1
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Mihailovich M, Germain PL, Shyti R, Pozzi D, Noberini R, Liu Y, Aprile D, Tenderini E, Troglio F, Trattaro S, Fabris S, Ciptasari U, Rigoli MT, Caporale N, D’Agostino G, Mirabella F, Vitriolo A, Capocefalo D, Skaros A, Franchini AV, Ricciardi S, Biunno I, Neri A, Nadif Kasri N, Bonaldi T, Aebersold R, Matteoli M, Testa G. Multiscale modeling uncovers 7q11.23 copy number variation-dependent changes in ribosomal biogenesis and neuronal maturation and excitability. J Clin Invest 2024; 134:e168982. [PMID: 39007270 PMCID: PMC11245157 DOI: 10.1172/jci168982] [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: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Copy number variation (CNV) at 7q11.23 causes Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) and 7q microduplication syndrome (7Dup), neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) featuring intellectual disability accompanied by symmetrically opposite neurocognitive features. Although significant progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying 7q11.23-related pathophysiology, the propagation of CNV dosage across gene expression layers and their interplay remains elusive. Here we uncovered 7q11.23 dosage-dependent symmetrically opposite dynamics in neuronal differentiation and intrinsic excitability. By integrating transcriptomics, translatomics, and proteomics of patient-derived and isogenic induced neurons, we found that genes related to neuronal transmission follow 7q11.23 dosage and are transcriptionally controlled, while translational factors and ribosomal genes are posttranscriptionally buffered. Consistently, we found phosphorylated RPS6 (p-RPS6) downregulated in WBS and upregulated in 7Dup. Surprisingly, p-4EBP was changed in the opposite direction, reflecting dosage-specific changes in total 4EBP levels. This highlights different dosage-sensitive dyregulations of the mTOR pathway as well as distinct roles of p-RPS6 and p-4EBP during neurogenesis. Our work demonstrates the importance of multiscale disease modeling across molecular and functional layers, uncovers the pathophysiological relevance of ribosomal biogenesis in a paradigmatic pair of NDDs, and uncouples the roles of p-RPS6 and p-4EBP as mechanistically actionable relays in NDDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija Mihailovich
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
| | - Pierre-Luc Germain
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Computational Neurogenomics, D-HEST Institute for Neuroscience, Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Reinald Shyti
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
| | - Davide Pozzi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Yansheng Liu
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Davide Aprile
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Flavia Troglio
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Sebastiano Trattaro
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Sonia Fabris
- Hematology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Ummi Ciptasari
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, RadboudUmc, Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Marco Tullio Rigoli
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicolò Caporale
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | - Alessandro Vitriolo
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniele Capocefalo
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Adrianos Skaros
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Sara Ricciardi
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- National Institute of Molecular Genetics, Fondazione Romeo ed Enrica Invernizzi, Milan, Italy
| | - Ida Biunno
- Integrated Systems Engineering Srl, c/o OpenZone, Bresso, Milan, Italy
| | - Antonino Neri
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- Hematology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Nael Nadif Kasri
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, RadboudUmc, Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Tiziana Bonaldi
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Rudolf Aebersold
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Michela Matteoli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Testa
- European Institute of Oncology (IEO) IRCCS, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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2
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Pereira MF, Finazzi V, Rizzuti L, Aprile D, Aiello V, Mollica L, Riva M, Soriani C, Dossena F, Shyti R, Castaldi D, Tenderini E, Carminho-Rodrigues MT, Bally JF, de Vries BBA, Gabriele M, Vitriolo A, Testa G. YY1 mutations disrupt corticogenesis through a cell-type specific rewiring of cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous transcriptional programs. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.16.580337. [PMID: 38405909 PMCID: PMC10888784 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.16.580337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Germline mutations of YY1 cause Gabriele-de Vries syndrome (GADEVS), a neurodevelopmental disorder featuring intellectual disability and a wide range of systemic manifestations. To dissect the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying GADEVS, we combined large-scale imaging, single-cell multiomics and gene regulatory network reconstruction in 2D and 3D patient-derived physiopathologically relevant cell lineages. YY1 haploinsufficiency causes a pervasive alteration of cell type specific transcriptional networks, disrupting corticogenesis at the level of neural progenitors and terminally differentiated neurons, including cytoarchitectural defects reminiscent of GADEVS clinical features. Transcriptional alterations in neurons propagated to neighboring astrocytes through a major non-cell autonomous pro-inflammatory effect that grounds the rationale for modulatory interventions. Together, neurodevelopmental trajectories, synaptic formation and neuronal-astrocyte cross talk emerged as salient domains of YY1 dosage-dependent vulnerability. Mechanistically, cell-type resolved reconstruction of gene regulatory networks uncovered the regulatory interplay between YY1, NEUROG2 and ETV5 and its aberrant rewiring in GADEVS. Our findings underscore the reach of advanced in vitro models in capturing developmental antecedents of clinical features and exposing their underlying mechanisms to guide the search for targeted interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlene F Pereira
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Veronica Finazzi
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Ludovico Rizzuti
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Davide Aprile
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Vittorio Aiello
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Mollica
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Italy
| | - Matteo Riva
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Soriani
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Reinald Shyti
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Davide Castaldi
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Erika Tenderini
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Pozzuoli, Italy
| | | | - Julien F Bally
- Service of Neurology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital & University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Michele Gabriele
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Alessandro Vitriolo
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Testa
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122, Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
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3
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Balcarcel AM, Geiger M, Sánchez-Villagra MR. Cranial form differences in goats by breed and domestic status. Sci Rep 2024; 14:917. [PMID: 38195639 PMCID: PMC10776561 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50357-0] [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: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Domestic goats (Capra hircus) are globally represented by over 300 breeds, making them a useful model for investigating patterns of morphological change related to domestication. However, they have been little studied, likely due to their poor representation in museum collections and the difficulty in obtaining truly wild goat (Capra aegagrus, the bezoar) samples. Similar studies on other species reveal that domestication correlates with craniofacial alterations in domestics, which are non-uniform and often species-specific. Here, we use three-dimensional geometric morphometric methods (3DGMM) to describe and quantify cranial shape variation in wild (n = 21) versus domestic (n = 54) goats. We find that mean cranial shapes differ significantly between wild and domestic goats as well as between certain breeds. The detected differences are lower in magnitude than those reported for other domestic groups, possibly explained by the fewer directions of artificial selection in goat breeding, and their low global genetic diversity compared to other livestock. We also find tooth-row length reduction in the domestics, suggestive of rostral shortening-a prediction of the "domestication syndrome" (DS). The goat model thus expands the array-and combinations of-morphological changes observed under domestication, notably detecting alterations to the calvarium form which could be related to the ~ 15% brain size reduction previously reported for domestic compared to wild goats. The global success of domestic goats is due more to their ability to survive in a variety of harsh environments than to systematized human management. Nonetheless, their domestication has resulted in a clear disruption from the wild cranial form, suggesting that even low-intensity selection can lead to significant morphological changes under domestication.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M Balcarcel
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Karl-Schmid-Str. 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - M Geiger
- Naturmuseum St.Gallen, Rorschacher Strasse 263, 9016, St.Gallen, Switzerland
| | - M R Sánchez-Villagra
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Karl-Schmid-Str. 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland
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4
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Lomeli C. S, Kristin B. A. Epigenetic regulation of craniofacial development and disease. Birth Defects Res 2024; 116:e2271. [PMID: 37964651 PMCID: PMC10872612 DOI: 10.1002/bdr2.2271] [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: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The formation of the craniofacial complex relies on proper neural crest development. The gene regulatory networks (GRNs) and signaling pathways orchestrating this process have been extensively studied. These GRNs and signaling cascades are tightly regulated as alterations to any stage of neural crest development can lead to common congenital birth defects, including multiple syndromes affecting facial morphology as well as nonsyndromic facial defects, such as cleft lip with or without cleft palate. Epigenetic factors add a hierarchy to the regulation of transcriptional networks and influence the spatiotemporal activation or repression of specific gene regulatory cascades; however less is known about their exact mechanisms in controlling precise gene regulation. AIMS In this review, we discuss the role of epigenetic factors during neural crest development, specifically during craniofacial development and how compromised activities of these regulators contribute to congenital defects that affect the craniofacial complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shull Lomeli C.
- Department of Craniofacial Biology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Artinger Kristin B.
- Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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5
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López-Tobón A, Shyti R, Villa CE, Cheroni C, Fuentes-Bravo P, Trattaro S, Caporale N, Troglio F, Tenderini E, Mihailovich M, Skaros A, Gibson WT, Cuomo A, Bonaldi T, Mercurio C, Varasi M, Osborne L, Testa G. GTF2I dosage regulates neuronal differentiation and social behavior in 7q11.23 neurodevelopmental disorders. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh2726. [PMID: 38019906 PMCID: PMC10686562 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh2726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Copy number variations at 7q11.23 cause neurodevelopmental disorders with shared and opposite manifestations. Deletion causes Williams-Beuren syndrome featuring hypersociability, while duplication causes 7q11.23 microduplication syndrome (7Dup), frequently exhibiting autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Converging evidence indicates GTF2I as key mediator of the cognitive-behavioral phenotypes, yet its role in cortical development and behavioral hallmarks remains largely unknown. We integrated proteomic and transcriptomic profiling of patient-derived cortical organoids, including longitudinally at single-cell resolution, to dissect 7q11.23 dosage-dependent and GTF2I-specific disease mechanisms. We observed dosage-dependent impaired dynamics of neural progenitor proliferation, transcriptional imbalances, and highly specific alterations in neuronal output, leading to precocious excitatory neuron production in 7Dup, which was rescued by restoring physiological GTF2I levels. Transgenic mice with Gtf2i duplication recapitulated progenitor proliferation and neuronal differentiation defects alongside ASD-like behaviors. Consistently, inhibition of lysine demethylase 1 (LSD1), a GTF2I effector, was sufficient to rescue ASD-like phenotypes in transgenic mice, establishing GTF2I-LSD1 axis as a molecular pathway amenable to therapeutic intervention in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro López-Tobón
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Reinald Shyti
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
| | - Carlo Emanuele Villa
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
| | - Cristina Cheroni
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Patricio Fuentes-Bravo
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Sebastiano Trattaro
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicolò Caporale
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Flavia Troglio
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Erika Tenderini
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Marija Mihailovich
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
| | - Adrianos Skaros
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - William T. Gibson
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Alessandro Cuomo
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Tiziana Bonaldi
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Ciro Mercurio
- Experimental Therapeutics Program, FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology Foundation (IFOM), 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Mario Varasi
- Experimental Therapeutics Program, FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology Foundation (IFOM), 20139 Milan, Italy
| | - Lucy Osborne
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Giuseppe Testa
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy
- Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157 Milan, Italy
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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6
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Huryn LA, Flaherty T, Nolen R, Prasov L, Zein WM, Cukras CA, Osgood S, Raja N, Levin MD, Vitale S, Brooks BP, Hufnagel RB, Kozel BA. Novel ophthalmic findings and deep phenotyping in Williams-Beuren syndrome. Br J Ophthalmol 2023; 107:1554-1559. [PMID: 35760456 PMCID: PMC10074447 DOI: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2022-321103] [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: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS To characterise the ocular manifestations of Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) and compare these to patients with isolated elastin mediated supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS). METHODS Fifty-seven patients with a diagnosis of WBS and five with SVAS underwent comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation at the National Institutes of Health from 2017 to 2020, including best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, optical biometry, dilated fundus examination, optical coherence tomography and colour fundus imaging. RESULTS Mean age of the 57 WBS patients was 20.3 years (range 3-60 years). Best-corrected visual acuity ranged from 20/20 to 20/400 with mean spherical equivalent near plano OU. Twenty-four eyes (21.8%) had an axial length (AL) less than 20.5 mm and 38 eyes (34.5%) had an AL measuring 20.5-22.0 mm. Stellate iris and retinal arteriolar tortuosity were noted in 30 (52.6%) and 51 (89.5%) WBS patients, respectively. Novel retinal findings in WBS included small hypopigmented retinal deposits (OD 29/57, OS 27/57) and broad foveal pit contour (OD 44/55, OS 42/51). Of the five patients with SVAS, none had stellate iris or broad foveal pit contour while 2/5 had retinal arteriolar tortuosity. CONCLUSION WBS is a complex multisystem genetic disorder with diverse ophthalmic findings that differ from those seen in isolated elastin mediated SVAS. These results suggest other genes within the WBS critical region, aside from ELN, may be involved in observed ocular phenotypes and perhaps broader ocular development. Furthermore, retinal arteriolar tortuosity may provide future insight into systemic vascular findings in WBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laryssa A Huryn
- Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Taylor Flaherty
- Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Rosalie Nolen
- Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Lev Prasov
- Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, W K Kellogg Eye Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Wadih M Zein
- Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Catherine A Cukras
- Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Sharon Osgood
- Translational Vascular Medicine Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Neelam Raja
- Translational Vascular Medicine Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Mark D Levin
- Translational Vascular Medicine Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Susan Vitale
- Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Brian P Brooks
- Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Robert B Hufnagel
- Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Beth A Kozel
- Translational Vascular Medicine Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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7
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Craven PA, Wycoco V, Prentice D. Adult William's Syndrome: The Cause of an Unusual Vasculopathy and Biliary Abnormalities. Cureus 2023; 15:e47695. [PMID: 38022355 PMCID: PMC10674085 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.47695] [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] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A man in his 50s was diagnosed with William's syndrome (WS) following the investigation of severe vasculopathy and bile duct abnormalities. The vascular lesions included: right carotid artery hypoplasia, tortuous dilated left carotid artery, severe aortic hypoplasia, and pulmonary branch arterial stenoses. The bile ducts were dilated with damaged and inflamed intrahepatic ducts. The patient had been labeled with fetal alcohol syndrome as a consequence of his mother's alcohol addiction. The etiology is thought to be the combined effects and his genetic condition and prenatal alcohol exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip A Craven
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, AUS
| | - Victor Wycoco
- Radiology, The Neurological Intervention & Imaging Service of Western Australia (NIISWA), Perth, AUS
| | - David Prentice
- Neurosciences, Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Nedlands, AUS
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8
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Pollen AA, Kilik U, Lowe CB, Camp JG. Human-specific genetics: new tools to explore the molecular and cellular basis of human evolution. Nat Rev Genet 2023; 24:687-711. [PMID: 36737647 PMCID: PMC9897628 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-022-00568-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Our ancestors acquired morphological, cognitive and metabolic modifications that enabled humans to colonize diverse habitats, develop extraordinary technologies and reshape the biosphere. Understanding the genetic, developmental and molecular bases for these changes will provide insights into how we became human. Connecting human-specific genetic changes to species differences has been challenging owing to an abundance of low-effect size genetic changes, limited descriptions of phenotypic differences across development at the level of cell types and lack of experimental models. Emerging approaches for single-cell sequencing, genetic manipulation and stem cell culture now support descriptive and functional studies in defined cell types with a human or ape genetic background. In this Review, we describe how the sequencing of genomes from modern and archaic hominins, great apes and other primates is revealing human-specific genetic changes and how new molecular and cellular approaches - including cell atlases and organoids - are enabling exploration of the candidate causal factors that underlie human-specific traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex A Pollen
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Umut Kilik
- Institute of Human Biology (IHB), Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Craig B Lowe
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
| | - J Gray Camp
- Institute of Human Biology (IHB), Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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9
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Selleri L, Rijli FM. Shaping faces: genetic and epigenetic control of craniofacial morphogenesis. Nat Rev Genet 2023; 24:610-626. [PMID: 37095271 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-023-00594-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Major differences in facial morphology distinguish vertebrate species. Variation of facial traits underlies the uniqueness of human individuals, and abnormal craniofacial morphogenesis during development leads to birth defects that significantly affect quality of life. Studies during the past 40 years have advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that establish facial form during development, highlighting the crucial roles in this process of a multipotent cell type known as the cranial neural crest cell. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in multi-omics and single-cell technologies that enable genes, transcriptional regulatory networks and epigenetic landscapes to be closely linked to the establishment of facial patterning and its variation, with an emphasis on normal and abnormal craniofacial morphogenesis. Advancing our knowledge of these processes will support important developments in tissue engineering, as well as the repair and reconstruction of the abnormal craniofacial complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Licia Selleri
- Program in Craniofacial Biology, Department of Orofacial Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Filippo M Rijli
- Laboratory of Developmental Neuroepigenetics, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland.
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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10
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Pallotti S, Picciolini M, Antonini M, Renieri C, Napolioni V. Genome-wide scan for runs of homozygosity in South American Camelids. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:470. [PMID: 37605116 PMCID: PMC10440933 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09547-3] [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: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alpaca (Vicugna pacos), llama (Lama glama), vicugna (Vicugna vicugna) and guanaco (Lama guanicoe), are the camelid species distributed over the Andean high-altitude grasslands, the Altiplano, and the Patagonian arid steppes. Despite the wide interest on these animals, most of the loci under selection are still unknown. Using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data we investigated the occurrence and the distribution of Runs Of Homozygosity (ROHs) across the South American Camelids (SACs) genome to identify the genetic relationship between the four species and the potential signatures of selection. RESULTS A total of 37 WGS samples covering the four species was included in the final analysis. The multi-dimensional scaling approach showed a clear separation between the four species; however, admixture analysis suggested a strong genetic introgression from vicugna and llama to alpaca. Conversely, very low genetic admixture of the guanaco with the other SACs was found. The four species did not show significant differences in the number, length of ROHs (100-500 kb) and genomic inbreeding values. Longer ROHs (> 500 kb) were found almost exclusively in alpaca. Seven overlapping ROHs were shared by alpacas, encompassing nine loci (FGF5, LOC107034918, PRDM8, ANTXR2, LOC102534792, BSN, LOC116284892, DAG1 and RIC8B) while nine overlapping ROHs were found in llama with twenty-five loci annotated (ERC2, FZD9, BAZ1B, BCL7B, LOC116284208, TBL2, MLXIPL, PHF20, TRNAD-AUC, LOC116284365, RBM39, ARFGEF2, DCAF5, EXD2, HSPB11, LRRC42, LDLRAD1, TMEM59, LOC107033213, TCEANC2, LOC102545169, LOC116278408, SMIM15, NDUFAF2 and RCOR1). Four overlapping ROHs, with three annotated loci (DLG1, KAT6B and PDE4D) and three overlapping ROHs, with seven annotated genes (ATP6V1E1, BCL2L13, LOC116276952, BID, KAT6B, LOC116282667 and LOC107034552), were detected for vicugna and guanaco, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The signatures of selection revealed genomic areas potentially selected for production traits as well as for natural adaptation to harsh environment. Alpaca and llama hint a selection driven by environment as well as by farming purpose while vicugna and guanaco showed selection signals for adaptation to harsh environment. Interesting, signatures of selection on KAT6B gene were identified for both vicugna and guanaco, suggesting a positive effect on wild populations fitness. Such information may be of interest to further ecological and animal production studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Pallotti
- Genomic And Molecular Epidemiology (GAME) Lab, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy.
