737] [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: 06/19/2024] [Revised: 07/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/21/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disabilities with persistent impairments in cognition, communication, and social behavior. Although environmental factors play a role in ASD etiopathogenesis, a growing body of evidence indicates that ASD is highly inherited. In the last two decades, the dramatic rise in the prevalence of ASD has interested researchers to explore the etiologic role of epigenetic marking and incredibly abnormal DNA methylation. This review aimed to explain the current understanding of the association between changes in DNA methylation signatures and ASD in patients or animal models. We reviewed studies reporting alterations in DNA methylation at specific genes as well as epigenome-wide association studies (EWASs). Finally, we hypothesized that specific changes in DNA methylation patterns could be considered a potential biomarker for ASD diagnosis and prognosis and even a target for pharmacological intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanieh Gholamalizadeh
- Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran;
- Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91779-48564, Iran
| | - Maedeh Amiri-Shahri
- Student Research Committee, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd 94149-75516, Iran; (M.A.-S.); (F.R.); (A.A.)
- Faculty of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd 94149-75516, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Rasouli
- Student Research Committee, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd 94149-75516, Iran; (M.A.-S.); (F.R.); (A.A.)
- Faculty of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd 94149-75516, Iran
| | - Arina Ansari
- Student Research Committee, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd 94149-75516, Iran; (M.A.-S.); (F.R.); (A.A.)
- Faculty of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd 94149-75516, Iran
| | - Vafa Baradaran Rahimi
- Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91779-48564, Iran;
| | - Vahid Reza Askari
- Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 91779-48564, Iran
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13
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Di Mento B, John JR, Diaz AM, Lin PI, Masi A, Grove R, Eapen V. Sex Differences in the Broad Autism Phenotype: Insights from the Australian Biobank. J Autism Dev Disord 2024:10.1007/s10803-024-06466-4. [PMID: 39023802 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-024-06466-4] [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: 06/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Examining sub-threshold autistic traits in non-autistic first-degree relatives of individuals on the autism spectrum, known as the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP), could provide new insights into the associations and familial aggregation of autistic traits. This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study of parents (n = 1008), probands with autism (n = 613), and unaffected siblings (n = 221) of probands with autism. BAP traits were examined by the BAP Questionnaire and Communication Checklist-Adult in parents, Autism Developmental Observation Scale-Second edition in probands, and Social Responsiveness Scale in siblings. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to investigate the associations of parental BAP traits on autistic traits in probands and unaffected sibling BAP traits. Fathers showed significantly increased aloofness, pragmatic language difficulties, and social engagement problems compared to mothers. Female siblings showed increased difficulties with social cognition compared to male siblings. Adjusted models of the regression analyses showed that all BAP traits in fathers were significantly associated with BAP trait expression in probands with autism. Additionally, all of mother's BAP traits were significantly associated with unaffected siblings' BAP trait expression while only fathers' aloofness and rigidity traits were inversely associated with siblings' BAP trait expression. Finally, there were significant inverse interactions noted between parent's BAP traits and their children's BAP trait expression. This study demonstrated differences in how males and females express BAP traits and also identified differences in parent-child associations by sex, with fathers having a greater effect on their proband children's expression of BAP traits than mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blaise Di Mento
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - James Rufus John
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Antonio Mendoza Diaz
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, NSW, Australia
- Tasmanian Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - Ping-I Lin
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Anne Masi
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, NSW, Australia
- Autism CRC, Long Pocket, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Rachel Grove
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Valsamma Eapen
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
- Autism CRC, Long Pocket, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
- Academic Unit of Infant Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services (AUCS), South Western Sydney Local Health District, ICAMHS, L1 MHC, Liverpool Hospital, Elizabeth Street, Liverpool, 2170, NSW, Australia.
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14
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Mendes M, Chen DZ, Engchuan W, Leal TP, Thiruvahindrapuram B, Trost B, Howe JL, Pellecchia G, Nalpathamkalam T, Alexandrova R, Salazar NB, McKee EA, Alfaro NR, Lai MC, Bandres-Ciga S, Roshandel D, Bradley CA, Anagnostou E, Sun L, Scherer SW. Chromosome X-Wide Common Variant Association Study (XWAS) in Autism Spectrum Disorder. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.07.18.24310640. [PMID: 39108515 PMCID: PMC11302709 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.18.24310640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) displays a notable male bias in prevalence. Research into rare (<0.1) genetic variants on the X chromosome has implicated over 20 genes in ASD pathogenesis, such as MECP2, DDX3X, and DMD. The "female protective effect" in ASD suggests that females may require a higher genetic burden to manifest similar symptoms as males, yet the mechanisms remain unclear. Despite technological advances in genomics, the complexity of the biological nature of sex chromosomes leave them underrepresented in genome-wide studies. Here, we conducted an X chromosome-wide association study (XWAS) using whole-genome sequencing data from 6,873 individuals with ASD (82% males) across Autism Speaks MSSNG, Simons Simplex Cohort SSC, and Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research SPARK, alongside 8,981 population controls (43% males). We analyzed 418,652 X-chromosome variants, identifying 59 associated with ASD (p-values 7.9×10-6 to 1.51×10-5), surpassing Bonferroni-corrected thresholds. Key findings include significant regions on chrXp22.2 (lead SNP=rs12687599, p=3.57×10-7) harboring ASB9/ASB11, and another encompassing DDX53/PTCHD1-AS long non-coding RNA (lead SNP=rs5926125, p=9.47×10-6). When mapping genes within 10kb of the 59 most significantly associated SNPs, 91 genes were found, 17 of which yielded association with ASD (GRPR, AP1S2, DDX53, HDAC8, PCDH19, PTCHD1, PCDH11X, PTCHD1-AS, DMD, SYAP1, CNKSR2, GLRA2, OFD1, CDKL5, GPRASP2, NXF5, SH3KBP1). FGF13 emerged as a novel X-linked ASD candidate gene, highlighted by sex-specific differences in minor allele frequencies. These results reveal significant new insights into X chromosome biology in ASD, confirming and nominating genes and pathways for further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marla Mendes
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Desmond Zeya Chen
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Statistical Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X6, Canada
| | - Worrawat Engchuan
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Thiago Peixoto Leal
- Lerner Research Institute, Genomic Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Bhooma Thiruvahindrapuram
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Brett Trost
- Molecular Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Jennifer L. Howe
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Giovanna Pellecchia
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Thomas Nalpathamkalam
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Roumiana Alexandrova
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Nelson Bautista Salazar
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Ethan Alexander McKee
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Natalia Rivera Alfaro
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Meng-Chuan Lai
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C1, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 1E8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R8, Canada
| | - Sara Bandres-Ciga
- Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Delnaz Roshandel
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Clarrisa A. Bradley
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Evdokia Anagnostou
- Autism Research Centre, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, M4G 1R8, Canada
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Lei Sun
- Department of Statistical Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X6, Canada
- Division of Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E3, Canada
| | - Stephen W. Scherer
- The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
- McLaughlin Centre and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
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15
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Underwood JFG, Madley-Dowd P, Dardani C, Hull L, Kwong ASF, Pearson RM, Hall J, Rai D. Childhood trauma as a mediator between autistic traits and depression: evidence from the ALSPAC birth cohort. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.07.12.24310340. [PMID: 39040168 PMCID: PMC11261931 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.12.24310340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
Background Autism and autistic traits have been associated with greater risk of childhood trauma and adulthood psychopathology. However, the role that childhood trauma plays in the association between autism, autistic traits and depression in adulthood is poorly understood. Methods We used a UK-based birth cohort with phenotype and genotype data on autism, autistic traits, childhood trauma and depression in up to 9,659 individuals prospectively followed up from birth until age 28 years. Using mixed-effects growth-curve models, we assessed trajectories of depression symptoms over time according to the presence or absence of autism/ autistic traits and explored whether these differed by trauma exposure. We further investigated the association between autism/ autistic traits and depression in adulthood using confounder-adjusted logistic regression models and undertook mediation analyses to investigate the relationship with childhood trauma. Results All autism variables demonstrated increased depressive symptom trajectories between ages 10-28 years. Social communication difficulties (SCDs) were the most strongly associated with a depression diagnosis in adulthood (age 24 OR= 2.15; 95%CIs: 1.22-3.76). Trauma and autistic traits combined to further increase depression symptom scores. Mediation analyses provided evidence for direct pathways between autistic traits and increased risk of depression alongside indirect pathways through increased risk of trauma. Conclusions Autism/ autistic traits increase the odds of experiencing childhood trauma and of being diagnosed with depression at age 18 and 24. Depressive symptom trajectories emergent in childhood persist into adulthood. The combined effect of SCDs and childhood trauma is greater than the individual exposures, suggesting worse depression symptomatology following trauma in individuals with SCDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack F G Underwood
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Madley-Dowd
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU), Bristol, United Kingdom
- National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Christina Dardani
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU), Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Hull
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Alex S F Kwong
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU), Bristol, United Kingdom
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca M Pearson
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU), Bristol, United Kingdom
- National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Jeremy Hall
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
| | - Dheeraj Rai
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU), Bristol, United Kingdom
- National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- Avon and Wiltshire Partnership NHS Mental Health Trust, Bristol, United Kingdom
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16
