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New Insights on Gene by Environmental Effects of Drugs of Abuse in Animal Models Using GeneNetwork. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13040614. [PMID: 35456420 PMCID: PMC9024903 DOI: 10.3390/genes13040614] [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: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene-by-environment interactions are important for all facets of biology, especially behaviour. Families of isogenic strains of mice, such as the BXD strains, are excellently placed to study these interactions, as the same genome can be tested in multiple environments. BXD strains are recombinant inbred mouse strains derived from crossing two inbred strains—C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. Many reproducible genometypes can be leveraged, and old data can be reanalysed with new tools to produce novel insights. We obtained drug and behavioural phenotypes from Philip et al. Genes, Brain and Behaviour 2010, and reanalysed their data with new genotypes from sequencing, as well as new models (Genome-wide Efficient Mixed Model Association (GEMMA) and R/qtl2). We discovered QTLs on chromosomes 3, 5, 9, 11, and 14, not found in the original study. We reduced the candidate genes based on their ability to alter gene expression or protein function. Candidate genes included Slitrk6 and Cdk14. Slitrk6, in a Chromosome14 QTL for locomotion, was found to be part of a co-expression network involved in voluntary movement and associated with neuropsychiatric phenotypes. Cdk14, one of only three genes in a Chromosome5 QTL, is associated with handling induced convulsions after ethanol treatment, that is regulated by the anticonvulsant drug valproic acid. By using families of isogenic strains, we can reanalyse data to discover novel candidate genes involved in response to drugs of abuse.
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Lipoldová M, Demant P. Gene-Specific Sex Effects on Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases. Front Immunol 2021; 12:712688. [PMID: 34721380 PMCID: PMC8553003 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.712688] [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: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Inflammation is an integral part of defense against most infectious diseases. These pathogen-induced immune responses are in very many instances strongly influenced by host’s sex. As a consequence, sexual dimorphisms were observed in susceptibility to many infectious diseases. They are pathogen dose-dependent, and their outcomes depend on pathogen and even on its species or subspecies. Sex may differentially affect pathology of various organs and its influence is modified by interaction of host’s hormonal status and genotype: sex chromosomes X and Y, as well as autosomal genes. In this Mini Review we summarize the major influences of sex in human infections and subsequently focus on 22 autosomal genes/loci that modify in a sex-dependent way the response to infectious diseases in mouse models. These genes have been observed to influence susceptibility to viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and worms. Some sex-dependent genes/loci affect susceptibility only in females or only in males, affect both sexes, but have stronger effect in one sex; still other genes were shown to affect the disease in both sexes, but with opposite direction of effect in females and males. The understanding of mechanisms of sex-dependent differences in the course of infectious diseases may be relevant for their personalized management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Lipoldová
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Peter Demant
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, United States
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Hayon J, Weatherhead J, Hotez PJ, Bottazzi ME, Zhan B. Advances in vaccine development for human trichuriasis. Parasitology 2021; 148:1-12. [PMID: 33757603 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182021000500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Trichuriasis known as whipworm infection caused by Trichuris trichiura, is a highly prevalent soil-transmitted helminthiasis in low- and middle-income countries located in tropical and subtropical areas and affecting approximately 360 million people. Children typically harbour the largest burden of T. trichiura and they are usually co-infected with other soil-transmitted helminth (STH), including Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworm. The consequences of trichuriasis, such as malnutrition and physical and cognitive growth restriction, lead to a massive health burden in endemic regions. Despite the implementation of mass drug administration of anthelminthic treatment to school-age children, T. trichiura infection remains challenging to control due to the low efficacy of current drugs as well as high rates of post-treatment re-infection. Thus, the development of a vaccine that would induce protective immunity and reduce infection rate or community faecal egg output is essential. Hurdles for human whipworm vaccine development include the lack of suitable vaccine antigen targets and animal models for human T. trichiura infection. Instead, rodent whipworm T. muris infected mouse models serve as a major surrogate for testing immunogenicity and efficacy of vaccine candidates. In this review, we summarize recent advances in animal models for T. trichiura antigen discovery and testing of vaccine candidates, while providing an overall view of the current status of T. trichiura vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesica Hayon
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jill Weatherhead
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Peter J Hotez
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX77030, USA
| | - Maria Elena Bottazzi
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX77030, USA
| | - Bin Zhan
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX77030, USA