| | | | - Marco Antonini
- Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Development (ENEA), Roma, Italy
| | - Carlo Renieri
- School of Pharmacy and Health Products, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Valerio Napolioni
- Genomic And Molecular Epidemiology (GAME) Lab, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
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11
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Koller D, Benítez-Burraco A, Polimanti R. Enrichment of self-domestication and neural crest function loci in the heritability of neurodevelopmental disorders. Hum Genet 2023; 142:1271-1279. [PMID: 36930228 PMCID: PMC10472204 DOI: 10.1007/s00439-023-02541-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Self-domestication could contribute to shaping the biology of human brain and consequently the predisposition to neurodevelopmental disorders. Leveraging genome-wide data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we tested the enrichment of self-domestication and neural crest function loci with respect to the heritability of autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia (SCZ in East Asian and European ancestries, EAS and EUR, respectively), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Tourette's syndrome (TS). Considering only self-domestication and neural-crest-function annotations in the linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) model, our partitioned heritability analysis revealed statistically significant enrichments across all disorders investigated. The estimates of the heritability enrichments for self-domestication loci were similar across neurodevelopmental disorders, ranging from 0.902 (EAS SCZ, p = 4.55 × 10-20) to 1.577 (TS, p = 5.85 × 10-5). Conversely, a wider spectrum of heritability enrichment estimates was present for neural crest function with the highest enrichment observed for TS (enrichment = 3.453, p = 2.88 × 10-3) and the lowest for EAS SCZ (enrichment = 1.971, p = 3.81 × 10-3). Although these estimates appear to be strong, the enrichments for self-domestication and neural crest function were null once we included additional annotations related to different genomic features. This indicates that the effect of self-domestication on the polygenic architecture of neurodevelopmental disorders is not independent of other functions of human genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dora Koller
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, VA CT 116A2, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA
- VA CT Healthcare Center, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, 41004, Seville, Spain
| | - Renato Polimanti
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, VA CT 116A2, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
- VA CT Healthcare Center, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
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12
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Nygaard KR, Maloney SE, Swift RG, McCullough KB, Wagner RE, Fass SB, Garbett K, Mirnics K, Veenstra‐VanderWeele J, Dougherty JD. Extensive characterization of a Williams syndrome murine model shows Gtf2ird1-mediated rescue of select sensorimotor tasks, but no effect on enhanced social behavior. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2023; 22:e12853. [PMID: 37370259 PMCID: PMC10393419 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Williams syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder exhibiting cognitive and behavioral abnormalities, including increased social motivation, risk of anxiety and specific phobias along with perturbed motor function. Williams syndrome is caused by a microdeletion of 26-28 genes on chromosome 7, including GTF2IRD1, which encodes a transcription factor suggested to play a role in the behavioral profile of Williams syndrome. Duplications of the full region also lead to frequent autism diagnosis, social phobias and language delay. Thus, genes in the region appear to regulate social motivation in a dose-sensitive manner. A "complete deletion" mouse, heterozygously eliminating the syntenic Williams syndrome region, has been deeply characterized for cardiac phenotypes, but direct measures of social motivation have not been assessed. Furthermore, the role of Gtf2ird1 in these behaviors has not been addressed in a relevant genetic context. Here, we have generated a mouse overexpressing Gtf2ird1, which can be used both to model duplication of this gene alone and to rescue Gtf2ird1 expression in the complete deletion mice. Using a comprehensive behavioral pipeline and direct measures of social motivation, we provide evidence that the Williams syndrome critical region regulates social motivation along with motor and anxiety phenotypes, but that Gtf2ird1 complementation is not sufficient to rescue most of these traits, and duplication does not decrease social motivation. However, Gtf2ird1 complementation does rescue light-aversive behavior and performance on select sensorimotor tasks, perhaps indicating a role for this gene in sensory processing or integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayla R. Nygaard
- Department of GeneticsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Susan E. Maloney
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Research CenterWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Raylynn G. Swift
- Department of GeneticsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Katherine B. McCullough
- Department of GeneticsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Rachael E. Wagner
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | - Stuart B. Fass
- Department of GeneticsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
| | | | - Karoly Mirnics
- Psychiatry, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience, Munroe‐Meyer Institute for Genetics and RehabilitationUniversity of Nebraska Medical CenterOmahaNebraskaUSA
| | - Jeremy Veenstra‐VanderWeele
- Departments of Psychiatry and PediatricsColumbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Center for Autism and the Developing Brain, New York‐Presbyterian HospitalNew York CityNew YorkUSA
| | - Joseph D. Dougherty
- Department of GeneticsWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Department of PsychiatryWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
- Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Research CenterWashington University School of MedicineSt. LouisMissouriUSA
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13
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Gleeson BT, Wilson LAB. Shared reproductive disruption, not neural crest or tameness, explains the domestication syndrome. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222464. [PMID: 36946116 PMCID: PMC10031412 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Altered neural crest cell (NCC) behaviour is an increasingly cited explanation for the domestication syndrome in animals. However, recent authors have questioned this explanation, while others cast doubt on whether domestication syndrome even exists. Here, we review published literature concerning this syndrome and the NCC hypothesis, together with recent critiques of both. We synthesize these contributions and propose a novel interpretation, arguing shared trait changes under ancient domestication resulted primarily from shared disruption of wild reproductive regimes. We detail four primary selective pathways for 'reproductive disruption' under domestication and contrast these succinct and demonstrable mechanisms with cryptic genetic associations posited by the NCC hypothesis. In support of our perspective, we illustrate numerous important ways in which NCCs contribute to vertebrate reproductive phenotypes, and argue it is not surprising that features derived from these cells would be coincidentally altered under major selective regime changes, as occur in domestication. We then illustrate several pertinent examples of Darwin's 'unconscious selection' in action, and compare applied selection and phenotypic responses in each case. Lastly, we explore the ramifications of reproductive disruption for wider evolutionary discourse, including links to wild 'self-domestication' and 'island effect', and discuss outstanding questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Thomas Gleeson
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Laura A B Wilson
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
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14
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Trangle SS, Rosenberg T, Parnas H, Levy G, Bar E, Marco A, Barak B. In individuals with Williams syndrome, dysregulation of methylation in non-coding regions of neuronal and oligodendrocyte DNA is associated with pathology and cortical development. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:1112-1127. [PMID: 36577841 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01921-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a heterozygous micro-deletion in the WS critical region (WSCR) and is characterized by hyper-sociability and neurocognitive abnormalities. Nonetheless, whether and to what extent WSCR deletion leads to epigenetic modifications in the brain and induces pathological outcomes remains largely unknown. By examining DNA methylation in frontal cortex, we revealed genome-wide disruption in the methylome of individuals with WS, as compared to typically developed (TD) controls. Surprisingly, differentially methylated sites were predominantly annotated as introns and intergenic loci and were found to be highly enriched around binding sites for transcription factors that regulate neuronal development, plasticity and cognition. Moreover, by utilizing enhancer-promoter interactome data, we confirmed that most of these loci function as active enhancers in the human brain or as target genes of transcriptional networks associated with myelination, oligodendrocyte (OL) differentiation, cognition and social behavior. Cell type-specific methylation analysis revealed aberrant patterns in the methylation of active enhancers in neurons and OLs, and important neuron-glia interactions that might be impaired in individuals with WS. Finally, comparison of methylation profiles from blood samples of individuals with WS and healthy controls, along with other data collected in this study, identified putative targets of endophenotypes associated with WS, which can be used to define brain-risk loci for WS outside the WSCR locus, as well as for other associated pathologies. In conclusion, our study illuminates the brain methylome landscape of individuals with WS and sheds light on how these aberrations might be involved in social behavior and physiological abnormalities. By extension, these results may lead to better diagnostics and more refined therapeutic targets for WS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sari Schokoroy Trangle
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel
| | - Tali Rosenberg
- Neuro-Epigenetics Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Hadar Parnas
- Neuro-Epigenetics Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Gilad Levy
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel
| | - Ela Bar
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel.,The School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel
| | - Asaf Marco
- Neuro-Epigenetics Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel.
| | - Boaz Barak
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel. .,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel.
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15
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Boeckx C. What made us "hunter-gatherers of words". Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1080861. [PMID: 36845441 PMCID: PMC9947416 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1080861] [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: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper makes three interconnected claims: (i) the "human condition" cannot be captured by evolutionary narratives that reduce it to a recent 'cognitive modernity', nor by narratives that eliminates all cognitive differences between us and out closest extinct relatives, (ii) signals from paleogenomics, especially coming from deserts of introgression but also from signatures of positive selection, point to the importance of mutations that impact neurodevelopment, plausibly leading to temperamental differences, which may impact cultural evolutionary trajectories in specific ways, and (iii) these trajectories are expected to affect the language phenotypes, modifying what is being learned and how it is put to use. In particular, I hypothesize that these different trajectories influence the development of symbolic systems, the flexible ways in which symbols combine, and the size and configurations of the communities in which these systems are put to use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cedric Boeckx
- Section of General Linguistics, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Complex Systems, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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16
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Genetic distance from wolves affects family dogs' reactions towards howls. Commun Biol 2023; 6:129. [PMID: 36747107 PMCID: PMC9902479 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04450-9] [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: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Domestication dramatically changes behaviour, including communication, as seen in the case of dogs (Canis familiaris) and wolves (Canis lupus). We tested the hypothesis that domestication may affect an ancient, shared communication form of canids, the howling which seems to have higher individual variation in dogs: the perception and usage of howls may be affected by the genetic relatedness of the breeds to their last common ancestor with wolves ('root distance') and by other individual features like age, sex, and reproductive status. We exposed 68 purebred dogs to wolf howl playbacks and recorded their responses. We identified an interaction between root distance and age on the dogs' vocal and behavioural responses: older dogs from more ancient breeds responded longer with howls and showed more stress behaviours. Our results suggest that domestication impacts vocal behaviour significantly: disintegrating howling, a central, species-specific communication form of canids and gradually eradicating it from dogs' repertoire.
