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Lin SJ, Gillespie NA, Notestine R, Gamst AC, Chen AM, McEvoy LK, Panizzon MS, Elman JA, Glatt SJ, Hagler DJ, Neale MC, Franz CE, Kremen WS, Fennema-Notestine C. The genetic and environmental etiology of novel frequency-driven regional parcellations of abnormal white matter. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2024:e33004. [PMID: 39148448 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.33004] [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: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
The prevalence of white matter disease increases with age and is associated with cerebrovascular disease, cognitive decline, and risk for dementia. MRI measures of abnormal signal in the white matter (AWM) provide estimates of damage, however, regional patterns of AWM may be differentially influenced by genetic or environmental factors. With our data-driven regional parcellation approach, we created a probability distribution atlas using Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) data (n = 475, mean age 67.6 years) and applied a watershed algorithm to define separate regional parcellations. We report biometrical twin modeling for five anatomically distinct regions: (1) Posterior, (2) Superior frontal and parietal, (3) Anterior and inferior frontal with deep areas, (4) Occipital, and (5) Anterior periventricular. We tested competing multivariate hypotheses to identify unique influences and to explain sources of covariance among the parcellations. Family aggregation could be entirely explained by additive genetic influences, with additive genetic variance (heritability) ranging from 0.69 to 0.79. Most genetic correlations between parcellations ranged from moderate to high (rg = 0.57-0.85), although two were small (rg = 0.35-0.39), consistent with varying degrees of unique genetic influences. This proof-of-principle investigation demonstrated the value of our novel, data-driven parcellations, with identifiable genetic and environmental differences, for future exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Ju Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Nathan A Gillespie
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Richmond, Virginia, USA
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Randy Notestine
- Computational and Applied Statistics Laboratory (CASL) at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Anthony C Gamst
- Computational and Applied Statistics Laboratory (CASL) at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Anna M Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Linda K McEvoy
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Matthew S Panizzon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Jeremy A Elman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Stephen J Glatt
- Psychiatric Genetic Epidemiology & Neurobiology Laboratory (PsychGENe Lab), Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neuroscience and Physiology, and Public Health and Preventive Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Donald J Hagler
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Michael C Neale
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Carol E Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - William S Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Christine Fennema-Notestine
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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Arif Y, Killanin AD, Zhu J, Willett MP, Okelberry HJ, Johnson HJ, Wilson TW. Hypertension Impacts the Oscillatory Dynamics Serving the Encoding Phase of Verbal Working Memory. Hypertension 2024; 81:1609-1618. [PMID: 38690668 PMCID: PMC11168866 DOI: 10.1161/hypertensionaha.124.22698] [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: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chronic hypertension is known to be a major contributor to cognitive decline, with executive function and working memory being among the domains most commonly affected. Despite the growing literature on such dysfunction in patients with hypertension, the underlying neural processes are poorly understood. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we examine these neural processes by having participants with controlled hypertension, uncontrolled hypertension, and healthy controls perform a verbal working memory task during magnetoencephalography. Neural oscillations associated with the encoding and maintenance components of the working memory task were imaged and statistically evaluated among the 3 groups. RESULTS Differences related to hypertension emerged during the encoding phase, where the hypertension groups exhibited weaker α-β oscillatory responses compared with controls in the left parietal cortices, whereas such oscillatory activity differed between the 2 hypertension groups in the right prefrontal regions. Importantly, these neural responses in the prefrontal and parietal cortices during encoding were also significantly associated with behavioral performance across all participants. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our data suggest that hypertension is associated with neurophysiological abnormalities during working memory encoding, whereas the neural processes serving maintenance seem to be preserved. The right hemispheric neural responses likely reflected compensatory processing, which patients with controlled hypertension may use to achieve verbal working memory function at the level of controls, as opposed to the uncontrolled hypertension group where diminished resources may have limited such additional recruitment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasra Arif
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Abraham D. Killanin
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Jingqi Zhu
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Madelyn P. Willett
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Hannah J. Okelberry
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Hallie J. Johnson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Tony W. Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
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Malla S, Bryant AG, Jayakumar R, Woost B, Wolf N, Li A, Das S, van Veluw SJ, Bennett RE. Molecular profiling of frontal and occipital subcortical white matter hyperintensities in Alzheimer's disease. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.13.598845. [PMID: 38915516 PMCID: PMC11195168 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.13.598845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are commonly detected on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, occurring in both typical aging and Alzheimer's disease. Despite their frequent appearance and their association with cognitive decline, the molecular factors contributing to WMHs remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the transcriptomic profiles of two commonly affected brain regions with coincident AD pathology-frontal subcortical white matter (frontal-WM) and occipital subcortical white matter (occipital-WM)-and compared with age-matched healthy controls. Through RNA-sequencing in frontal- and occipital-WM bulk tissues, we identified an upregulation of genes associated with brain vasculature function in AD white matter. To further elucidate vasculature-specific transcriptomic features, we performed RNA-seq analysis on blood vessels isolated from these white matter regions, which revealed an upregulation of genes related to protein folding pathways. Finally, comparing gene expression profiles between AD individuals with high- versus low-WMH burden showed an increased expression of pathways associated with immune function. Taken together, our study characterizes the diverse molecular profiles of white matter changes in AD compared to normal aging and provides new mechanistic insights processes underlying AD-related WMHs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sulochan Malla
