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Tesfaye R, Huguet G, Schmilovich Z, Renne T, Loum MA, Douard E, Saci Z, Jean-Louis M, Martineau JL, Whelan R, Desrivieres S, Heinz A, Schumann G, Hayward C, Elsabbagh M, Jacquemont S. Investigating the contributions of circadian pathway and insomnia risk genes to autism and sleep disturbances. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:424. [PMID: 36192372 PMCID: PMC9529939 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02188-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sleep disturbance is prevalent in youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Researchers have posited that circadian dysfunction may contribute to sleep problems or exacerbate ASD symptomatology. However, there is limited genetic evidence of this. It is also unclear how insomnia risk genes identified through GWAS in general populations are related to ASD and common sleep problems like insomnia traits in ASD. We investigated the contribution of copy number variants (CNVs) encompassing circadian pathway genes and insomnia risk genes to ASD risk as well as sleep disturbances in children with ASD. We studied 5860 ASD probands and 2092 unaffected siblings from the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC) and MSSNG database, as well as 7509 individuals from two unselected populations (IMAGEN and Generation Scotland). Sleep duration and insomnia symptoms were parent reported for SSC probands. We identified 335 and 616 rare CNVs encompassing circadian and insomnia risk genes respectively. Deletions and duplications with circadian genes were overrepresented in ASD probands compared to siblings and unselected controls. For insomnia-risk genes, deletions (not duplications) were associated with ASD in both cohorts. Results remained significant after adjusting for cognitive ability. CNVs containing circadian pathway and insomnia risk genes showed a stronger association with ASD, compared to CNVs containing other genes. Circadian genes did not influence sleep duration or insomnia traits in ASD. Insomnia risk genes intolerant to haploinsufficiency increased risk for insomnia when duplicated. CNVs encompassing circadian and insomnia risk genes increase ASD liability with little to no observable impacts on sleep disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rackeb Tesfaye
- McGill University, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, Azrieli Centre for Autism Research, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Guillaume Huguet
- UHC Sainte-Justine Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Thomas Renne
- UHC Sainte-Justine Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Mor Absa Loum
- UHC Sainte-Justine Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Elise Douard
- UHC Sainte-Justine Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Zohra Saci
- UHC Sainte-Justine Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Jean Luc Martineau
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U A10 "Trajectoires développementales en psychiatrie", Université Paris-Saclay, Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre Borelli, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Rob Whelan
- Global Brain Health Institute and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sylvane Desrivieres
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, SGDP Centre, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, SGDP Centre, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- PONS Research Group, Dept of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charite Mitte, Humboldt University, Berlin and Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany, and Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Caroline Hayward
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, United Kingdom
- Generation Scotland, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, United Kingdom
| | - Mayada Elsabbagh
- McGill University, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, Azrieli Centre for Autism Research, Montreal, Canada
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Niarchou M, Singer EV, Straub P, Malow BA, Davis LK. Investigating the genetic pathways of insomnia in Autism Spectrum Disorder. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2022; 128:104299. [PMID: 35820265 PMCID: PMC10068748 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104299] [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: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sleep problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (autism). There is sparse research to date to examine whether insomnia in people with autism is related to autism genetics or insomnia genetics. Moreover, there is a lack of research examining whether circadian-rhythm related genes share potential pathways with autism. AIMS To address this research gap, we tested whether polygenic scores of insomnia or autism are related to risk of insomnia in people with autism, and whether the circadian genes are associated with insomnia in people with autism. METHODS AND PROCEDURES We tested these questions using the phenotypically and genotypically rich MSSNG dataset (N = 1049) as well as incorporating in the analyses data from the Vanderbilt University Biobank (BioVU) (N = 349). OUTCOMES AND RESULTS In our meta-analyzed sample, there was no evidence of associations between the polygenic scores (PGS) for insomnia and a clinical diagnosis of insomnia, or between the PGS of autism and insomnia. We also did not find evidence of a greater burden of rare and disruptive variation in the melatonin and circadian genes in individuals with autism and insomnia compared to individuals with autism without insomnia. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Overall, we did not find evidence for strong effects of genetic scores influencing sleep in people with autism, however, we cannot rule out the possibility that smaller genetic effects may play a role in sleep problems. Our study indicated the need for a larger collection of data on sleep problems and sleep quality among people with autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Niarchou
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Emily V Singer
- Sleep Disorders Division, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Peter Straub
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Beth A Malow
- Sleep Disorders Division, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Lea K Davis
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
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Earl RK, Ward T, Gerdts J, Eichler EE, Bernier RA, Hudac CM. Sleep Problems in Children with ASD and Gene Disrupting Mutations. The Journal of Genetic Psychology 2021; 182:317-334. [PMID: 33998396 DOI: 10.1080/00221325.2021.1922869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Sleep difficulties are pervasive in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet how sleep problems relate to underlying biological mechanisms such as genetic etiology is unclear, despite recent reports of profound sleep problems in children with ASD-associated de novo likely gene disrupting (dnLGD) mutations, CHD8, DYRK1A, and ADNP. We aimed to inform etiological contributions to ASD and sleep by characterizing sleep problems in individuals with dnLGD mutations. Participants (N = 2886) were families who completed dichotomous questions about sleep problems within a medical history interview for their child with ASD (age 3-28 years). Confirmatory factor analyses compared between those with ASD and a dnLGD mutation and those with idiopathic ASD (i.e., no known genetic event, NON) highlighted four domains (sleep onset, breathing issues, nighttime awakenings, and daytime tiredness) with sleep onset as a strong factor for both groups. Overall, participant predictors indicated that internalizing behavioral problems and lower cognitive scores were related to increased sleep problems. Internalizing problems were also related to increase nighttime awakenings in the dnLGD group. As an exploratory aim, patterns of sleep issues are described for genetic subgroups with unique patterns including more overall sleep issues in ADNP (n = 19), problems falling asleep in CHD8 (n = 22), and increased daytime naps in DYRK1A (n = 23). Implications for considering genetically defined subgroups when approaching sleep problems in children with ASD are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel K Earl