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Montani C, Balasco L, Pagani M, Alvino FG, Barsotti N, de Guzman AE, Galbusera A, de Felice A, Nickl-Jockschat TK, Migliarini S, Casarosa S, Lau P, Mattioni L, Pasqualetti M, Provenzano G, Bozzi Y, Lombardo MV, Gozzi A. Sex-biasing influence of autism-associated Ube3a gene overdosage at connectomic, behavioral, and transcriptomic levels. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadg1421. [PMID: 38996019 PMCID: PMC11244557 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg1421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Genomic mechanisms enhancing risk in males may contribute to sex bias in autism. The ubiquitin protein ligase E3A gene (Ube3a) affects cellular homeostasis via control of protein turnover and by acting as transcriptional coactivator with steroid hormone receptors. Overdosage of Ube3a via duplication or triplication of chromosomal region 15q11-13 causes 1 to 2% of autistic cases. Here, we test the hypothesis that increased dosage of Ube3a may influence autism-relevant phenotypes in a sex-biased manner. We show that mice with extra copies of Ube3a exhibit sex-biasing effects on brain connectomics and autism-relevant behaviors. These effects are associated with transcriptional dysregulation of autism-associated genes, as well as genes differentially expressed in 15q duplication and in autistic people. Increased Ube3a dosage also affects expression of genes on the X chromosome, genes influenced by sex steroid hormone, and genes sex-differentially regulated by transcription factors. These results suggest that Ube3a overdosage can contribute to sex bias in neurodevelopmental conditions via influence on sex-differential mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Montani
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, CNCS@UNITN, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Luigi Balasco
- Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Marco Pagani
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, CNCS@UNITN, Rovereto, Italy
- Autism Center, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA
- IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
| | - Filomena Grazia Alvino
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, CNCS@UNITN, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Noemi Barsotti
- Unit of Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - A. Elizabeth de Guzman
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, CNCS@UNITN, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Alberto Galbusera
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, CNCS@UNITN, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Alessia de Felice
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, CNCS@UNITN, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Thomas K. Nickl-Jockschat
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Sara Migliarini
- Unit of Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Simona Casarosa
- Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
- Centre for Medical Sciences (CISMed), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Pierre Lau
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Human Technologies, Genova, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Mattioni
- Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Massimo Pasqualetti
- Unit of Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giovanni Provenzano
- Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Yuri Bozzi
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- CNR Neuroscience Institute, Pisa, Italy
| | - Michael V. Lombardo
- Laboratory for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, CNCS@UNITN, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Alessandro Gozzi
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, CNCS@UNITN, Rovereto, Italy
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17
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Kim JH, Koh IG, Lee H, Lee GH, Song DY, Kim SW, Kim Y, Han JH, Bong G, Lee J, Byun H, Son JH, Kim YR, Lee Y, Kim JJ, Park JW, Kim IB, Choi JK, Jang JH, Trost B, Lee J, Kim E, Yoo HJ, An JY. Short tandem repeat expansions in cortical layer-specific genes implicate in phenotypic severity and adaptability of autism spectrum disorder. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024; 78:405-415. [PMID: 38751214 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
AIM Short tandem repeats (STRs) are repetitive DNA sequences and highly mutable in various human disorders. While the involvement of STRs in various genetic disorders has been extensively studied, their role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains largely unexplored. In this study, we aimed to investigate genetic association of STR expansions with ASD using whole genome sequencing (WGS) and identify risk loci associated with ASD phenotypes. METHODS We analyzed WGS data of 634 ASD families and performed genome-wide evaluation for 12,929 STR loci. We found rare STR expansions that exceeded normal repeat lengths in autism cases compared to unaffected controls. By integrating single cell RNA and ATAC sequencing datasets of human postmortem brains, we prioritized STR loci in genes specifically expressed in cortical development stages. A deep learning method was used to predict functionality of ASD-associated STR loci. RESULTS In ASD cases, rare STR expansions predominantly occurred in early cortical layer-specific genes involved in neurodevelopment, highlighting the cellular specificity of STR-associated genes in ASD risk. Leveraging deep learning prediction models, we demonstrated that these STR expansions disrupted the regulatory activity of enhancers and promoters, suggesting a potential mechanism through which they contribute to ASD pathogenesis. We found that individuals with ASD-associated STR expansions exhibited more severe ASD phenotypes and diminished adaptability compared to non-carriers. CONCLUSION Short tandem repeat expansions in cortical layer-specific genes are associated with ASD and could potentially be a risk genetic factor for ASD. Our study is the first to show evidence of STR expansion associated with ASD in an under-investigated population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Hyun Kim
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - In Gyeong Koh
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeji Lee
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Gang-Hee Lee
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Da-Yea Song
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo-Whee Kim
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yujin Kim
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Hyun Han
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan, Republic of Korea
| | - Guiyoung Bong
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeewon Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Asan, Republic of Korea
| | - Heejung Byun
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Metropolitan Children's Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Hyun Son
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Metropolitan Children's Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ye Rim Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoojeong Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Justine Jaewon Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung Woo Park
- Center for Biomedical Computing, Division of National Supercomputing, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Il Bin Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Guri, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung Kyoon Choi
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Ja-Hyun Jang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Brett Trost
- Molecular Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Junehawk Lee
- Center for Biomedical Computing, Division of National Supercomputing, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Eunjoon Kim
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee Jeong Yoo
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Joon-Yong An
- Department of Integrated Biomedical and Life Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- L-HOPE Program for Community-Based Total Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- School of Biosystem and Biomedical Science, College of Health Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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18
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Wright JR, Astrovskaya I, Barns SD, Goler A, Zhou X, Shu C, Snyder LG, Han B, Shen Y, Volfovsky N, Hall JB, Feliciano P, Chung WK. Return of genetic research results in 21,532 individuals with autism. Genet Med 2024; 26:101202. [PMID: 38958063 DOI: 10.1016/j.gim.2024.101202] [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: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of this study is to identify likely pathogenic (LP) and pathogenic (P) genetic results for autism that can be returned to participants in SPARK (SPARKforAutism.org): a large recontactable cohort of people with autism in the United States. We also describe the process to return these clinically confirmed genetic findings. METHODS We present results from microarray genotyping and exome sequencing of 21,532 individuals with autism and 17,785 of their parents. We returned LP and P (American College of Medical Genetics criteria) copy-number variants, chromosomal aneuploidies, and variants in genes with strong evidence of association with autism and intellectual disability. RESULTS We identified 1903 returnable LP/P variants in 1861 individuals with autism (8.6%). 89.5% of these variants were not known to participants. The diagnostic genetic result was returned to 589 participants (53% of those contacted). Features associated with a higher probability of having a returnable result include cognitive and medically complex features, being female, being White (versus non-White) and being diagnosed more than 20 years ago. We also find results among autistics across the spectrum, as well as in transmitting parents with neuropsychiatric features but no autism diagnosis. CONCLUSION SPARK offers an opportunity to assess returnable results among autistic people who have not been ascertained clinically. SPARK also provides practical experience returning genetic results for a behavioral condition at a large scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica R Wright
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | | | - Sarah D Barns
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Alexandra Goler
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Xueya Zhou
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Chang Shu
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
| | | | | | - Yufeng Shen
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | | | | | - Pamela Feliciano
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Wendy K Chung
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
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19
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Salemi M, Schillaci FA, Lanza G, Marchese G, Salluzzo MG, Cordella A, Caniglia S, Bruccheri MG, Truda A, Greco D, Ferri R, Romano C. Transcriptome Study in Sicilian Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biomedicines 2024; 12:1402. [PMID: 39061976 PMCID: PMC11274004 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12071402] [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: 04/24/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
ASD is a complex condition primarily rooted in genetics, although influenced by environmental, prenatal, and perinatal risk factors, ultimately leading to genetic and epigenetic alterations. These mechanisms may manifest as inflammatory, oxidative stress, hypoxic, or ischemic damage. To elucidate potential variances in gene expression in ASD, a transcriptome analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was conducted via RNA-seq on 12 ASD patients and 13 healthy controls, all of Sicilian ancestry to minimize environmental confounds. A total of 733 different statistically significant genes were identified between the two cohorts. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Gene Ontology (GO) terms were employed to explore the pathways influenced by differentially expressed mRNAs. GSEA revealed GO pathways strongly associated with ASD, namely the GO Biological Process term "Response to Oxygen-Containing Compound". Additionally, the GO Cellular Component pathway "Mitochondrion" stood out among other pathways, with differentially expressed genes predominantly affiliated with this specific pathway, implicating the involvement of different mitochondrial functions in ASD. Among the differentially expressed genes, FPR2 was particularly highlighted, belonging to three GO pathways. FPR2 can modulate pro-inflammatory responses, with its intracellular cascades triggering the activation of several kinases, thus suggesting its potential utility as a biomarker of pro-inflammatory processes in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Salemi
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
| | - Francesca A. Schillaci
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
| | - Giuseppe Lanza
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
- Department of Surgery and Medical—Surgical Specialties, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
| | - Giovanna Marchese
- Genomix4Life S.r.l., 84081 Baronissi, Italy; (G.M.); (A.C.); (A.T.)