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17
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Nygaard KR, Maloney SE, Swift RG, McCullough KB, Wagner RE, Fass SB, Garbett K, Mirnics K, Veenstra-VanderWeele J, Dougherty JD. Extensive characterization of a Williams Syndrome murine model shows Gtf2ird1 -mediated rescue of select sensorimotor tasks, but no effect on enhanced social behavior. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.18.523029. [PMID: 36711815 PMCID: PMC9882309 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.18.523029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Williams Syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder exhibiting cognitive and behavioral abnormalities, including increased social motivation, risk of anxiety and specific phobias along with perturbed motor function. Williams Syndrome is caused by a microdeletion of 26-28 genes on chromosome 7, including GTF2IRD1 , which encodes a transcription factor suggested to play a role in the behavioral profile of Williams Syndrome. Duplications of the full region also lead to frequent autism diagnosis, social phobias, and language delay. Thus, genes in the region appear to regulate social motivation in a dose-sensitive manner. A 'Complete Deletion' mouse, heterozygously eliminating the syntenic Williams Syndrome region, has been deeply characterized for cardiac phenotypes, but direct measures of social motivation have not been assessed. Furthermore, the role of Gtf2ird1 in these behaviors has not been addressed in a relevant genetic context. Here, we have generated a mouse overexpressing Gtf2ird1 , which can be used both to model duplication of this gene alone and to rescue Gtf2ird1 expression in the Complete Deletion mice. Using a comprehensive behavioral pipeline and direct measures of social motivation, we provide evidence that the Williams Syndrome Critical Region regulates social motivation along with motor and anxiety phenotypes, but that Gtf2ird1 complementation is not sufficient to rescue most of these traits, and duplication does not decrease social motivation. However, Gtf2ird1 complementation does rescue light-aversive behavior and performance on select sensorimotor tasks, perhaps indicating a role for this gene in sensory processing or integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayla R. Nygaard
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Susan E. Maloney
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA,Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Raylynn G. Swift
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Katherine B. McCullough
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Rachael E. Wagner
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Stuart B. Fass
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | | | - Karoly Mirnics
- Psychiatry, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience, Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation, University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE 68198-5450
| | - Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele
- Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Columbia University; New York State Psychiatric Institute; and Center for Autism and the Developing Brain, New York-Presbyterian Hospital
| | - Joseph D. Dougherty
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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18
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Torres-Pérez JV, Anagianni S, Mech AM, Havelange W, García-González J, Fraser SE, Vallortigara G, Brennan CH. baz1b loss-of-function in zebrafish produces phenotypic alterations consistent with the domestication syndrome. iScience 2022; 26:105704. [PMID: 36582821 PMCID: PMC9793288 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BAZ1B is a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein with roles in chromatin remodeling, DNA replication and repair, and transcription. Reduced BAZ1B expression disrupts neuronal and neural crest development. Variation in the activity of BAZ1B has been proposed to underly morphological and behavioral aspects of domestication through disruption of neural crest development. Knockdown of baz1b in Xenopus embryos and Baz1b loss-of-function (LoF) in mice leads to craniofacial defects consistent with this hypothesis. We generated baz1b LoF zebrafish using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to test the hypothesis that baz1b regulates behavioral phenotypes associated with domestication in addition to craniofacial features. Zebrafish with baz1b LoF show mild underdevelopment at larval stages and distinctive craniofacial features later in life. Mutant zebrafish show reduced anxiety-associated phenotypes and an altered ontogeny of social behaviors. Thus, in zebrafish, developmental deficits in baz1b recapitulate both morphological and behavioral phenotypes associated with the domestication syndrome in other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose V. Torres-Pérez
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, Biologia Funcional i Antropologia física, Fac. de CC. Biològiques, Universitat de València, C/ Dr. Moliner 50, Burjassot, València 46100, Spain
- Corresponding author
| | - Sofia Anagianni
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Aleksandra M. Mech
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - William Havelange
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Judit García-González
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Scott E. Fraser
- Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Caroline H. Brennan
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Corresponding author
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19
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Wilson LAB. Developmental instability in domesticated mammals. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2022; 338:484-494. [PMID: 34813170 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Measures of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) have been adopted widely as an estimate of developmental instability. Arising from various sources of stress, developmental instability is associated with an organism's capacity to maintain fitness. The process of domestication has been framed as an environmental stress with human-specified parameters, suggesting that FA may manifest to a larger degree among domesticates compared to their wild relatives. This study used three-dimensional geometric morphometric landmark data to (a) quantify the amount of FA in the cranium of six domestic mammal species and their wild relatives and, (b) provide novel assessment of the commonalities and differences across domestic/wild pairs concerning the extent to which random variation arising from the developmental system assimilates into within-population variation. The majority of domestic mammals showed greater disparity for asymmetric shape, however, only two forms (Pig, Dog) showed significantly higher disparity as well as a higher degree of asymmetry compared to their wild counterparts (Wild Boar, Wolf). Contra to predictions, most domestic and wild forms did not show a statistically significant correspondence between symmetric shape variation and FA, however, a moderate correlation value was recorded for most pairs (r-partial least squares >0.5). Within pairs, domestic and wild forms showed similar correlation magnitudes for the relationship between the asymmetric and symmetric components. In domesticates, new variation may therefore retain a general, conserved pattern in the gross structuring of the cranium, whilst also being a source for response to selection on specific features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A B Wilson
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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20
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Serrano Nájera G, Kin K. Unusual occurrence of domestication syndrome amongst African mole-rats: Is the naked mole-rat a domestic animal? Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.987177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The Naked mole-rat (NMR) is becoming a prominent model organism due to its peculiar traits, such as eusociality, extreme longevity, cancer resistance, and reduced pain sensitivity. It belongs to the African mole-rats (AMR), a family of subterranean rodents that includes solitary, cooperative breeding and eusocial species. We identified and quantified the domestication syndrome (DS) across AMR, a set of morphological and behavioural traits significantly more common and pronounced amongst domesticated animals than in their wild counterparts. Surprisingly, the NMR shows apparent DS traits when compared to the solitary AMR. Animals can self-domesticate when a reduction of the fear response is naturally selected, such as in islands with no predators, or to improve the group’s harmony in cooperative breeding species. The DS may be caused by alterations in the physiology of the neural crest cells (NCC), a transient population of cells that generate a full range of tissues during development. The NCC contribute to organs responsible for transmitting the fear response and various other tissues, including craniofacial bones. Therefore, mutations affecting the NCC can manifest as behavioural and morphological alterations in many structures across the body, as seen in neurocristopathies. We observed that all social AMRs are chisel-tooth diggers, an adaption to hard soils that requires the flattening of the skull. We hypothesise that chisel-tooth digging could impose a selective pressure on the NCC that triggered the DS’s appearance, possibly facilitating the evolution of sociality. Finally, we discuss how DS traits are neutral or beneficial for the subterranean niche, strategies to test this hypothesis and report well-studied mutations in the NMR that are associated with the NCC physiology or with the control of the fear response. In conclusion, we argue that many of the NMR’s unconventional traits are compatible with the DS and provide a hypothesis about its origins. Our model proposes a novel avenue to enhance the understanding of the extraordinary biology of the NMR.