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Tracey Ward
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Jennifer Gerdts
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Evan E Eichler
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Raphael A Bernier
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Caitlin M Hudac
- Center for Youth Development and Intervention and Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
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Brown GM, Karthikeyan R, Pandi-Perumal SR, Cardinali DP. Autism Spectrum Disorder patients may be susceptible to COVID-19 disease due to deficiency in melatonin. Med Hypotheses 2021; 149:110544. [PMID: 33657458 PMCID: PMC7890352 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2021.110544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may be particularly prone to develop COVID-19. An unusual extended course of COVID-19 disease illness has been reported in one ASD patient and a group of patients have COVID-19 disease in a neurodevelopmental facility. It has been widely reported that many of those with ASD have substantial sleep disorders with low levels of melatonin and various genetic alterations related to melatonin production have been found. Several lines of evidence point to a substantial role of melatonin in the body's innate defense system including acting as a scavenger, an antioxidant and modulating the immune system. We therefore hypothesize that melatonin deficiency may predispose those ASD patients who have low melatonin output to COVID-19 disease. Potential implications for treatment are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory M Brown
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada.
| | | | | | - Daniel P Cardinali
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Pinato L, Galina Spilla CS, Markus RP, da Silveira Cruz-Machado S. Dysregulation of Circadian Rhythms in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Curr Pharm Des 2020; 25:4379-4393. [DOI: 10.2174/1381612825666191102170450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Background:
The alterations in neurological and neuroendocrine functions observed in the autism
spectrum disorder (ASD) involves environmentally dependent dysregulation of neurodevelopment, in interaction
with multiple coding gene defects. Disturbed sleep-wake patterns, as well as abnormal melatonin and glucocorticoid
secretion, show the relevance of an underlying impairment of the circadian timing system to the behavioral
phenotype of ASD. Thus, understanding the mechanisms involved in the circadian dysregulation in ASD could
help to identify early biomarkers to improve the diagnosis and therapeutics as well as providing a significant
impact on the lifelong prognosis.
Objective:
In this review, we discuss the organization of the circadian timing system and explore the connection
between neuroanatomic, molecular, and neuroendocrine responses of ASD and its clinical manifestations. Here
we propose interconnections between circadian dysregulation, inflammatory baseline and behavioral changes in
ASD. Taking into account, the high relevancy of melatonin in orchestrating both circadian timing and the maintenance
of physiological immune quiescence, we raise the hypothesis that melatonin or analogs should be considered
as a pharmacological approach to suppress inflammation and circadian misalignment in ASD patients.
Strategy:
This review provides a comprehensive update on the state-of-art of studies related to inflammatory
states and ASD with a special focus on the relationship with melatonin and clock genes. The hypothesis raised
above was analyzed according to the published data.
Conclusion:
Current evidence supports the existence of associations between ASD to circadian dysregulation,
behavior problems, increased inflammatory levels of cytokines, sleep disorders, as well as reduced circadian
neuroendocrine responses. Indeed, major effects may be related to a low melatonin rhythm. We propose that
maintaining the proper rhythm of the circadian timing system may be helpful to improve the health and to cope
with several behavioral changes observed in ASD subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana Pinato
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), 17525-900, Marilia, SP, Brazil
| | - Caio Sergio Galina Spilla
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), 17525-900, Marilia, SP, Brazil
| | - Regina Pekelmann Markus
- Laboratory of Chronopharmacology, Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo (USP), 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Sanseray da Silveira Cruz-Machado
- Laboratory of Chronopharmacology, Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo (USP), 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Strunecka A, Strunecky O. Chronic Fluoride Exposure and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:E3431. [PMID: 31527457 PMCID: PMC6765894 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16183431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2019] [Revised: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The continuous rise of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalent in the past few decades is causing an increase in public health and socioeconomic concern. A consensus suggests the involvement of both genetic and environmental factors in the ASD etiopathogenesis. Fluoride (F) is rarely recognized among the environmental risk factors of ASD, since the neurotoxic effects of F are not generally accepted. Our review aims to provide evidence of F neurotoxicity. We assess the risk of chronic F exposure in the ASD etiopathology and investigate the role of metabolic and mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and inflammation, immunoexcitotoxicity, and decreased melatonin levels. These symptoms have been observed both after chronic F exposure as well as in ASD. Moreover, we show that F in synergistic interactions with aluminum's free metal cation (Al3+) can reinforce the pathological symptoms of ASD. This reinforcement takes place at concentrations several times lower than when acting alone. A high ASD prevalence has been reported from countries with water fluoridation as well as from endemic fluorosis areas. We suggest focusing the ASD prevention on the reduction of the F and Al3+ burdens from daily life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Strunecka
- The Institute of Technology and Business, Okružní 517/10, 370 01 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Otakar Strunecky
- The Institute of Technology and Business, Okružní 517/10, 370 01 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
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