- Genome Research Center for Health—CRGS, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Salluzzo
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
| | - Angela Cordella
- Genomix4Life S.r.l., 84081 Baronissi, Italy; (G.M.); (A.C.); (A.T.)
- Genome Research Center for Health—CRGS, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
| | - Salvatore Caniglia
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
| | - Maria Grazia Bruccheri
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
| | - Anna Truda
- Genomix4Life S.r.l., 84081 Baronissi, Italy; (G.M.); (A.C.); (A.T.)
- Genome Research Center for Health—CRGS, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
| | - Donatella Greco
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
| | - Raffaele Ferri
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
| | - Corrado Romano
- Oasi Research Institute—IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; (F.A.S.); (G.L.); (M.G.S.); (S.C.); (M.G.B.); (D.G.); (R.F.); (C.R.)
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
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20
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Leger BS, Meredith JJ, Ideker T, Sanchez-Roige S, Palmer AA. Rare and common variants associated with alcohol consumption identify a conserved molecular network. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 48:1704-1715. [PMID: 39031522 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of common variants associated with alcohol consumption. In contrast, genetic studies of alcohol consumption that use rare variants are still in their early stages. No prior studies of alcohol consumption have examined whether common and rare variants implicate the same genes and molecular networks, leaving open the possibility that the two approaches might identify distinct biology. METHODS To address this knowledge gap, we used publicly available alcohol consumption GWAS summary statistics (GSCAN, N = 666,978) and whole exome sequencing data (Genebass, N = 393,099) to identify a set of common and rare variants for alcohol consumption. We used gene-based analysis to implicate genes from common and rare variant analyses, which we then propagated onto a shared molecular network using a network colocalization procedure. RESULTS Gene-based analysis of each dataset implicated 294 (common variants) and 35 (rare variants) genes, including ethanol metabolizing genes ADH1B and ADH1C, which were identified by both analyses, and ANKRD12, GIGYF1, KIF21B, and STK31, which were identified in only the rare variant analysis, but have been associated with other neuropsychiatric traits. Network colocalization revealed significant network overlap between the genes identified via common and rare variants. The shared network identified gene families that function in alcohol metabolism, including ADH, ALDH, CYP, and UGT. Seventy-one of the genes in the shared network were previously implicated in neuropsychiatric or substance use disorders but not alcohol-related behaviors (e.g. EXOC2, EPM2A, and CACNG4). Differential gene expression analysis showed enrichment in the liver and several brain regions. CONCLUSIONS Genes implicated by network colocalization identify shared biology relevant to alcohol consumption, which also underlie neuropsychiatric traits and substance use disorders that are comorbid with alcohol use, providing a more holistic understanding of two disparate sources of genetic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany S Leger
- Program in Biomedical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - John J Meredith
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Trey Ideker
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Sandra Sanchez-Roige
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Abraham A Palmer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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21
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Schaffer LS, Breunig S, Lawrence JM, Foote IF, Grotzinger AD. Characterizing Genetic Pathways Unique to Autism Spectrum Disorder at Multiple Levels of Biological Analysis. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.06.07.24308616. [PMID: 38883730 PMCID: PMC11178016 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.07.24308616] [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: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by atypical patterns of social functioning and repetitive/restricted behaviors. ASD commonly co-occurs with ADHD and, despite their clinical distinctiveness, the two share considerable genetic overlap. Given their shared genetic liability, it is unclear which genetic pathways confer unique risk for ASD independent of ADHD. We applied Genomic Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to GWAS summary statistics for ASD and ADHD, decomposing the genetic signal for ASD into that which is unique to ASD (uASD) and that which is shared with ADHD. We computed genetic correlations between uASD and 75 external traits to estimate genetic overlap between uASD and other clinically relevant phenotypes. We went on to apply Stratified Genomic SEM to identify classes of genes enriched for uASD. Finally, we implemented Transcriptome-Wide SEM (T-SEM) to explore patterns of gene-expression associated with uASD. We observed positive genetic correlations between uASD and several external traits, most notably those relating to cognitive/educational outcomes and internalizing psychiatric traits. Stratified Genomic SEM showed that heritability for uASD was significantly enriched in genes involved in evolutionarily conserved processes, as well as for a histone mark in the germinal matrix. T-SEM revealed 83 unique genes with expression associated with uASD, many of which were novel. These findings delineate the unique biological underpinnings of ASD which exist independent of ADHD and demonstrate the utility of Genomic SEM and its extensions for disambiguating shared and unique risk pathways for genetically overlapping traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas S Schaffer
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
| | - Sophie Breunig
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
| | - Jeremy M Lawrence
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
| | - Isabelle F Foote
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
| | - Andrew D Grotzinger
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO
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22
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Bicks LK, Geschwind DH. Functional neurogenomics in autism spectrum disorders: A decade of progress. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 86:102858. [PMID: 38547564 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Advances in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) genetics have identified many genetic causes, reflecting remarkable progress while at the same time identifying challenges such as heterogeneity and pleiotropy, which complicate attempts to connect genetic risk to mechanisms. High-throughput functional genomic approaches have yielded progress by defining a molecular pathology in the brain of individuals with ASD and in identifying convergent biological pathways through which risk genes are predicted to act. These studies indicate that ASD genetic risk converges in early brain development, primarily during the period of cortical neurogenesis. Over development, genetic perturbations in turn lead to broad neuronal signaling dysregulation, most prominent in glutamatergic cortical-cortical projecting neurons and somatostatin positive interneurons, which is accompanied by glial dyshomeostasis throughout the cerebral cortex. Connecting these developmental perturbations to disrupted neuronal and glial function in the postnatal brain is an important direction in current research. Coupling functional genomic approaches with advances in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural organoid development provides a promising avenue for connecting brain pathology to developmental mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy K Bicks
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 695 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. https://twitter.com/Bickslucy
| | - D H Geschwind
- Program in Neurobehavioral Genetics, Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 695 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 695 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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23
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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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24
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Andrews DS, Diers K, Lee JK, Harvey DJ, Heath B, Cordero D, Rogers SJ, Reuter M, Solomon M, Amaral DG, Nordahl CW. Sex differences in trajectories of cortical development in autistic children from 2-13 years of age. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02592-8. [PMID: 38755243 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02592-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies have reported alterations in cortical thickness in autism. However, few have included enough autistic females to determine if there are sex specific differences in cortical structure in autism. This longitudinal study aimed to investigate autistic sex differences in cortical thickness and trajectory of cortical thinning across childhood. Participants included 290 autistic (88 females) and 139 nonautistic (60 females) individuals assessed at up to 4 timepoints spanning ~2-13 years of age (918 total MRI timepoints). Estimates of cortical thickness in early and late childhood as well as the trajectory of cortical thinning were modeled using spatiotemporal linear mixed effects models of age-by-sex-by-diagnosis. Additionally, the spatial correspondence between cortical maps of sex-by-diagnosis differences and neurotypical sex differences were evaluated. Relative to their nonautistic peers, autistic females had more extensive cortical differences than autistic males. These differences involved multiple functional networks, and were mainly characterized by thicker cortex at ~3 years of age and faster cortical thinning in autistic females. Cortical regions in which autistic alterations were different between the sexes significantly overlapped with regions that differed by sex in neurotypical development. Autistic females and males demonstrated some shared differences in cortical thickness and rate of cortical thinning across childhood relative to their nonautistic peers, however these areas were relatively small compared to the widespread differences observed across the sexes. These results support evidence of sex-specific neurobiology in autism and suggest that processes that regulate sex differentiation in the neurotypical brain contribute to sex differences in the etiology of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek S Andrews
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
| | - Kersten Diers
- AI in Medical Imaging, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany
| | - Joshua K Lee
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Danielle J Harvey
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Brianna Heath
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Devani Cordero
- A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sally J Rogers
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Martin Reuter
- AI in Medical Imaging, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany
- A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marjorie Solomon
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - David G Amaral
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Christine Wu Nordahl
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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25
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Dai Y, Fernandes BS, Zhao Z. Revisiting the Relative Contribution of Common and Rare Genetic Variants to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Diverse Populations. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 95:822-824. [PMID: 38599708 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.02.1007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Yulin Dai
- Center for Precision Health, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas.
| | - Brisa S Fernandes
- Center for Precision Health, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas
| | - Zhongming Zhao
- Center for Precision Health, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas; Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas; Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas; Human Genetics Center, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas.
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26
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Kingdom R, Beaumont RN, Wood AR, Weedon MN, Wright CF. Genetic modifiers of rare variants in monogenic developmental disorder loci. Nat Genet 2024; 56:861-868. [PMID: 38637616 PMCID: PMC11096126 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01710-0] [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: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Rare damaging variants in a large number of genes are known to cause monogenic developmental disorders (DDs) and have also been shown to cause milder subclinical phenotypes in population cohorts. Here, we show that carrying multiple (2-5) rare damaging variants across 599 dominant DD genes has an additive adverse effect on numerous cognitive and socioeconomic traits in UK Biobank, which can be partially counterbalanced by a higher educational attainment polygenic score (EA-PGS). Phenotypic deviators from expected EA-PGS could be partly explained by the enrichment or depletion of rare DD variants. Among carriers of rare DD variants, those with a DD-related clinical diagnosis had a substantially lower EA-PGS and more severe phenotype than those without a clinical diagnosis. Our results suggest that the overall burden of both rare and common variants can modify the expressivity of a phenotype, which may then influence whether an individual reaches the threshold for clinical disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Kingdom
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK
| | - Robin N Beaumont
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK
| | - Andrew R Wood
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK
| | - Michael N Weedon
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK
| | - Caroline F Wright
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK.