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21
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Grochowska A, Statkiewicz M, Kulecka M, Cybulska M, Sandowska-Markiewicz Z, Kopczynski M, Drezinska-Wolek E, Tysarowski A, Prochorec-Sobieszek M, Ostrowski J, Mikula M. Evidence supporting the oncogenic role of BAZ1B in colorectal cancer. Am J Cancer Res 2022; 12:4751-4763. [PMID: 36381331 PMCID: PMC9641411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Bromodomain Adjacent to Zinc Finger Domain 1B (BAZ1B) is involved in multiple nuclear processes, and its role in tumorigenesis is emerging. However, the function of BAZ1B in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unexplored. High-density tissue microarrays comprising 100 pairs of matched normal colon and treatment-naïve CRC samples were analyzed by immunohistochemistry with an anti-BAZ1B antibody. The HCT116 and SW480 CRC cell lines were used for overexpression and small hairpin RNA-mediated BAZ1B knockdown models, respectively. Both cell lines were xenografted to immunodeficient NU/J mice to assess tumor burden. The molecular consequences of alterations of BAZ1B expression were assessed by RNA-Seq of xenografts and functional analyses using the Reactome database. Immunohistochemical analysis of BAZ1B showed that BAZ1B staining intensity was higher in 93 tumor specimens and significantly correlated with tumor size (P = 0.03), but not with the presence of KRAS mutation. BAZ1B overexpression significantly increased and its knockdown inhibited the proliferation of HCT116 and SW480 cell lines, respectively. These findings were reproduced when both cell lines were grown as xenografts. RNA-Seq of HCT116 and SW480 xenografts identified 2046 and 99 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (adjusted P ≤ 0.05), respectively. Functional annotation of DEGs identified already established as well as new molecular processes dependent on BAZ1B protein expression. In conclusion, BAZ1B is overexpressed in CRC tissue and contributes to CRC cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. The data support the emerging oncogenic role of BAZ1B in cancerogenesis including in CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Grochowska
- Department of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Oncology, Centre for Postgraduate Medical EducationWarsaw 01-813, Poland
| | - Malgorzata Statkiewicz
- Department of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
| | - Maria Kulecka
- Department of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Oncology, Centre for Postgraduate Medical EducationWarsaw 01-813, Poland
| | - Magdalena Cybulska
- Department of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
| | | | - Michal Kopczynski
- Department of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
| | - Edyta Drezinska-Wolek
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Diagnostics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
| | - Andrzej Tysarowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Diagnostics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
| | - Monika Prochorec-Sobieszek
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Diagnostics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
| | - Jerzy Ostrowski
- Department of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Oncology, Centre for Postgraduate Medical EducationWarsaw 01-813, Poland
| | - Michal Mikula
- Department of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of OncologyWarsaw 02-781, Poland
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22
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Zug R, Uller T. Evolution and dysfunction of human cognitive and social traits: A transcriptional regulation perspective. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4:e43. [PMID: 37588924 PMCID: PMC10426018 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.42] [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: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary changes in brain and craniofacial development have endowed humans with unique cognitive and social skills, but also predisposed us to debilitating disorders in which these traits are disrupted. What are the developmental genetic underpinnings that connect the adaptive evolution of our cognition and sociality with the persistence of mental disorders with severe negative fitness effects? We argue that loss of function of genes involved in transcriptional regulation represents a crucial link between the evolution and dysfunction of human cognitive and social traits. The argument is based on the haploinsufficiency of many transcriptional regulator genes, which makes them particularly sensitive to loss-of-function mutations. We discuss how human brain and craniofacial traits evolved through partial loss of function (i.e. reduced expression) of these genes, a perspective compatible with the idea of human self-domestication. Moreover, we explain why selection against loss-of-function variants supports the view that mutation-selection-drift, rather than balancing selection, underlies the persistence of psychiatric disorders. Finally, we discuss testable predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Zug
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Tobias Uller
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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23
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Theofanopoulou C, Andirkó A, Boeckx C, Jarvis ED. Oxytocin and vasotocin receptor variation and the evolution of human prosociality. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2022; 11:100139. [PMID: 35757177 PMCID: PMC9227999 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern human lifestyle strongly depends on complex social traits like empathy, tolerance and cooperation. These diverse facets of social cognition have been associated with variation in the oxytocin receptor (OTR) and its sister genes, the vasotocin/vasopressin receptors (VTR1A/AVPR1A and AVPR1B/VTR1B). Here, we compared the available genomic sequences of these receptors between modern humans, archaic humans, and 12 non-human primate species, and identified sites that show heterozygous variation in modern humans and archaic humans distinct from variation in other primates, and for which we could find association studies with clinical implications. On these sites, we performed a range of analyses (variant clustering, pathogenicity prediction, regulation, linkage disequilibrium frequency), and reviewed the literature on selection data in different modern-human populations. We found five sites with modern human specific variation, where the modern human allele is the major allele in the global population (OTR: rs1042778, rs237885, rs6770632; VTR1A: rs10877969; VTR1B: rs33985287). Among them, variation in the OTR-rs6770632 site was predicted to be the most functional. Two alleles (OTR: rs59190448 and rs237888) present only in modern humans and archaic humans were putatively under positive selection in modern humans, with rs237888 predicted to be a highly functional site. Three sites showed convergent evolution between modern humans and bonobos (OTR: rs2228485 and rs237897; VTR1A: rs1042615), with OTR-rs2228485 ranking highly in terms of functionality and reported to be under balancing selection in modern humans (Schaschl, 2015) [1]. Our findings have implications for understanding hominid prosociality, as well as the similarities between modern human and bonobo social behavior. We compared the oxytocin/vasotocin receptors in modern humans, archaic humans, and non-human primates. We found 5 sites with modern human specific variation. In these sites, the modern human allele is the major allele in the global population. Several sites were predicted to be functional and with selection signatures in modern humans. We also identified 3 sites of convergent evolution in modern humans and bonobos.
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24
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Anastasiadi D, Piferrer F, Wellenreuther M, Benítez Burraco A. Fish as Model Systems to Study Epigenetic Drivers in Human Self-Domestication and Neurodevelopmental Cognitive Disorders. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13060987. [PMID: 35741749 PMCID: PMC9222608 DOI: 10.3390/genes13060987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern humans exhibit phenotypic traits and molecular events shared with other domesticates that are thought to be by-products of selection for reduced aggression. This is the human self-domestication hypothesis. As one of the first types of responses to a novel environment, epigenetic changes may have also facilitated early self-domestication in humans. Here, we argue that fish species, which have been recently domesticated, can provide model systems to study epigenetic drivers in human self-domestication. To test this, we used in silico approaches to compare genes with epigenetic changes in early domesticates of European sea bass with genes exhibiting methylation changes in anatomically modern humans (comparison 1), and neurodevelopmental cognitive disorders considered to exhibit abnormal self-domestication traits, i.e., schizophrenia, Williams syndrome, and autism spectrum disorders (comparison 2). Overlapping genes in comparison 1 were involved in processes like limb morphogenesis and phenotypes like abnormal jaw morphology and hypopigmentation. Overlapping genes in comparison 2 affected paralogue genes involved in processes such as neural crest differentiation and ectoderm differentiation. These findings pave the way for future studies using fish species as models to investigate epigenetic changes as drivers of human self-domestication and as triggers of cognitive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dafni Anastasiadi
- Seafood Technologies, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Nelson 7010, New Zealand;
- Correspondence:
| | - Francesc Piferrer
- Institut de Ciències del Mar, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Maren Wellenreuther
- Seafood Technologies, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Nelson 7010, New Zealand;
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Antonio Benítez Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, 41004 Seville, Spain;
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25
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Williams syndrome: reduced orienting to other's eyes in a hypersocial phenotype. J Autism Dev Disord 2022:10.1007/s10803-022-05563-6. [PMID: 35445369 PMCID: PMC9020553 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05563-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic condition associated with high sociability, intellectual disability, and social cognitive challenges. Attention to others’ eyes is crucial for social understanding. Orienting to, and from other’s eyes was studied in WS (n = 37, mean age = 23, age range 9–53). The WS group was compared to a typically developing comparison participants (n = 167) in stratified age groups from infancy to adulthood. Typically developing children and adults were quicker and more likely to orient to eyes than the mouth. This bias was absent in WS. The WS group had reduced peak saccadic velocities, indicating hypo-arousal. The current study indicates reduced orienting to others’ eyes in WS, which may affect social interaction skills.
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26
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Muhtaseb AW, Duan J. Modeling common and rare genetic risk factors of neuropsychiatric disorders in human induced pluripotent stem cells. Schizophr Res 2022:S0920-9964(22)00156-6. [PMID: 35459617 PMCID: PMC9735430 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and whole-exome sequencing of neuropsychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia, have identified a plethora of common and rare disease risk variants/genes. Translating the mounting human genetic discoveries into novel disease biology and more tailored clinical treatments is tied to our ability to causally connect genetic risk variants to molecular and cellular phenotypes. When combined with the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) nuclease-mediated genome editing system, human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neural cultures (both 2D and 3D organoids) provide a promising tractable cellular model for bridging the gap between genetic findings and disease biology. In this review, we first conceptualize the advances in understanding the disease polygenicity and convergence from the past decade of iPSC modeling of different types of genetic risk factors of neuropsychiatric disorders. We then discuss the major cell types and cellular phenotypes that are most relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders in iPSC modeling. Finally, we critically review the limitations of iPSC modeling of neuropsychiatric disorders and outline the need for implementing and developing novel methods to scale up the number of iPSC lines and disease risk variants in a systematic manner. Sufficiently scaled-up iPSC modeling and a better functional interpretation of genetic risk variants, in combination with cutting-edge CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and single-cell multi-omics methods, will enable the field to identify the specific and convergent molecular and cellular phenotypes in precision for neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdurrahman W Muhtaseb
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, United States of America; Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America.
