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Thomas NS, Gillespie NA, Chan G, Edenberg HJ, Kamarajan C, Kuo SIC, Miller AP, Nurnberger JI, Tischfield J, Dick DM, Salvatore JE. A Developmentally-Informative Genome-wide Association Study of Alcohol Use Frequency. Behav Genet 2024; 54:151-168. [PMID: 38108996 PMCID: PMC10913412 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-023-10170-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Contemporary genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods typically do not account for variability in genetic effects throughout development. We applied genomic structural equation modeling to combine developmentally-informative phenotype data and GWAS to create polygenic scores (PGS) for alcohol use frequency that are specific to developmental stage. Longitudinal cohort studies targeted for gene-identification analyses include the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (adolescence n = 1,118, early adulthood n = 2,762, adulthood n = 5,255), the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (adolescence n = 3,089, early adulthood n = 3,993, adulthood n = 5,149), and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; adolescence n = 5,382, early adulthood n = 3,613). PGS validation analyses were conducted in the COGA sample using an alternate version of the discovery analysis with COGA removed. Results suggest that genetic liability for alcohol use frequency in adolescence may be distinct from genetic liability for alcohol use frequency later in developmental periods. The age-specific PGS predicts an increase of 4 drinking days per year per PGS standard deviation when modeled separately from the common factor PGS in adulthood. The current work was underpowered at all steps of the analysis plan. Though small sample sizes and low statistical power limit the substantive conclusions that can be drawn regarding these research questions, this work provides a foundation for future genetic studies of developmental variability in the genetic underpinnings of alcohol use behaviors and genetically-informed, age-matched phenotype prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel S Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284-2018, USA.
| | - Nathan A Gillespie
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Grace Chan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Howard J Edenberg
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Chella Kamarajan
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY, USA
| | - Sally I-Chun Kuo
- Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Alex P Miller
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Jay Tischfield
- Department of Genetics, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Danielle M Dick
- Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Jessica E Salvatore
- Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
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Clites BL, Hofmann HA, Pierce JT. The Promise of an Evolutionary Perspective of Alcohol Consumption. Neurosci Insights 2023; 18:26331055231163589. [PMID: 37051560 PMCID: PMC10084549 DOI: 10.1177/26331055231163589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The urgent need for medical treatments of alcohol use disorders has motivated the search for novel molecular targets of alcohol response. Most studies exploit the strengths of lab animals without considering how these and other species may have adapted to respond to alcohol in an ecological context. Here, we provide an evolutionary perspective on the molecular and genetic underpinnings of alcohol consumption by reviewing evidence that alcohol metabolic enzymes have undergone adaptive evolution at 2 evolutionary junctures: first, to enable alcohol consumption accompanying the advent of a frugivorous diet in a primate ancestor, and second, to decrease the likelihood of excessive alcohol consumption concurrent with the spread of agriculture and fermentation in East Asia. By similarly considering how diverse vertebrate and invertebrate species have undergone natural selection for alcohol responses, novel conserved molecular targets of alcohol are likely be discovered that may represent promising therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L Clites
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Cellular & Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Hans A Hofmann
- Institute for Cellular & Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jonathan T Pierce
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Cellular & Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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Sanchez-Roige S, Kember RL, Agrawal A. Substance use and common contributors to morbidity: A genetics perspective. EBioMedicine 2022; 83:104212. [PMID: 35970022 PMCID: PMC9399262 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Excessive substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs) are common, serious and relapsing medical conditions. They frequently co-occur with other diseases that are leading contributors to disability worldwide. While heavy substance use may potentiate the course of some of these illnesses, there is accumulating evidence suggesting common genetic architectures. In this narrative review, we focus on four heritable medical conditions - cardiometabolic disease, chronic pain, depression and COVID-19, which are commonly overlapping with, but not necessarily a direct consequence of, SUDs. We find persuasive evidence of underlying genetic liability that predisposes to both SUDs and chronic pain, depression, and COVID-19. For cardiometabolic disease, there is greater support for a potential causal influence of problematic substance use. Our review encourages de-stigmatization of SUDs and the assessment of substance use in clinical settings. We assert that identifying shared pathways of risk has high translational potential, allowing tailoring of treatments for multiple medical conditions. Funding SSR acknowledges T29KT0526, T32IR5226 and DP1DA054394; RLK acknowledges AA028292; AA acknowledges DA054869 & K02DA032573. The funders had no role in the conceptualization or writing of the paper.
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