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27
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Ramsay S, Allison K, Temples HS, Boccuto L, Sarasua SM. Inclusion of the severe and enduring anorexia nervosa phenotype in genetics research: a scoping review. J Eat Disord 2024; 12:53. [PMID: 38685102 PMCID: PMC11059621 DOI: 10.1186/s40337-024-01009-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anorexia nervosa has one of the highest mortality rates of all mental illnesses. For those who survive, less than 70% fully recover, with many going on to develop a more severe and enduring phenotype. Research now suggests that genetics plays a role in the development and persistence of anorexia nervosa. Inclusion of participants with more severe and enduring illness in genetics studies of anorexia nervosa is critical. OBJECTIVE The primary goal of this review was to assess the inclusion of participants meeting the criteria for the severe enduring anorexia nervosa phenotype in genetics research by (1) identifying the most widely used defining criteria for severe enduring anorexia nervosa and (2) performing a review of the genetics literature to assess the inclusion of participants meeting the identified criteria. METHODS Searches of the genetics literature from 2012 to 2023 were performed in the PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases. Publications were selected per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The criteria used to define the severe and enduring anorexia nervosa phenotype were derived by how often they were used in the literature since 2017. The publications identified through the literature search were then assessed for inclusion of participants meeting these criteria. RESULTS most prevalent criteria used to define severe enduring anorexia nervosa in the literature were an illness duration of ≥ 7 years, lack of positive response to at least two previous evidence-based treatments, a body mass index meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 for extreme anorexia nervosa, and an assessment of psychological and/or behavioral severity indicating a significant impact on quality of life. There was a lack of consistent identification and inclusion of those meeting the criteria for severe enduring anorexia nervosa in the genetics literature. DISCUSSION This lack of consistent identification and inclusion of patients with severe enduring anorexia nervosa in genetics research has the potential to hamper the isolation of risk loci and the development of new, more effective treatment options for patients with anorexia nervosa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Ramsay
- Healthcare Genetics and Genomics Program, School of Nursing, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
| | - Kendra Allison
- School of Nursing, Clemson University , Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Heide S Temples
- School of Nursing, Clemson University , Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Luigi Boccuto
- Healthcare Genetics and Genomics Program, School of Nursing, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Sara M Sarasua
- Healthcare Genetics and Genomics Program, School of Nursing, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
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28
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Koko M, Kyle Satterstrom F, Warrier V, Martin H. Contribution of autosomal rare and de novo variants to sex differences in autism. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.04.13.24305713. [PMID: 38699304 PMCID: PMC11065020 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.13.24305713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Autism is four times more prevalent in males than females. To study whether this reflects a difference in genetic predisposition attributed to autosomal rare variants, we evaluated the sex differences in effect size of damaging protein-truncating and missense variants on autism predisposition in 47,061 autistic individuals, then compared effect sizes between individuals with and without cognitive impairment or motor delay. Although these variants mediated differential likelihood of autism with versus without motor or cognitive impairment, their effect sizes on the liability scale did not differ significantly by sex exome-wide or in genes sex-differentially expressed in the cortex. Although de novo mutations were enriched in genes with male-biased expression in the fetal cortex, the liability they conferred did not differ significantly from other genes with similar loss-of-function intolerance and sex-averaged cortical expression. In summary, autosomal rare coding variants confer similar liability for autism in females and males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Koko
- Human Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - F. Kyle Satterstrom
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Varun Warrier
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 8AH, UK
| | - Hilary Martin
- Human Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SA, UK
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29
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Shchelochkov OA, Farmer CA, Chlebowski C, Adedipe D, Ferry S, Manoli I, Pass A, McCoy S, Van Ryzin C, Sloan J, Thurm A, Venditti CP. Intellectual disability and autism in propionic acidemia: a biomarker-behavioral investigation implicating dysregulated mitochondrial biology. Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:974-981. [PMID: 38200289 PMCID: PMC11176071 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02385-5] [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: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Propionic acidemia (PA) is an autosomal recessive condition (OMIM #606054), wherein pathogenic variants in PCCA and PCCB impair the activity of propionyl-CoA carboxylase. PA is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, including intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, the correlates and mechanisms of these outcomes remain unknown. Using data from a subset of participants with PA enrolled in a dedicated natural history study (n = 33), we explored associations between neurodevelopmental phenotypes and laboratory parameters. Twenty (61%) participants received an ID diagnosis, and 12 of the 31 (39%) who were fully evaluated received the diagnosis of ASD. A diagnosis of ID, lower full-scale IQ (sample mean = 65 ± 26), and lower adaptive behavior composite scores (sample mean = 67 ± 23) were associated with several biomarkers. Higher concentrations of plasma propionylcarnitine, plasma total 2-methylcitrate, serum erythropoietin, and mitochondrial biomarkers plasma FGF21 and GDF15 were associated with a more severe ID profile. Reduced 1-13C-propionate oxidative capacity and decreased levels of plasma and urinary glutamine were also associated with a more severe ID profile. Only two parameters, increased serum erythropoietin and decreased plasma glutamine, were associated with ASD. Plasma glycine, one of the defining features of PA, was not meaningfully associated with either ID or ASD. Thus, while both ID and ASD were commonly observed in our PA cohort, only ID was robustly associated with metabolic parameters. Our results suggest that disease severity and associated mitochondrial dysfunction may play a role in CNS complications of PA and identify potential biomarkers and candidate surrogate endpoints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg A Shchelochkov
- Organic Acid Research Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Cristan A Farmer
- Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping Service, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Colby Chlebowski
- Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping Service, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Dee Adedipe
- Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping Service, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Susan Ferry
- Organic Acid Research Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Irini Manoli
- Organic Acid Research Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Alexandra Pass
- Organic Acid Research Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Samantha McCoy
- Organic Acid Research Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Carol Van Ryzin
- Organic Acid Research Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Jennifer Sloan
- Organic Acid Research Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Audrey Thurm
- Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping Service, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Charles P Venditti
- Organic Acid Research Section, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
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30
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Li R, Ernst J. Identifying associations of de novo noncoding variants with autism through integration of gene expression, sequence and sex information. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.20.585624. [PMID: 38562739 PMCID: PMC10983996 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.20.585624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data is facilitating genome-wide identification of rare noncoding variants, while elucidating their roles in disease remains challenging. Towards this end, we first revisit a reported significant brain-related association signal of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) detected from de novo noncoding variants attributed to deep-learning and show that local GC content can capture similar association signals. We further show that the association signal appears driven by variants from male proband-female sibling pairs that are upstream of assigned genes. We then develop Expression Neighborhood Sequence Association Study (ENSAS), which utilizes gene expression correlations and sequence information, to more systematically identify phenotype-associated variant sets. Applying ENSAS to the same set of de novo variants, we identify gene expression-based neighborhoods showing significant ASD association signal, enriched for synapse-related gene ontology terms. For these top neighborhoods, we also identify chromatin states annotations of variants that are predictive of the proband-sibling local GC content differences. Our work provides new insights into associations of non-coding de novo mutations in ASD and presents an analytical framework applicable to other phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runjia Li
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jason Ernst
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Computer Science Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Computational Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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31
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Zhao HH, Haddad G. Brain organoid protocols and limitations. Front Cell Neurosci 2024; 18:1351734. [PMID: 38572070 PMCID: PMC10987830 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2024.1351734] [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: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Stem cell-derived organoid technology is a powerful tool that revolutionizes the field of biomedical research and extends the scope of our understanding of human biology and diseases. Brain organoids especially open an opportunity for human brain research and modeling many human neurological diseases, which have lagged due to the inaccessibility of human brain samples and lack of similarity with other animal models. Brain organoids can be generated through various protocols and mimic whole brain or region-specific. To provide an overview of brain organoid technology, we summarize currently available protocols and list several factors to consider before choosing protocols. We also outline the limitations of current protocols and challenges that need to be solved in future investigation of brain development and pathobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen H. Zhao
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Gabriel Haddad
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- The Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA, United States
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32
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Xie Y, Wu R, Li H, Dong W, Zhou G, Zhao H. Statistical methods for assessing the effects of de novo variants on birth defects. Hum Genomics 2024; 18:25. [PMID: 38486307 PMCID: PMC10938830 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-024-00590-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