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27
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Zhou J, Zheng Y, Liang G, Xu X, Liu J, Chen S, Ge T, Wen P, Zhang Y, Liu X, Zhuang J, Wu Y, Chen J. Atypical deletion of Williams-Beuren syndrome reveals the mechanism of neurodevelopmental disorders. BMC Med Genomics 2022; 15:79. [PMID: 35379245 PMCID: PMC8981662 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-022-01227-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Genes associated with specific neurocognitive phenotypes in Williams–Beuren syndrome are still controversially discussed. This study identified nine patients with atypical deletions out of 111 patients with Williams–Beuren syndrome; these deletions included seven smaller deletions and two larger deletions. One patient had normal neurodevelopment with a deletion of genes on the distal side of the Williams–Beuren syndrome chromosomal region, including GTF2I and GTF2IRD1. However, another patient retained these genes but showed neurodevelopmental abnormalities. By comparing the genotypes and phenotypes of patients with typical and atypical deletions and previous reports in the literature, we hypothesize that the BAZ1B, FZD9, and STX1A genes may play an important role in the neurodevelopment of patients with WBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianrong Zhou
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of South China Structural Heart Disease, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ying Zheng
- Department of Nutrition, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guiying Liang
- Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoli Xu
- Department of Endocrinology, General Hospital of Central Theater Command, Wuhan, China
| | - Jian Liu
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shaoxian Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of South China Structural Heart Disease, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,Research Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tongkai Ge
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Pengju Wen
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,Research Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yong Zhang
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoqing Liu
- Division of Epidemiology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and Cardiovascular Institute, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jian Zhuang
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of South China Structural Heart Disease, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yueheng Wu
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China. .,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of South China Structural Heart Disease, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China. .,Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Jimei Chen
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China. .,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of South China Structural Heart Disease, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
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28
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Rubio AO, Summers K. Neural crest cell genes and the domestication syndrome: A comparative analysis of selection. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263830. [PMID: 35148331 PMCID: PMC8836321 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural crest cell genes control the migration of neural crest cells to multiple parts of developing vertebrate embryos. A recent hypothesis posits that the "domestication syndrome" characteristic of domesticated animals is driven by selection for tameness acting on neural crest cell genes, particularly those affecting cell migration. This is posited to explain why this syndrome involves many disparate phenotypic effects. These effects can be connected to deficits in neural crest cell migration. This hypothesis predicts that patterns of selection on these neural crest cell genes will differ between domesticated species and related wild species. Specifically, it predicts higher levels of positive selection on these genes in domesticated species, relative to closely related wild species. Here we test this prediction in a comparative framework. We obtained DNA sequences from a public database (NCBI) for eleven key neural crest cell genes from a set of thirty domesticated vertebrates and matched close relatives that remain wild. We used the program Contrast-FEL in the software suite HyPhy to compare the number of sites under positive selection (as measured by non-synonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitution rates across codons) between these two types of taxa in a phylogenetic framework. We found that domesticated lineages showed a consistently higher level of positive selection on these key genes, relative to their closely related wild counterparts. In addition, we found support for relaxation of selection and purifying selection. We argue that this result is consistent with an important role for these genes in the domestication syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew O. Rubio
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, United States of America
| | - Kyle Summers
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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29
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Levi G, de Lombares C, Giuliani C, Iannuzzi V, Aouci R, Garagnani P, Franceschi C, Grimaud-Hervé D, Narboux-Nême N. DLX5/6 GABAergic Expression Affects Social Vocalization: Implications for Human Evolution. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:4748-4764. [PMID: 34132815 PMCID: PMC8557472 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
DLX5 and DLX6 are two closely related transcription factors involved in brain development and in GABAergic differentiation. The DLX5/6 locus is regulated by FoxP2, a gene involved in language evolution and has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and mental retardation. Targeted inactivation of Dlx5/6 in mouse GABAergic neurons (Dlx5/6VgatCre mice) results in behavioral and metabolic phenotypes notably increasing lifespan by 33%. Here, we show that Dlx5/6VgatCre mice present a hyper-vocalization and hyper-socialization phenotype. While only 7% of control mice emitted more than 700 vocalizations/10 min, 30% and 56% of heterozygous or homozygous Dlx5/6VgatCre mice emitted more than 700 and up to 1,400 calls/10 min with a higher proportion of complex and modulated calls. Hyper-vocalizing animals were more sociable: the time spent in dynamic interactions with an unknown visitor was more than doubled compared to low-vocalizing individuals. The characters affected by Dlx5/6 in the mouse (sociability, vocalization, skull, and brain shape…) overlap those affected in the "domestication syndrome". We therefore explored the possibility that DLX5/6 played a role in human evolution and "self-domestication" comparing DLX5/6 genomic regions from Neanderthal and modern humans. We identified an introgressed Neanderthal haplotype (DLX5/6-N-Haplotype) present in 12.6% of European individuals that covers DLX5/6 coding and regulatory sequences. The DLX5/6-N-Haplotype includes the binding site for GTF2I, a gene associated with Williams-Beuren syndrome, a hyper-sociability and hyper-vocalization neurodevelopmental disorder. The DLX5/6-N-Haplotype is significantly underrepresented in semi-supercentenarians (>105 years of age), a well-established human model of healthy aging and longevity, suggesting their involvement in the coevolution of longevity, sociability, and speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Levi
- Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation, CNRS UMR7221, Département AVIV, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Camille de Lombares
- Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation, CNRS UMR7221, Département AVIV, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Cristina Giuliani
- Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology & Centre for Genome Biology, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Iannuzzi
- Alma Mater Research Institute on Global Challenges and Climate Change, University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Rym Aouci
- Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation, CNRS UMR7221, Département AVIV, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Paolo Garagnani
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Clinical Chemistry, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet at Huddinge University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Claudio Franceschi
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Institute of Information Technologies, Mathematics and Mechanics, Lobachevsky University, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia
| | - Dominique Grimaud-Hervé
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique, CNRS UMR 7194, Département H&E, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Narboux-Nême
- Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation, CNRS UMR7221, Département AVIV, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
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30
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Sharif SB, Zamani N, Chadwick BP. BAZ1B the Protean Protein. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12101541. [PMID: 34680936 PMCID: PMC8536118 DOI: 10.3390/genes12101541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The bromodomain adjacent to the zinc finger domain 1B (BAZ1B) or Williams syndrome transcription factor (WSTF) are just two of the names referring the same protein that is encoded by the WBSCR9 gene and is among the 26-28 genes that are lost from one copy of 7q11.23 in Williams syndrome (WS: OMIM 194050). Patients afflicted by this contiguous gene deletion disorder present with a range of symptoms including cardiovascular complications, developmental defects as well as a characteristic cognitive and behavioral profile. Studies in patients with atypical deletions and mouse models support BAZ1B hemizygosity as a contributing factor to some of the phenotypes. Focused analysis on BAZ1B has revealed this to be a versatile nuclear protein with a central role in chromatin remodeling through two distinct complexes as well as being involved in the replication and repair of DNA, transcriptional processes involving RNA Polymerases I, II, and III as well as possessing kinase activity. Here, we provide a comprehensive review to summarize the many aspects of BAZ1B function including its recent link to cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahin Behrouz Sharif
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA;
| | - Nina Zamani
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA;
| | - Brian P. Chadwick
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA;
- Correspondence:
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31
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Benítez-Burraco A, Pörtl D, Jung C. Did Dog Domestication Contribute to Language Evolution? Front Psychol 2021; 12:695116. [PMID: 34589022 PMCID: PMC8473740 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.695116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Different factors seemingly account for the emergence of present-day languages in our species. Human self-domestication has been recently invoked as one important force favoring language complexity mostly via a cultural mechanism. Because our self-domestication ultimately resulted from selection for less aggressive behavior and increased prosocial behavior, any evolutionary or cultural change impacting on aggression levels is expected to have fostered this process. Here, we hypothesize about a parallel domestication of humans and dogs, and more specifically, about a positive effect of our interaction with dogs on human self-domestication, and ultimately, on aspects of language evolution, through the mechanisms involved in the control of aggression. We review evidence of diverse sort (ethological mostly, but also archeological, genetic, and physiological) supporting such an effect and propose some ways of testing our hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Daniela Pörtl
- Psychiatric Department, Saale-Unstrut Klinikum, Teaching Hospital Leipzig and Jena Universities, Naumburg, Germany
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32
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Wilkins AS, Wrangham R, Fitch WT. The neural crest/domestication syndrome hypothesis, explained: reply to Johnsson, Henriksen, and Wright. Genetics 2021; 219:iyab098. [PMID: 34849912 PMCID: PMC8633094 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyab098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Adam S Wilkins
- Institute of Theoretical Biology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Richard Wrangham
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - W Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
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33
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Johnsson M, Henriksen R, Wright D. The neural crest cell hypothesis: no unified explanation for domestication. Genetics 2021; 219:6318714. [PMID: 34849908 PMCID: PMC8633120 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyab097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Johnsson
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 750 07, Sweden
| | - Rie Henriksen
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, Linköping 58183, Sweden
| | - Dominic Wright
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, Linköping 58183, Sweden
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34
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Benítez-Burraco A, Chekalin E, Bruskin S, Tatarinova T, Morozova I. Recent selection of candidate genes for mammal domestication in Europeans and language change in Europe: a hypothesis. Ann Hum Biol 2021; 48:313-320. [PMID: 34241552 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2021.1936634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM Human evolution resulted from changes in our biology, behaviour, and culture. One source of these changes has been hypothesised to be our self-domestication (that is, the development in humans of features commonly found in domesticated strains of mammals, seemingly as a result of selection for reduced aggression). Signals of domestication, notably brain size reduction, have increased in recent times. METHODS In this paper, we compare whole-genome data between the Late Neolithic/Bronze Age individuals and modern Europeans. RESULTS We show that genes associated with mammal domestication and with neural crest development and function are significantly differently enriched in nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms between these two groups. CONCLUSION We hypothesise that these changes might account for the increased features of self-domestication in modern humans and, ultimately, for subtle recent changes in human cognition and behaviour, including language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature, Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Evgeny Chekalin
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Sergey Bruskin
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Tatiana Tatarinova
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.,Department of Biology, University of La Verne, La Verne, CA, USA.,A. A. Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Moscow, Russia.,Department of Fundamental Biology and Biotechnology, Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
| | - Irina Morozova
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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35