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Annie G Bryant
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Rojashree Jayakumar
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Benjamin Woost
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Nina Wolf
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Andrew Li
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Sudeshna Das
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Susanne J van Veluw
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rachel E Bennett
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Chu M, Jiang D, Nan H, Wen L, Liu L, Qu M, Wu L. Vascular dysfunction in sporadic bvFTD: white matter hyperintensity and peripheral vascular biomarkers. Alzheimers Res Ther 2024; 16:72. [PMID: 38581060 PMCID: PMC10998369 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-024-01422-x] [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: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Vascular dysfunction was recently reported to be involved in the pathophysiological process of neurodegenerative diseases, but its role in sporadic behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to systematically explore vascular dysfunction, including changes in white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and peripheral vascular markers in bvFTD. METHODS Thirty-two patients with bvFTD who with no vascular risk factors were enrolled in this cross-sectional study and assessed using positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MRI) imaging, peripheral plasma vascular/inflammation markers, and neuropsychological examinations. Group differences were tested using Student's t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests. A partial correlation analysis was implemented to explore the association between peripheral vascular markers, neuroimaging, and clinical measures. RESULTS WMH was mainly distributed in anterior brain regions. All peripheral vascular factors including matrix metalloproteinases-1 (MMP-1), MMP-3, osteopontin, and pentraxin-3 were increased in the bvFTD group. WMH was associated with the peripheral vascular factor pentraxin-3. The plasma level of MMP-1 was negatively correlated with the gray matter metabolism of the frontal, temporal, insula, and basal ganglia brain regions. The WMHs in the frontal and limbic lobes were associated with plasma inflammation markers, disease severity, executive function, and behavior abnormality. Peripheral vascular markers were associated with the plasma inflammation markers. CONCLUSIONS WMHs and abnormalities in peripheral vascular markers were found in patients with bvFTD. These were found to be associated with the disease-specific pattern of neurodegeneration, indicating that vascular dysfunction may be involved in the pathogenesis of bvFTD. This warrants further confirmation by postmortem autopsy. Targeting the vascular pathway might be a promising approach for potential therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Chu
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Deming Jiang
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Haitian Nan
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Lulu Wen
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Li Liu
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Miao Qu
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China.
| | - Liyong Wu
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China.
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Duchesne J, Carrière I, Artero S, Brickman AM, Maller J, Meslin C, Chen J, Vienneau D, de Hoogh K, Jacquemin B, Berr C, Mortamais M. Ambient Air Pollution Exposure and Cerebral White Matter Hyperintensities in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis in the Three-City Montpellier Study. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2023; 131:107013. [PMID: 37878794 PMCID: PMC10599635 DOI: 10.1289/ehp12231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Growing epidemiological evidence suggests an adverse relationship between exposure to air pollutants and cognitive health, and this could be related to the effect of air pollution on vascular health. OBJECTIVE We aim to evaluate the association between air pollution exposure and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) marker of cerebral vascular burden, white matter hyperintensities (WMH). METHODS This cross-sectional analysis used data from the French Three-City Montpellier study. Randomly selected participants 65-80 years of age underwent an MRI examination to estimate their total and regional cerebral WMH volumes. Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), and black carbon (BC) at the participants' residential address during the 5 years before the MRI examination was estimated with land use regression models. Multinomial and binomial logistic regression assessed the associations between exposure to each of the three pollutants and categories of total and lobar WMH volumes. RESULTS Participants' (n = 582 ) median age at MRI was 70.7 years [interquartile range (IQR): 6.1], and 52% (n = 300 ) were women. Median exposure to air pollution over the 5 years before MRI acquisition was 24.3 (IQR: 1.7) μ g / m 3 for PM 2.5 , 48.9 (14.6) μ g / m 3 for NO 2 , and 2.66 (0.60) 10 - 5 / m for BC. We found no significant association between exposure to the three air pollutants and total WMH volume. We found that PM 2.5 exposure was significantly associated with higher risk of temporal lobe WMH burden [odds ratio (OR) for an IQR increase = 1.82 (95% confidence interval: 1.41, 2.36) for the second volume tercile, 2.04 (1.59, 2.61) for the third volume tercile, reference: first volume tercile]. Associations for other regional WMH volumes were inconsistent. CONCLUSION In this population-based study in older adults, PM 2.5 exposure was associated with increased risk of high WMH volume in the temporal lobe, strengthening the evidence on PM 2.5 adverse effect on the brain. Further studies looking at different markers of cerebrovascular damage are still needed to document the potential vascular effects of air pollution. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12231.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanne Duchesne
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
| | - Isabelle Carrière
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
| | - Sylvaine Artero
- Institute of Functional Genomics (IGF), University of Montpellier, CNRS, Inserm, Montpellier, France
| | - Adam M. Brickman
- Taub Institute for Research in Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, The Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jerome Maller
- Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- General Electric Healthcare, Richmond, Victoria, Australia
| | - Chantal Meslin
- Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Jie Chen
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Danielle Vienneau
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kees de Hoogh
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Bénédicte Jacquemin
- Irset Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail, UMR-S 1085, Inserm, University of Rennes, EHESP, Rennes, France
| | - Claudine Berr
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
| | - Marion Mortamais
- Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (INM), University of Montpellier, Inserm, Montpellier, France
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White matter hyperintensities - location matters. Nat Rev Neurol 2023; 19:129. [PMID: 36750667 DOI: 10.1038/s41582-023-00783-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
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