With the development of next-generation sequencing technology, de novo variants (DNVs) with deleterious effects can be identified and investigated for their effects on birth defects such as congenital heart disease (CHD). However, statistical power is still limited for such studies because of the small sample size due to the high cost of recruiting and sequencing samples and the low occurrence of DNVs. DNV analysis is further complicated by genetic heterogeneity across diseased individuals. Therefore, it is critical to jointly analyze DNVs with other types of genomic/biological information to improve statistical power to identify genes associated with birth defects. In this review, we discuss the general workflow, recent developments in statistical methods, and future directions for DNV analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhan Xie
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Ruoxuan Wu
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Hongyu Li
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Weilai Dong
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Geyu Zhou
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Hongyu Zhao
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
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33
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Leger BS, Meredith JJ, Ideker T, Sanchez-Roige S, Palmer AA. Rare and Common Variants Associated with Alcohol Consumption Identify a Conserved Molecular Network. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.26.582195. [PMID: 38464225 PMCID: PMC10925118 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.26.582195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of common variants associated with alcohol consumption. In contrast, rare variants have only begun to be studied for their role in alcohol consumption. No studies have examined whether common and rare variants implicate the same genes and molecular networks. To address this knowledge gap, we used publicly available alcohol consumption GWAS summary statistics (GSCAN, N=666,978) and whole exome sequencing data (Genebass, N=393,099) to identify a set of common and rare variants for alcohol consumption. Gene-based analysis of each dataset have implicated 294 (common variants) and 35 (rare variants) genes, including ethanol metabolizing genes ADH1B and ADH1C, which were identified by both analyses, and ANKRD12, GIGYF1, KIF21B, and STK31, which were identified only by rare variant analysis, but have been associated with related psychiatric traits. We then used a network colocalization procedure to propagate the common and rare gene sets onto a shared molecular network, revealing significant overlap. The shared network identified gene families that function in alcohol metabolism, including ADH, ALDH, CYP, and UGT. 74 of the genes in the network were previously implicated in comorbid psychiatric or substance use disorders, but had not previously been identified for alcohol-related behaviors, including EXOC2, EPM2A, CACNB3, and CACNG4. Differential gene expression analysis showed enrichment in the liver and several brain regions supporting the role of network genes in alcohol consumption. Thus, genes implicated by common and rare variants identify shared functions relevant to alcohol consumption, which also underlie psychiatric traits and substance use disorders that are comorbid with alcohol use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany S Leger
- Program in Biomedical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - John J Meredith
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Trey Ideker
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Sandra Sanchez-Roige
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Abraham A Palmer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Mitchell KJ. Variability in Neural Circuit Formation. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2024; 16:a041504. [PMID: 38253418 PMCID: PMC10910361 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
The study of neural development is usually concerned with the question of how nervous systems get put together. Variation in these processes is usually of interest as a means of revealing these normative mechanisms. However, variation itself can be an object of study and is of interest from multiple angles. First, the nature of variation in both the processes and the outcomes of neural development is relevant to our understanding of how these processes and outcomes are encoded in the genome. Second, variation in the wiring of the brain in humans may underlie variation in all kinds of psychological and behavioral traits, as well as neurodevelopmental disorders. And third, genetic variation that affects circuit development provides the raw material for evolutionary change. Here, I examine these different aspects of variation in circuit development and consider what they may tell us about these larger questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Mitchell
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
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Ishikawa M, Yamamoto Y, Wulaer B, Kunisawa K, Fujigaki H, Ando T, Kimura H, Kushima I, Arioka Y, Torii Y, Mouri A, Ozaki N, Nabeshima T, Saito K. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 2 deficiency associates with autism-like behavior via dopaminergic neuronal dysfunction. FEBS J 2024; 291:945-964. [PMID: 38037233 DOI: 10.1111/febs.17019] [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: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 2 (IDO2) is an enzyme of the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway that is constitutively expressed in the brain. To provide insight into the physiological role of IDO2 in the brain, behavioral and neurochemical analyses in IDO2 knockout (KO) mice were performed. IDO2 KO mice showed stereotyped behavior, restricted interest and social deficits, traits that are associated with behavioral endophenotypes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). IDO2 was colocalized immunohistochemically with tyrosine-hydroxylase-positive cells in dopaminergic neurons. In the striatum and amygdala of IDO2 KO mice, decreased dopamine turnover was associated with increased α-synuclein level. Correspondingly, levels of downstream dopamine D1 receptor signaling molecules such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and c-Fos positive proteins were decreased. Furthermore, decreased abundance of ramified-type microglia resulted in increased dendritic spine density in the striatum of IDO2 KO mice. Both chemogenetic activation of dopaminergic neurons and treatment with methylphenidate, a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, ameliorated the ASD-like behavior of IDO2 KO mice. Sequencing analysis of exon regions in IDO2 from 309 ASD samples identified a rare canonical splice site variant in one ASD case. These results suggest that the IDO2 gene is, at least in part, a factor closely related to the development of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Ishikawa
- Department of Advanced Diagnostic System Development, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Yasuko Yamamoto
- Department of Advanced Diagnostic System Development, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Bolati Wulaer
- Department of Advanced Diagnostic System Development, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
- Laboratory of Health and Medical Science Innovation, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Science, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Kazuo Kunisawa
- Department of Regulatory Science for Evaluation & Development of Pharmaceuticals & Devices, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Hidetsugu Fujigaki
- Department of Advanced Diagnostic System Development, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Ando
- Department of Advanced Diagnostic System Development, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Hiroki Kimura
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Itaru Kushima
- Medical Genomics Center, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Yuko Arioka
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Youta Torii
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Akihiro Mouri
- Department of Regulatory Science for Evaluation & Development of Pharmaceuticals & Devices, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
- Japanese Drug Organization of Appropriate Use and Research, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Norio Ozaki
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Toshitaka Nabeshima
- Laboratory of Health and Medical Science Innovation, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Science, Toyoake, Japan
- Japanese Drug Organization of Appropriate Use and Research, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Kuniaki Saito
- Department of Advanced Diagnostic System Development, Fujita Health University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
- Japanese Drug Organization of Appropriate Use and Research, Nagoya, Japan
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Al-Saei ANJM, Nour-Eldine W, Rajpoot K, Arshad N, Al-Shammari AR, Kamal M, Akil AAS, Fakhro KA, Thornalley PJ, Rabbani N. Validation of plasma protein glycation and oxidation biomarkers for the diagnosis of autism. Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:653-659. [PMID: 38135754 PMCID: PMC11153128 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02357-9] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children. It is currently diagnosed by behaviour-based assessments made by observation and interview. In 2018 we reported a discovery study of a blood biomarker diagnostic test for ASD based on a combination of four plasma protein glycation and oxidation adducts. The test had 88% accuracy in children 5-12 years old. Herein, we present an international multicenter clinical validation study (N = 478) with application of similar biomarkers to a wider age range of 1.5-12 years old children. Three hundred and eleven children with ASD (247 male, 64 female; age 5.2 ± 3.0 years) and 167 children with typical development (94 male, 73 female; 4.9 ± 2.4 years) were recruited for this study at Sidra Medicine and Hamad Medical Corporation hospitals, Qatar, and Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Spain. For subjects 5-12 years old, the diagnostic algorithm with features, advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs)-Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine (CML), Nω-carboxymethylarginine (CMA) and 3-deoxyglucosone-derived hydroimidazolone (3DG-H), and oxidative damage marker, o,o'-dityrosine (DT), age and gender had accuracy 83% (CI 79 - 89%), sensitivity 94% (CI 90-98%), specificity 67% (CI 57-76%) and area-under-the-curve of receiver operating characteristic plot (AUROC) 0.87 (CI 0.84-0.90). Inclusion of additional plasma protein glycation and oxidation adducts increased the specificity to 74%. An algorithm with 12 plasma protein glycation and oxidation adduct features was optimum for children of 1.5-12 years old: accuracy 74% (CI 70-79%), sensitivity 75% (CI 63-87%), specificity 74% (CI 58-90%) and AUROC 0.79 (CI 0.74-0.84). We conclude that ASD diagnosis may be supported using an algorithm with features of plasma protein CML, CMA, 3DG-H and DT in 5-12 years-old children, and an algorithm with additional features applicable for ASD screening in younger children. ASD severity, as assessed by ADOS-2 score, correlated positively with plasma protein glycation adducts derived from methylglyoxal, hydroimidazolone MG-H1 and Nε(1-carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL). The successful validation herein may indicate that the algorithm modifiable features are mechanistic risk markers linking ASD to increased lipid peroxidation, neuronal plasticity and proteotoxic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wared Nour-Eldine
- Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, PO Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Kashif Rajpoot
- University of Birmingham Dubai, Dubai International Academic City, PO Box 341799, Dubai, UAE
| | - Noman Arshad
- BIOMISA Laboratory, Department of Computer & Software Engineering, National University of Science & Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Abeer R Al-Shammari
- Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, PO Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Madeeha Kamal
- College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar
- Department of Pediatrics, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, P.O. Box 24144, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ammira Al-Shabeeb Akil
- Precision Medicine in Diabetes Prevention Laboratory, Population Genetics, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar
| | - Khalid A Fakhro
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, P.O. Box 24144, Doha, Qatar
- Precision Medicine in Diabetes Prevention Laboratory, Population Genetics, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar
- Laboratory of Genomic Medicine-Precision Medicine Program, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar
| | - Paul J Thornalley
- Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, PO Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
- College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
| | - Naila Rabbani
- College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
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Basson MA. Neurodevelopmental functions of CHD8: new insights and questions. Biochem Soc Trans 2024; 52:15-27. [PMID: 38288845 PMCID: PMC10903457 DOI: 10.1042/bst20220926] [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: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Heterozygous, de novo, loss-of-function variants of the CHD8 gene are associated with a high penetrance of autism and other neurodevelopmental phenotypes. Identifying the neurodevelopmental functions of high-confidence autism risk genes like CHD8 may improve our understanding of the neurodevelopmental mechanisms that underlie autism spectrum disorders. Over the last decade, a complex picture of pleiotropic CHD8 functions and mechanisms of action has emerged. Multiple brain and non-brain cell types and progenitors appear to be affected by CHD8 haploinsufficiency. Behavioural, cellular and synaptic phenotypes are dependent on the nature of the gene mutation and are modified by sex and genetic background. Here, I review some of the CHD8-interacting proteins and molecular mechanisms identified to date, as well as the impacts of CHD8 deficiency on cellular processes relevant to neurodevelopment. I endeavour to highlight some of the critical questions that still require careful and concerted attention over the next decade to bring us closer to the goal of understanding the salient mechanisms whereby CHD8 deficiency causes neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Albert Basson
- Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Hatherly Laboratories, Exeter EX4 4PS, U.K
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology and MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, U.K
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de Hoyos L, Barendse MT, Schlag F, van Donkelaar MMJ, Verhoef E, Shapland CY, Klassmann A, Buitelaar J, Verhulst B, Fisher SE, Rai D, St Pourcain B. Structural models of genome-wide covariance identify multiple common dimensions in autism. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1770. [PMID: 38413609 PMCID: PMC10899248 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46128-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Common genetic variation has been associated with multiple phenotypic features in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, our knowledge of shared genetic factor structures contributing to this highly heterogeneous phenotypic spectrum is limited. Here, we developed and implemented a structural equation modelling framework to directly model genomic covariance across core and non-core ASD phenotypes, studying autistic individuals of European descent with a case-only design. We identified three independent genetic factors most strongly linked to language performance, behaviour and developmental motor delay, respectively, studying an autism community sample (N = 5331). The three-factorial structure was largely confirmed in independent ASD-simplex families (N = 1946), although we uncovered, in addition, simplex-specific genetic overlap between behaviour and language phenotypes. Multivariate models across cohorts revealed novel associations, including links between language and early mastering of self-feeding. Thus, the common genetic architecture in ASD is multi-dimensional with overarching genetic factors contributing, in combination with ascertainment-specific patterns, to phenotypic heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía de Hoyos
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Maria T Barendse
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Social Dentistry and Behavioural Sciences, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Fenja Schlag
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Ellen Verhoef
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Chin Yang Shapland
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | | | - Jan Buitelaar
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Dheeraj Rai
- Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Avon and Wiltshire Partnership NHS Mental Health Trust, Bristol, UK
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Beate St Pourcain
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Nakamura T, Ueda J, Mizuno S, Honda K, Kazuno AA, Yamamoto H, Hara T, Takata A. Topologically associating domains define the impact of de novo promoter variants on autism spectrum disorder risk. CELL GENOMICS 2024; 4:100488. [PMID: 38280381 PMCID: PMC10879036 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have demonstrated the roles of rare promoter de novo variants (DNVs). However, most promoter DNVs in ASD are not located immediately upstream of known ASD genes. In this study analyzing WGS data of 5,044 ASD probands, 4,095 unaffected siblings, and their parents, we show that promoter DNVs within topologically associating domains (TADs) containing ASD genes are significantly and specifically associated with ASD. An analysis considering TADs as functional units identified specific TADs enriched for promoter DNVs in ASD and indicated that common variants in these regions also confer ASD heritability. Experimental validation using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) showed that likely deleterious promoter DNVs in ASD can influence multiple genes within the same TAD, resulting in overall dysregulation of ASD-associated genes. These results highlight the importance of TADs and gene-regulatory mechanisms in better understanding the genetic architecture of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takumi Nakamura
- Laboratory for Molecular Pathology of Psychiatric Disorders, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Junko Ueda
- Laboratory for Molecular Pathology of Psychiatric Disorders, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
| | - Shota Mizuno
- Laboratory for Molecular Pathology of Psychiatric Disorders, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Kurara Honda
- Laboratory for Molecular Pathology of Psychiatric Disorders, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - An-A Kazuno
- Laboratory for Molecular Pathology of Psychiatric Disorders, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hirona Yamamoto
- Laboratory for Molecular Pathology of Psychiatric Disorders, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan
| | - Tomonori Hara
- Laboratory for Molecular Pathology of Psychiatric Disorders, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; Department of Organ Anatomy, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan
| | - Atsushi Takata
- Laboratory for Molecular Pathology of Psychiatric Disorders, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; Research Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
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Vacy K, Thomson S, Moore A, Eisner A, Tanner S, Pham C, Saffery R, Mansell T, Burgner D, Collier F, Vuillermin P, O'Hely M, Boon WC, Meikle P, Burugupalli S, Ponsonby AL. Cord blood lipid correlation network profiles are associated with subsequent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder symptoms at 2 years: a prospective birth cohort study. EBioMedicine 2024; 100:104949. [PMID: 38199043 PMCID: PMC10825361 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are neurodevelopmental conditions with early life origins. Alterations in blood lipids have been linked to ADHD and ASD; however, prospective early life data are limited. This study examined (i) associations between the cord blood lipidome and ADHD/ASD symptoms at 2 years of age, (ii) associations between prenatal and perinatal predictors of ADHD/ASD symptoms and cord blood lipidome, and (iii) mediation by the cord blood lipidome. METHODS From the Barwon Infant Study cohort (1074 mother-child pairs, 52.3% male children), child circulating lipid levels at birth were analysed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. These were clustered into lipid network modules via Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis. Associations between lipid modules and ADHD/ASD symptoms at 2 years, assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist, were explored via linear regression analyses. Mediation analysis identified indirect effects of prenatal and perinatal risk factors on ADHD/ASD symptoms through lipid modules. FINDINGS The acylcarnitine lipid module is associated with both ADHD and ASD symptoms at 2 years of age. Risk factors of these outcomes such as low income, Apgar score, and maternal inflammation were partly mediated by higher birth acylcarnitine levels. Other cord blood lipid profiles were also associated with ADHD and ASD symptoms. INTERPRETATION This study highlights that elevated cord blood birth acylcarnitine levels, either directly or as a possible marker of disrupted cell energy metabolism, are on the causal pathway of prenatal and perinatal risk factors for ADHD and ASD symptoms in early life. FUNDING The foundational work and infrastructure for the BIS was sponsored by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Deakin University, and Barwon Health. Subsequent funding was secured from the Minderoo Foundation, the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (ENDpoiNTs: No 825759), National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) and Agency for Science, Technology and Research Singapore [APP1149047], The William and Vera Ellen Houston Memorial Trust Fund (via HOMER Hack), The Shepherd Foundation, The Jack Brockhoff Foundation, the Scobie & Claire McKinnon Trust, the Shane O'Brien Memorial Asthma Foundation, the Our Women Our Children's Fund Raising Committee Barwon Health, the Rotary Club of Geelong, the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation, Geelong Medical and Hospital Benefits Association, Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd, the Percy Baxter Charitable Trust, and Perpetual Trustees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Vacy
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia; Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Sarah Thomson
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Archer Moore
- Melbourne School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Alex Eisner
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Sam Tanner
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Cindy Pham
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3010, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Richard Saffery
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3010, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Toby Mansell
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3010, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - David Burgner
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3010, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Clayton 3168, Australia
| | - Fiona Collier
- Child Health Research Unit, Barwon Health, Geelong 3220, Australia; School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong 3220, Australia
| | - Peter Vuillermin
- Child Health Research Unit, Barwon Health, Geelong 3220, Australia
| | - Martin O'Hely
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3010, Australia; School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong 3220, Australia
| | - Wah Chin Boon
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Peter Meikle
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne 3004, Australia; Baker Department of Cardiovascular Research, Translation and Implementation, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Satvika Burugupalli
- Metabolomics Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne 3004, Australia
| | - Anne-Louise Ponsonby
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3010, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia.