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Bergmann I, Hublin JJ, Gunz P, Freidline SE. How did modern morphology evolve in the human mandible? The relationship between static adult allometry and mandibular variability in Homo sapiens. J Hum Evol 2021; 157:103026. [PMID: 34214909 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Key to understanding human origins are early Homo sapiens fossils from Jebel Irhoud, as well as from the early Late Pleistocene sites Tabun, Border Cave, Klasies River Mouth, Skhul, and Qafzeh. While their upper facial shape falls within the recent human range of variation, their mandibles display a mosaic morphology. Here we quantify how mandibular shape covaries with mandible size and how static allometry differs between Neanderthals, early H. sapiens, and modern humans from the Upper Paleolithic/Later Stone Age and Holocene (= later H. sapiens). We use 3D (semi)landmark geometric morphometric methods to visualize allometric trends and to explore how gracilization affects the expression of diagnostic shape features. Early H. sapiens were highly variable in mandible size, exhibiting a unique allometric trajectory that explains aspects of their 'archaic' appearance. At the same time, early H. sapiens share a suite of diagnostic features with later H. sapiens that are not related to mandibular sizes, such as an incipient chin and an anteroposteriorly decreasing corpus height. The mandibular morphology, often referred to as 'modern', can partly be explained by gracilization owing to size reduction. Despite distinct static allometric shape changes in each group studied, bicondylar and bigonial breadth represent important structural constraints for the expression of shape features in most Middle to Late Pleistocene hominin mandibles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inga Bergmann
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sarah E Freidline
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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36
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Kozel BA, Barak B, Ae Kim C, Mervis CB, Osborne LR, Porter M, Pober BR. Williams syndrome. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2021; 7:42. [PMID: 34140529 PMCID: PMC9437774 DOI: 10.1038/s41572-021-00276-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is a relatively rare microdeletion disorder that occurs in as many as 1:7,500 individuals. WS arises due to the mispairing of low-copy DNA repetitive elements at meiosis. The deletion size is similar across most individuals with WS and leads to the loss of one copy of 25-27 genes on chromosome 7q11.23. The resulting unique disorder affects multiple systems, with cardinal features including but not limited to cardiovascular disease (characteristically stenosis of the great arteries and most notably supravalvar aortic stenosis), a distinctive craniofacial appearance, and a specific cognitive and behavioural profile that includes intellectual disability and hypersociability. Genotype-phenotype evidence is strongest for ELN, the gene encoding elastin, which is responsible for the vascular and connective tissue features of WS, and for the transcription factor genes GTF2I and GTF2IRD1, which are known to affect intellectual ability, social functioning and anxiety. Mounting evidence also ascribes phenotypic consequences to the deletion of BAZ1B, LIMK1, STX1A and MLXIPL, but more work is needed to understand the mechanism by which these deletions contribute to clinical outcomes. The age of diagnosis has fallen in regions of the world where technological advances, such as chromosomal microarray, enable clinicians to make the diagnosis of WS without formally suspecting it, allowing earlier intervention by medical and developmental specialists. Phenotypic variability is considerable for all cardinal features of WS but the specific sources of this variability remain unknown. Further investigation to identify the factors responsible for these differences may lead to mechanism-based rather than symptom-based therapies and should therefore be a high research priority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth A. Kozel
- Translational Vascular Medicine Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA
| | - Boaz Barak
- The Sagol School of Neuroscience and The School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Chong Ae Kim
- Department of Pediatrics, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carolyn B. Mervis
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, USA
| | - Lucy R. Osborne
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Melanie Porter
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Barbara R. Pober
- Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
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37
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Osborne LR, Mervis CB. 7q11.23 deletion and duplication. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2021; 68:41-48. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2021.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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38
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Xie J, Lou Q, Zeng Y, Liang Y, Xie S, Xu Q, Yuan L, Wang J, Jiang L, Mou L, Lin D, Zhao M. Single-Cell Atlas Reveals Fatty Acid Metabolites Regulate the Functional Heterogeneity of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:653308. [PMID: 33912565 PMCID: PMC8075002 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.653308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely used clinically due to their versatile roles in multipotency, immunomodulation, and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche function. However, cellular heterogeneity limits MSCs in the consistency and efficacy of their clinical applications. Metabolism regulates stem cell function and fate decision; however, how metabolites regulate the functional heterogeneity of MSCs remains elusive. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing, we discovered that fatty acid pathways are involved in the regulation of lineage commitment and functional heterogeneity of MSCs. Functional assays showed that a fatty acid metabolite, butyrate, suppressed the self-renewal, adipogenesis, and osteogenesis differentiation potential of MSCs with increased apoptosis. Conversely, butyrate supplement significantly promoted HSC niche factor expression in MSCs, which suggests that butyrate supplement may provide a therapeutic approach to enhance their HSC niche function. Overall, our work demonstrates that metabolites are essential to regulate the functional heterogeneity of MSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayi Xie
- Department of Hematology, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qi Lou
- Shenzhen Lansi Institute of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Shenzhen, China.,The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Health Science Center, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yunxin Zeng
- Department of Hematology, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yingying Liang
- Shenzhen Lansi Institute of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Shenzhen, China.,The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Health Science Center, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Siyu Xie
- RNA Biomedical Institute, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Quanhui Xu
- Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lisha Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
| | - Linjia Jiang
- RNA Biomedical Institute, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lisha Mou
- Shenzhen Lansi Institute of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Shenzhen, China
| | - Dongjun Lin
- Department of Hematology, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Meng Zhao
- Department of Hematology, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China.,Shenzhen Lansi Institute of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Shenzhen, China.,Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
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39
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Eusebi PG, Sevane N, O'Rourke T, Pizarro M, Boeckx C, Dunner S. Gene expression profiles underlying aggressive behavior in the prefrontal cortex of cattle. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:245. [PMID: 33827428 PMCID: PMC8028707 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07505-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aggressive behavior is an ancient and conserved trait, habitual for most animals in order to eat, protect themselves, compete for mating and defend their territories. Genetic factors have been shown to play an important role in the development of aggression both in animals and humans, displaying moderate to high heritability estimates. Although such types of behaviors have been studied in different animal models, the molecular architecture of aggressiveness remains poorly understood. This study compared gene expression profiles of 16 prefrontal cortex (PFC) samples from aggressive and non-aggressive cattle breeds: Lidia, selected for agonistic responses, and Wagyu, selected for tameness. RESULTS A total of 918 up-regulated and 278 down-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEG) were identified, representing above-chance overlap with genes previously identified in studies of aggression across species, as well as those implicated in recent human evolution. The functional interpretation of the up-regulated genes in the aggressive cohort revealed enrichment of pathways such as Alzheimer disease-presenilin, integrins and the ERK/MAPK signaling cascade, all implicated in the development of abnormal aggressive behaviors and neurophysiological disorders. Moreover, gonadotropins, are up-regulated as natural mechanisms enhancing aggression. Concomitantly, heterotrimeric G-protein pathways, associated with low reactivity mental states, and the GAD2 gene, a repressor of agonistic reactions associated with PFC activity, are down-regulated, promoting the development of the aggressive responses selected for in Lidia cattle. We also identified six upstream regulators, whose functional activity fits with the etiology of abnormal behavioral responses associated with aggression. CONCLUSIONS These transcriptional correlates of aggression, resulting, at least in part, from controlled artificial selection, can provide valuable insights into the complex architecture that underlies naturally developed agonistic behaviors. This analysis constitutes a first important step towards the identification of the genes and metabolic pathways that promote aggression in cattle and, providing a novel model species to disentangle the mechanisms underlying variability in aggressive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina G Eusebi
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avenida Puerta de Hierro, s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Natalia Sevane
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avenida Puerta de Hierro, s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Thomas O'Rourke
- Universitat de Barcelona, Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes 585, 08007, Barcelona, Spain.,UBICS, Carrer Martí Franqués 1, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manuel Pizarro
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avenida Puerta de Hierro, s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Universitat de Barcelona, Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes 585, 08007, Barcelona, Spain.,UBICS, Carrer Martí Franqués 1, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.,ICREA, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Susana Dunner
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avenida Puerta de Hierro, s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
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40
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Wrangham RW. Targeted conspiratorial killing, human self-domestication and the evolution of groupishness. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2021; 3:e26. [PMID: 37588548 PMCID: PMC10427284 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Groupishness is a set of tendencies to respond to group members with prosociality and cooperation in ways that transcend apparent self-interest. Its evolution is puzzling because it gives the impression of breaking the ordinary rules of natural selection. Boehm's solution is that moral elements of groupishness originated and evolved as a result of group members becoming efficient executioners of antisocial individuals, and he noted that self-domestication would have proceeded from the same dynamic. Self-domestication is indicated first at ~300,000 years ago and has probably gathered pace ever since, suggesting selection for self-domestication and groupishness for at least 12,000 generations. Here I propose that a specifically human style of violence, targeted conspiratorial killing, contributed importantly to both self-domestication and to promoting groupishness. Targeted conspiratorial killing is unknown in chimpanzees or any other vertebrate, and is significant because it permits coalitions to kill antisocial individuals cheaply. The hypothesis that major elements of groupishness are due to targeted conspiratorial killing helps explain why they are much more elaborated in humans than in other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard W. Wrangham
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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41
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O'Rourke T, Martins PT, Asano R, Tachibana RO, Okanoya K, Boeckx C. Capturing the Effects of Domestication on Vocal Learning Complexity. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:462-474. [PMID: 33810982 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Domesticated and vocal learning species can serve as informative model organisms for the reduction of reactive aggression and emergence of speech in our lineage. Amidst mounting evidence that domestication modifies vocal repertoires across different species, we focus on the domesticated Bengalese finch, which has a more complex song than the wild-type white-rumped munia. Our explanation for this effect revolves around the glutamate neurotransmitter system. Glutamate signaling (i) is implicated in birdsong learning, (ii) controls dopamine activity in neural circuits crucial for vocal learning, (iii) is disproportionately targeted in the evolution of domesticates, and (iv) regulates stress responses and aggressive behaviors attenuated under domestication. We propose that attenuated excitation of stress-related neural circuits potentiates vocal learning via altered dopaminergic signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas O'Rourke
- Section of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain; University of Barcelona Institute for Complex Systems (UBICS), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pedro Tiago Martins
- Section of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain; University of Barcelona Institute for Complex Systems (UBICS), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rie Asano
- Department of Systematic Musicology, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany
| | - Ryosuke O Tachibana
- Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 153-8902 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 153-8902 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Section of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain; University of Barcelona Institute for Complex Systems (UBICS), 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies and Research (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Spain.
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42
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Mora-Bermúdez F, Taverna E, Huttner WB. From stem and progenitor cells to neurons in the developing neocortex: key differences among hominids. FEBS J 2021; 289:1524-1535. [PMID: 33638923 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Comparing the biology of humans to that of other primates, and notably other hominids, is a useful path to learn more about what makes us human. Some of the most interesting differences among hominids are closely related to brain development and function, for example behaviour and cognition. This makes it particularly interesting to compare the hominid neural cells of the neocortex, a part of the brain that plays central roles in those processes. However, well-preserved tissue from great apes is usually extremely difficult to obtain. A variety of new alternative tools, for example brain organoids, are now beginning to make it possible to search for such differences and analyse their potential biological and biomedical meaning. Here, we present an overview of recent findings from comparisons of the neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) and neurons of hominids. In addition to differences in proliferation and differentiation of NSPCs, and maturation of neurons, we highlight that the regulation of the timing of these processes is emerging as a general foundational difference in the development of the neocortex of hominids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Mora-Bermúdez
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elena Taverna
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Wieland B Huttner
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
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43
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Šimić G, Vukić V, Kopić J, Krsnik Ž, Hof PR. Molecules, Mechanisms, and Disorders of Self-Domestication: Keys for Understanding Emotional and Social Communication from an Evolutionary Perspective. Biomolecules 2020; 11:E2. [PMID: 33375093 PMCID: PMC7822183 DOI: 10.3390/biom11010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural crest hypothesis states that the phenotypic features of the domestication syndrome are due to a reduced number or disruption of neural crest cells (NCCs) migration, as these cells differentiate at their final destinations and proliferate into different tissues whose activity is reduced by domestication. Comparing the phenotypic characteristics of modern and prehistoric man, it is clear that during their recent evolutionary past, humans also went through a process of self-domestication with a simultaneous prolongation of the period of socialization. This has led to the development of social abilities and skills, especially language, as well as neoteny. Disorders of neural crest cell development and migration lead to many different conditions such as Waardenburg syndrome, Hirschsprung disease, fetal alcohol syndrome, DiGeorge and Treacher-Collins syndrome, for which the mechanisms are already relatively well-known. However, for others, such as Williams-Beuren syndrome and schizophrenia that have the characteristics of hyperdomestication, and autism spectrum disorders, and 7dupASD syndrome that have the characteristics of hypodomestication, much less is known. Thus, deciphering the biological determinants of disordered self-domestication has great potential for elucidating the normal and disturbed ontogenesis of humans, as well as for the understanding of evolution of mammals in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (J.K.); (Ž.K.)
| | - Vana Vukić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (J.K.); (Ž.K.)
| | - Janja Kopić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (J.K.); (Ž.K.)
| | - Željka Krsnik
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (J.K.); (Ž.K.)
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
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44
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Messina A, Boiti A, Vallortigara G. Asymmetric distribution of pallial‐expressed genes in zebrafish (
Danio rerio
). Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:362-375. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Messina
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences University of Trento Rovereto Italy
| | - Alessandra Boiti
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences University of Trento Rovereto Italy
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45
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Cavallo F, Troglio F, Fagà G, Fancelli D, Shyti R, Trattaro S, Zanella M, D'Agostino G, Hughes JM, Cera MR, Pasi M, Gabriele M, Lazzarin M, Mihailovich M, Kooy F, Rosa A, Mercurio C, Varasi M, Testa G. High-throughput screening identifies histone deacetylase inhibitors that modulate GTF2I expression in 7q11.23 microduplication autism spectrum disorder patient-derived cortical neurons. Mol Autism 2020; 11:88. [PMID: 33208191 PMCID: PMC7677843 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-020-00387-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental condition affecting almost 1% of children, and represents a major unmet medical need with no effective drug treatment available. Duplication at 7q11.23 (7Dup), encompassing 26–28 genes, is one of the best characterized ASD-causing copy number variations and offers unique translational opportunities, because the hemideletion of the same interval causes Williams–Beuren syndrome (WBS), a condition defined by hypersociability and language strengths, thereby providing a unique reference to validate treatments for the ASD symptoms. In the above-indicated interval at 7q11.23, defined as WBS critical region, several genes, such as GTF2I, BAZ1B, CLIP2 and EIF4H, emerged as critical for their role in the pathogenesis of WBS and 7Dup both from mouse models and human studies. Methods We performed a high-throughput screening of 1478 compounds, including central nervous system agents, epigenetic modulators and experimental substances, on patient-derived cortical glutamatergic neurons differentiated from our cohort of induced pluripotent stem cell lines (iPSCs), monitoring the transcriptional modulation of WBS interval genes, with a special focus on GTF2I, in light of its overriding pathogenic role. The hits identified were validated by measuring gene expression by qRT-PCR and the results were confirmed by western blotting. Results We identified and selected three histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) that decreased the abnormal expression level of GTF2I in 7Dup cortical glutamatergic neurons differentiated from four genetically different iPSC lines. We confirmed this effect also at the protein level. Limitations In this study, we did not address the molecular mechanisms whereby HDAC inhibitors act on GTF2I. The lead compounds identified will now need to be advanced to further testing in additional models, including patient-derived brain organoids and mouse models recapitulating the gene imbalances of the 7q11.23 microduplication, in order to validate their efficacy in rescuing phenotypes across multiple functional layers within a translational pipeline towards clinical use. Conclusions These results represent a unique opportunity for the development of a specific class of compounds for treating 7Dup and other forms of intellectual disability and autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Cavallo
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, c/o High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Flavia Troglio
- High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Giovanni Fagà
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniele Fancelli
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Reinald Shyti
- High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Sebastiano Trattaro
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, c/o High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Matteo Zanella
- High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,Evotec SE, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Giuseppe D'Agostino
- High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - James M Hughes
- High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,FPO - IRCCS, Candiolo Cancer Institute, SP 142 Km 3.95, 10060, Candiolo, TO, Italy
| | - Maria Rosaria Cera
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Maurizio Pasi
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Michele Gabriele
- High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
| | - Maddalena Lazzarin
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, c/o High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Marija Mihailovich
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, c/o High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Frank Kooy
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Alessandro Rosa
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology Charles Darwin, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.,Center for Life Nano Science, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Ciro Mercurio
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Mario Varasi
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy.,IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Testa
- High Definition Disease Modelling Lab: Stem Cell and Organoid Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy. .,Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Santa Sofia 9, 20122, Milan, Italy. .,Human Technopole, Via Cristina Belgioioso, 171, 20157, Milan, Italy.
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46
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Domestication Phenotype Linked to Vocal Behavior in Marmoset Monkeys. Curr Biol 2020; 30:5026-5032.e3. [PMID: 33065007 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.09.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The domestication syndrome refers to a set of traits that are the by-products of artificial selection for increased tolerance toward humans [1-3]. One hypothesis is that some species, like humans and bonobos, "self-domesticated" and have been under selection for that same suite of domesticated phenotypes [4-8]. However, the evidence for this has been largely circumstantial. Here, we provide evidence that, in marmoset monkeys, the size of a domestication phenotype-a white facial fur patch-is linked to their degree of affiliative vocal responding. During development, the amount of parental vocal feedback experienced influences the rate of growth of this facial white patch, and this suggests a mechanistic link between the two phenotypes, possibly via neural crest cells. Our study provides evidence for links between vocal behavior and the development of morphological phenotypes associated with domestication in a nonhuman primate.
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47
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López-Tobón A, Trattaro S, Testa G. The sociability spectrum: evidence from reciprocal genetic copy number variations. Mol Autism 2020; 11:50. [PMID: 32546261 PMCID: PMC7298749 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-020-00347-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Sociability entails some of the most complex behaviors processed by the central nervous system. It includes the detection, integration, and interpretation of social cues and elaboration of context-specific responses that are quintessentially species-specific. There is an ever-growing accumulation of molecular associations to autism spectrum disorders (ASD), from causative genes to endophenotypes across multiple functional layers; these however, have rarely been put in context with the opposite manifestation featured in hypersociability syndromes. Genetic copy number variations (CNVs) allow to investigate the relationships between gene dosage and its corresponding phenotypes. In particular, CNVs of the 7q11.23 locus, which manifest diametrically opposite social behaviors, offer a privileged window to look into the molecular substrates underlying the developmental trajectories of the social brain. As by definition sociability is studied in humans postnatally, the developmental fluctuations causing social impairments have thus far remained a black box. Here, we review key evidence of molecular players involved at both ends of the sociability spectrum, focusing on genetic and functional associations of neuroendocrine regulators and synaptic transmission pathways. We then proceed to propose the existence of a molecular axis centered around the paradigmatic dosage imbalances at the 7q11.23 locus, regulating networks responsible for the development of social behavior in humans and highlight the key role that neurodevelopmental models from reprogrammed pluripotent cells will play for its understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro López-Tobón
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-oncology, Università degli studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
| | - Sebastiano Trattaro
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-oncology, Università degli studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
| | - Giuseppe Testa
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Epigenetics, IEO, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-oncology, Università degli studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
- Human Technopole, Via Cristina Belgioioso 171, Milan, Italy.
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48
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Del Savio L, Mameli M. Human domestication and the roles of human agency in human evolution. HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES 2020; 42:21. [PMID: 32458082 PMCID: PMC7250791 DOI: 10.1007/s40656-020-00315-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Are humans a domesticated species? How is this issue related to debates on the roles of human agency in human evolution? This article discusses four views on human domestication: (1) Darwin's view; (2) the view of those who link human domestication to anthropogenic niche construction and, more specifically, to sedentism; (3) the view of those who link human domestication to selection against aggression and the domestication syndrome; and (4) a novel view according to which human domestication can be conceived of in terms of a process of political selection. The article examines and compares these views to illustrate how discussions of human domestication can contribute to debates about how, and to what extent, human agency has affected human evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matteo Mameli
- Department of Philosophy, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
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49
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Wilkins AS. A Molecular Investigation of Human Self-Domestication. Trends Genet 2020; 36:227-228. [PMID: 32008870 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2020.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The question of whether human beings are like domesticated animals in their behavior has been simultaneously intriguing, hard to define precisely, and seemingly resistant to any kind of scientific test. A recent paper by Zanella et al. reports a molecular-genetic approach to it and provides a provisional 'yes'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam S Wilkins
- Institute of Theoretical Biology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 110, D-10115 Berlin, Germany.
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