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Sun J, Noss S, Banerjee D, Das M, Girirajan S. Strategies for dissecting the complexity of neurodevelopmental disorders. Trends Genet 2024; 40:187-202. [PMID: 37949722 PMCID: PMC10872993 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.10.009] [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: 05/27/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are associated with a wide range of clinical features, affecting multiple pathways involved in brain development and function. Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing have unveiled numerous genetic variants associated with NDDs, which further contribute to disease complexity and make it challenging to infer disease causation and underlying mechanisms. Herein, we review current strategies for dissecting the complexity of NDDs using model organisms, induced pluripotent stem cells, single-cell sequencing technologies, and massively parallel reporter assays. We further highlight single-cell CRISPR-based screening techniques that allow genomic investigation of cellular transcriptomes with high efficiency, accuracy, and throughput. Overall, we provide an integrated review of experimental approaches that can be applicable for investigating a broad range of complex disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiawan Sun
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Serena Noss
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Deepro Banerjee
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Maitreya Das
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Santhosh Girirajan
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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42
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Bui DT, Ton ANV, Nguyen CTD, Nguyen SH, Tran HK, Nguyen XT, Nguyen HT, Pham GLT, Tran DS, Harrington J, Pham HN, Pham TNV, Cao TA. Pathogenic/likely pathogenic mutations identified in Vietnamese children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder using high-resolution SNP genotyping platform. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2360. [PMID: 38287090 PMCID: PMC10825208 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52777-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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Among the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is highly diverse showing a broad phenotypic spectrum. ASD also couples with a broad range of mutations, both de novo and inherited. In this study, we used a proprietary SNP genotyping chip to analyze the genomic DNA of 250 Vietnamese children diagnosed with ASD. Our Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping chip directly targets more than 800 thousand SNPs in the genome. Our primary focus was to identify pathogenic/likely pathogenic mutations that are potentially linked to more severe symptoms of autism. We identified and validated 23 pathogenic/likely pathogenic mutations in this initial study. The data shows that these mutations were detected in several cases spanning multiple biological pathways. Among the confirmed SNPs, mutations were identified in genes previously known to be strongly associated with ASD such as SLCO1B1, ACADSB, TCF4, HCP5, MOCOS, SRD5A2, MCCC2, DCC, and PRKN while several other mutations are known to associate with autistic traits or other neurodevelopmental disorders. Some mutations were found in multiple patients and some patients carried multiple pathogenic/likely pathogenic mutations. These findings contribute to the identification of potential targets for therapeutic solutions in what is considered a genetically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duyen T Bui
- Genetica Research Foundation, National Innovation Center, Hanoi, Vietnam.
- Gene Friend Way Inc, San Francisco, USA.
| | - Anh N V Ton
- Pediatric Center Hue Central Hospital, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
- Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
| | - Chi T D Nguyen
- Pediatric Center Hue Central Hospital, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
| | - Son H Nguyen
- Pediatric Center Hue Central Hospital, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
| | - Hao K Tran
- Pediatric Center Hue Central Hospital, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
| | - Xuan T Nguyen
- Pediatric Center Hue Central Hospital, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
| | - Hang T Nguyen
- Genetica Research Foundation, National Innovation Center, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Gene Friend Way Inc, San Francisco, USA
| | - Giang L T Pham
- Genetica Research Foundation, National Innovation Center, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Gene Friend Way Inc, San Francisco, USA
| | - Dong S Tran
- Genetica Research Foundation, National Innovation Center, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Gene Friend Way Inc, San Francisco, USA
| | - Jillian Harrington
- Genetica Research Foundation, National Innovation Center, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Gene Friend Way Inc, San Francisco, USA
| | - Hiep N Pham
- Pediatric Center Hue Central Hospital, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
| | - Tuyen N V Pham
- Pediatric Center Hue Central Hospital, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
| | - Tuan A Cao
- Genetica Research Foundation, National Innovation Center, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Gene Friend Way Inc, San Francisco, USA
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43
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McClellan JM, Zoghbi AW, Buxbaum JD, Cappi C, Crowley JJ, Flint J, Grice DE, Gulsuner S, Iyegbe C, Jain S, Kuo PH, Lattig MC, Passos-Bueno MR, Purushottam M, Stein DJ, Sunshine AB, Susser ES, Walsh CA, Wootton O, King MC. An evolutionary perspective on complex neuropsychiatric disease. Neuron 2024; 112:7-24. [PMID: 38016473 PMCID: PMC10842497 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.10.037] [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: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
The forces of evolution-mutation, selection, migration, and genetic drift-shape the genetic architecture of human traits, including the genetic architecture of complex neuropsychiatric illnesses. Studying these illnesses in populations that are diverse in genetic ancestry, historical demography, and cultural history can reveal how evolutionary forces have guided adaptation over time and place. A fundamental truth of shared human biology is that an allele responsible for a disease in anyone, anywhere, reveals a gene critical to the normal biology underlying that condition in everyone, everywhere. Understanding the genetic causes of neuropsychiatric disease in the widest possible range of human populations thus yields the greatest possible range of insight into genes critical to human brain development. In this perspective, we explore some of the relationships between genes, adaptation, and history that can be illuminated by an evolutionary perspective on studies of complex neuropsychiatric disease in diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon M McClellan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Anthony W Zoghbi
- Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Joseph D Buxbaum
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Carolina Cappi
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - James J Crowley
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jonathan Flint
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Dorothy E Grice
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Suleyman Gulsuner
- Department of Medicine and Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Conrad Iyegbe
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Sanjeev Jain
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru 560029, India
| | - Po-Hsiu Kuo
- Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
| | | | | | - Meera Purushottam
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru 560029, India
| | - Dan J Stein
- SAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Anna B Sunshine
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Medicine and Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ezra S Susser
- Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Christopher A Walsh
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Division of Genetics and Genomics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Olivia Wootton
- SAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Mary-Claire King
- Department of Medicine and Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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44
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Buch AM, Liston C. Gene-brain-behavior mechanisms underlying autism spectrum disorder: implications for precision psychiatry. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:343-344. [PMID: 37717083 PMCID: PMC10700301 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01722-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Buch
- Department of Psychiatry and Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, 413 East 69th Street, Box 240, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
| | - Conor Liston
- Department of Psychiatry and Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, 413 East 69th Street, Box 240, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
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45
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Smolen C, Jensen M, Dyer L, Pizzo L, Tyryshkina A, Banerjee D, Rohan L, Huber E, El Khattabi L, Prontera P, Caberg JH, Van Dijck A, Schwartz C, Faivre L, Callier P, Mosca-Boidron AL, Lefebvre M, Pope K, Snell P, Lockhart PJ, Castiglia L, Galesi O, Avola E, Mattina T, Fichera M, Luana Mandarà GM, Bruccheri MG, Pichon O, Le Caignec C, Stoeva R, Cuinat S, Mercier S, Bénéteau C, Blesson S, Nordsletten A, Martin-Coignard D, Sistermans E, Kooy RF, Amor DJ, Romano C, Isidor B, Juusola J, Girirajan S. Assortative mating and parental genetic relatedness contribute to the pathogenicity of variably expressive variants. Am J Hum Genet 2023; 110:2015-2028. [PMID: 37979581 PMCID: PMC10716518 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2023.10.015] [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: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023] Open
Abstract
We examined more than 97,000 families from four neurodevelopmental disease cohorts and the UK Biobank to identify phenotypic and genetic patterns in parents contributing to neurodevelopmental disease risk in children. We identified within- and cross-disorder correlations between six phenotypes in parents and children, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (R = 0.32-0.38, p < 10-126). We also found that measures of sub-clinical autism features in parents are associated with several autism severity measures in children, including biparental mean Social Responsiveness Scale scores and proband Repetitive Behaviors Scale scores (regression coefficient = 0.14, p = 3.38 × 10-4). We further describe patterns of phenotypic similarity between spouses, where spouses show correlations for six neurological and psychiatric phenotypes, including a within-disorder correlation for depression (R = 0.24-0.68, p < 0.001) and a cross-disorder correlation between anxiety and bipolar disorder (R = 0.09-0.22, p < 10-92). Using a simulated population, we also found that assortative mating can lead to increases in disease liability over generations and the appearance of "genetic anticipation" in families carrying rare variants. We identified several families in a neurodevelopmental disease cohort where the proband inherited multiple rare variants in disease-associated genes from each of their affected parents. We further identified parental relatedness as a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders through its inverse relationship with variant pathogenicity and propose that parental relatedness modulates disease risk by increasing genome-wide homozygosity in children (R = 0.05-0.26, p < 0.05). Our results highlight the utility of assessing parent phenotypes and genotypes toward predicting features in children who carry rare variably expressive variants and implicate assortative mating as a risk factor for increased disease severity in these families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corrine Smolen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Matthew Jensen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | | | - Lucilla Pizzo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Anastasia Tyryshkina
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Deepro Banerjee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Laura Rohan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Emily Huber
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Laila El Khattabi
- Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Department of Medical Genetics, Armand Trousseau and Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospitals, Paris, France
| | - Paolo Prontera
- Medical Genetics Unit, Hospital "Santa Maria della Misericordia", Perugia, Italy
| | - Jean-Hubert Caberg
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège. Domaine Universitaire du Sart Tilman, Liège, Belgium
| | - Anke Van Dijck
- Department of Medical Genetics, University and University Hospital Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Laurence Faivre
- Centre de Genetique et Cenre de Référence Anomalies du développement et syndromes malformatifs, Hôpital d'Enfants, CHU Dijon, Dijon, France; GAD INSERM UMR1231, FHU TRANSLAD, Université de Bourgogne Franche Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Patrick Callier
- Centre de Genetique et Cenre de Référence Anomalies du développement et syndromes malformatifs, Hôpital d'Enfants, CHU Dijon, Dijon, France; GAD INSERM UMR1231, FHU TRANSLAD, Université de Bourgogne Franche Comté, Dijon, France
| | | | - Mathilde Lefebvre
- GAD INSERM UMR1231, FHU TRANSLAD, Université de Bourgogne Franche Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Kate Pope
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Penny Snell
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Paul J Lockhart
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Bruce Lefroy Center, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Lucia Castiglia
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy
| | - Ornella Galesi
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy
| | - Emanuela Avola
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy
| | - Teresa Mattina
- Medical Genetics, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
| | - Marco Fichera
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy; Medical Genetics, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
| | | | - Maria Grazia Bruccheri
- Research Unit of Rare Diseases and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, 94018 Troina, Italy
| | - Olivier Pichon
- CHU Nantes, Department of Medical Genetics, Nantes, France
| | - Cedric Le Caignec
- CHU Toulouse, Department of Medical Genetics, Toulouse, France; ToNIC, Toulouse Neuro Imaging, Center, Inserm, UPS, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Radka Stoeva
- Service de Cytogenetique, CHU de Le Mans, Le Mans, France
| | | | - Sandra Mercier
- CHU Nantes, Department of Medical Genetics, Nantes, France
| | | | - Sophie Blesson
- Department of Genetics, Bretonneau University Hospital, Tours, France
| | | | | | - Erik Sistermans
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - R Frank Kooy
- Department of Medical Genetics, University and University Hospital Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - David J Amor
- Bruce Lefroy Center, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Corrado Romano
- Medical Genetics, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; Medical Genetics, ASP Ragusa, Ragusa, Italy
| | | | | | - Santhosh Girirajan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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46
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Wang S, Wang B, Drury V, Drake S, Sun N, Alkhairo H, Arbelaez J, Duhn C, Bal VH, Langley K, Martin J, Hoekstra PJ, Dietrich A, Xing J, Heiman GA, Tischfield JA, Fernandez TV, Owen MJ, O'Donovan MC, Thapar A, State MW, Willsey AJ. Rare X-linked variants carry predominantly male risk in autism, Tourette syndrome, and ADHD. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8077. [PMID: 38057346 PMCID: PMC10700338 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43776-0] [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: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Tourette syndrome (TS), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) display strong male sex bias, due to a combination of genetic and biological factors, as well as selective ascertainment. While the hemizygous nature of chromosome X (Chr X) in males has long been postulated as a key point of "male vulnerability", rare genetic variation on this chromosome has not been systematically characterized in large-scale whole exome sequencing studies of "idiopathic" ASD, TS, and ADHD. Here, we take advantage of informative recombinations in simplex ASD families to pinpoint risk-enriched regions on Chr X, within which rare maternally-inherited damaging variants carry substantial risk in males with ASD. We then apply a modified transmission disequilibrium test to 13,052 ASD probands and identify a novel high confidence ASD risk gene at exome-wide significance (MAGEC3). Finally, we observe that rare damaging variants within these risk regions carry similar effect sizes in males with TS or ADHD, further clarifying genetic mechanisms underlying male vulnerability in multiple neurodevelopmental disorders that can be exploited for systematic gene discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Wang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Belinda Wang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Vanessa Drury
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Sam Drake
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Nawei Sun
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Hasan Alkhairo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Juan Arbelaez
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Clif Duhn
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Vanessa H Bal
- Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Kate Langley
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Joanna Martin
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Pieter J Hoekstra
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Accare Child Study Center, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Andrea Dietrich
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Accare Child Study Center, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jinchuan Xing
- Department of Genetics and the Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Gary A Heiman
- Department of Genetics and the Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Jay A Tischfield
- Department of Genetics and the Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Thomas V Fernandez
- Yale Child Study Center and Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michael J Owen
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Michael C O'Donovan
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Anita Thapar
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Matthew W State
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - A Jeremy Willsey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
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47
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Pedini G, Chen CL, Achsel T, Bagni C. Cancer drug repurposing in autism spectrum disorder. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2023; 44:963-977. [PMID: 37940430 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2023.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with uncertain origins. Understanding of the mechanisms underlying ASD remains limited, and treatments are lacking. Genetic diversity complicates drug development. Given the complexity and severity of ASD symptoms and the rising number of diagnoses, exploring novel therapeutic strategies is essential. Here, we focus on shared molecular pathways between ASD and cancer and highlight recent progress on the repurposing of cancer drugs for ASD treatment, such as mTOR inhibitors, histone deacetylase inhibitors, and anti-inflammatory agents. We discuss how to improve trial design considering drug dose and patient age. Lastly, the discussion explores the critical aspects of side effects, commercial factors, and the efficiency of drug-screening pipelines; all of which are essential considerations in the pursuit of repurposing cancer drugs for addressing core features of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Pedini
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Chin-Lin Chen
- University of Lausanne, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, Rue du Bugnon 9, 1005, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tilmann Achsel
- University of Lausanne, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, Rue du Bugnon 9, 1005, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Bagni
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Via Montpellier 1, 00133, Rome, Italy; University of Lausanne, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, Rue du Bugnon 9, 1005, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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48
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Kereszturi É. Diversity and Classification of Genetic Variations in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:16768. [PMID: 38069091 PMCID: PMC10706722 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242316768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition with symptoms that affect the whole personality and all aspects of life. Although there is a high degree of heterogeneity in both its etiology and its characteristic behavioral patterns, the disorder is well-captured along the autistic triad. Currently, ASD status can be confirmed following an assessment of behavioral features, but there is a growing emphasis on conceptualizing autism as a spectrum, which allows for establishing a diagnosis based on the level of support need, free of discrete categories. Since ASD has a high genetic predominance, the number of genetic variations identified in the background of the condition is increasing exponentially as genetic testing methods are rapidly evolving. However, due to the huge amount of data to be analyzed, grouping the different DNA variations is still challenging. Therefore, in the present review, a multidimensional classification scheme was developed to accommodate most of the currently known genetic variants associated with autism. Genetic variations have been grouped according to six criteria (extent, time of onset, information content, frequency, number of genes involved, inheritance pattern), which are themselves not discrete categories, but form a coherent continuum in line with the autism spectrum approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Éva Kereszturi
- Department of Molecular Biology, Semmelweis University, H-1085 Budapest, Hungary
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49
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Cardon G, McQuarrie M, Calton S, Gabrielsen TP. Similar overall expression, but different profiles, of autistic traits, sensory processing, and mental health between young adult males and females. RESEARCH IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS 2023; 109:102263. [PMID: 37990737 PMCID: PMC10659573 DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
Recent trends suggest that autism is more common in females than traditionally held. Additionally, some argue that females express autistic traits differently than males. Dimensional views of autism could shed light on these issues, especially with regards to understudied behavioral areas, such as sensory processing. We examined autistic traits, sensory processing, anxiety, and related behaviors in a large sample of neurotypical young adult males and females (n = 1,122; 556 female; ages 19-26). Participants completed an online survey containing questionnaires related to the above. Between groups statistical analyses, as well as within groups correlations and mediation analyses containing these constructs were then computed. We also carried out a cluster analysis to establish groups with behavioral similarities and estimate within-cluster male/female ratios. Results showed modest differences in the overall expression of autistic traits and sensory processing, if any, between males and females. Conversely, more detailed examination of survey subtests and mediation analyses revealed differing profiles between these groups. Cluster analysis uncovered a group comprised of both males (69.8%) and females (30.2%) who exhibited elevated degrees of autism-related behaviors, suggesting a higher proportion of females than would be predicted by traditional ratios. Taken together, these findings suggest that males and females may not differ as much as previously thought in their general levels of autistic traits or sensory processing, but may present with distinct profiles of such behaviors. These novel results add to our understanding of autistic traits in females and have the potential to positively influence diagnostic and support practices.
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50
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Miller CJ, Golovina E, Wicker JS, Jacobsen JC, O'Sullivan JM. De novo network analysis reveals autism causal genes and developmental links to co-occurring traits. Life Sci Alliance 2023; 6:e202302142. [PMID: 37553252 PMCID: PMC10410065 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202302142] [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: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition that manifests in various ways. Autism is often accompanied by other conditions, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia, which can complicate diagnosis and management. Although research has investigated the role of specific genes in autism, their relationship with co-occurring traits is not fully understood. To address this, we conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomisation analysis and identified four genes located at the 17q21.31 locus that are putatively causal for autism in fetal cortical tissue (LINC02210, LRRC37A4P, RP11-259G18.1, and RP11-798G7.6). LINC02210 was also identified as putatively causal for autism in adult cortical tissue. By integrating data from expression quantitative trait loci, genes and protein interactions, we identified that the 17q21.31 locus contributes to the intersection between autism and other neurological traits in fetal cortical tissue. We also identified a distinct cluster of co-occurring traits, including cognition and worry, linked to the genetic loci at 3p21.1. Our findings provide insights into the relationship between autism and co-occurring traits, which could be used to develop predictive models for more accurate diagnosis and better clinical management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catriona J Miller
- The Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Evgeniia Golovina
- The Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Joerg S Wicker
- School of Computer Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Jessie C Jacobsen
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Centre for Brain Research, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Justin M O'Sullivan
- The Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- The Maurice Wilkins Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland, Zealand
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
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