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Ashbrook DG, Arends D, Prins P, Mulligan MK, Roy S, Williams EG, Lutz CM, Valenzuela A, Bohl CJ, Ingels JF, McCarty MS, Centeno AG, Hager R, Auwerx J, Lu L, Williams RW. A platform for experimental precision medicine: The extended BXD mouse family. Cell Syst 2021; 12:235-247.e9. [PMID: 33472028 PMCID: PMC7979527 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The challenge of precision medicine is to model complex interactions among DNA variants, phenotypes, development, environments, and treatments. We address this challenge by expanding the BXD family of mice to 140 fully isogenic strains, creating a uniquely powerful model for precision medicine. This family segregates for 6 million common DNA variants-a level that exceeds many human populations. Because each member can be replicated, heritable traits can be mapped with high power and precision. Current BXD phenomes are unsurpassed in coverage and include much omics data and thousands of quantitative traits. BXDs can be extended by a single-generation cross to as many as 19,460 isogenic F1 progeny, and this extended BXD family is an effective platform for testing causal modeling and for predictive validation. BXDs are a unique core resource for the field of experimental precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Ashbrook
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
| | - Danny Arends
- Lebenswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institut, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstraße 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pjotr Prins
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Megan K Mulligan
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Suheeta Roy
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Evan G Williams
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, Université du Luxembourg, L-4365 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Cathleen M Lutz
- Mouse Repository and the Rare and Orphan Disease Center, the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
| | - Alicia Valenzuela
- Mouse Repository and the Rare and Orphan Disease Center, the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
| | - Casey J Bohl
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Jesse F Ingels
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Melinda S McCarty
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Arthur G Centeno
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Division of Evolution & Genomic Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Johan Auwerx
- Laboratory of Integrative Systems Physiology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lu Lu
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
| | - Robert W Williams
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
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Kobets T, Čepičková M, Volkova V, Sohrabi Y, Havelková H, Svobodová M, Demant P, Lipoldová M. Novel Loci Controlling Parasite Load in Organs of Mice Infected With Leishmania major, Their Interactions and Sex Influence. Front Immunol 2019; 10:1083. [PMID: 31231359 PMCID: PMC6566641 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.01083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a serious health problem in many countries, and continues expanding to new geographic areas including Europe and USA. This disease, caused by parasites of Leishmania spp. and transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies, causes up to 1.3 million new cases each year and despite efforts toward its functional dissection and treatment it causes 20-50 thousands deaths annually. Dependence of susceptibility to leishmaniasis on sex and host's genes was observed in humans and in mouse models. Several laboratories defined in mice a number of Lmr (Leishmania major response) genetic loci that control functional and pathological components of the response to and outcome of L. major infection. However, the development of its most aggressive form, visceral leishmaniasis, which is lethal if untreated, is not yet understood. Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by infection and inflammation of internal organs. Therefore, we analyzed the genetics of parasite load, spread to internal organs, and ensuing visceral pathology. Using a new PCR-based method of quantification of parasites in tissues we describe a network-like set of interacting genetic loci that control parasite load in different organs. Quantification of Leishmania parasites in lymph nodes, spleen and liver from infected F2 hybrids between BALB/c and recombinant congenic strains CcS-9 and CcS-16 allowed us to map two novel parasite load controlling Leishmania major response loci, Lmr24 and Lmr27. We also detected parasite-controlling role of the previously described loci Lmr4, Lmr11, Lmr13, Lmr14, Lmr15, and Lmr25, and describe 8 genetic interactions between them. Lmr14, Lmr15, Lmr25, and Lmr27 controlled parasite load in liver and lymph nodes. In addition, Leishmania burden in lymph nodes but not liver was influenced by Lmr4 and Lmr24. In spleen, parasite load was controlled by Lmr11 and Lmr13. We detected a strong effect of sex on some of these genes. We also mapped additional genes controlling splenomegaly and hepatomegaly. This resulted in a systematized insight into genetic control of spread and load of Leishmania parasites and visceral pathology in the mammalian organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatyana Kobets
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia
| | - Marie Čepičková
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia
| | - Valeriya Volkova
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia
| | - Yahya Sohrabi
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia
| | - Helena Havelková
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia
| | | | - Peter Demant
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Marie Lipoldová
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia
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Liu F, Jiao Y, Jiao Y, Garcia-Godoy F, Gu W, Liu Q. Sex difference in EGFR pathways in mouse kidney-potential impact on the immune system. BMC Genet 2016; 17:146. [PMID: 27881077 PMCID: PMC5122204 DOI: 10.1186/s12863-016-0449-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2016] [Accepted: 10/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Epidermal growth factor receptor (Egfr) has been the target of several drugs for cancers. The potential gender differences in genes in the Egfr axis have been suggested in humans and in animal models. Female and male mice from the same recombinant inbred (RI) strain have the same genomic components except the sex difference. A population of different RI mouse strains allows to conduct precise analysis of molecular pathways and regulation of Egfr between female and male mice. Methods The whole genome expression profiles of 70 genetically diverse RI strains of mice were used to compare three major molecular aspects of Egfr gene: the relative expression levels, gene network and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) that regulate the expression of Egfr between female and male mice. Results Our data showed that there is a significant sex difference in the expression levels in kidney. A considerable number of genes in the gene network of Egfr are sex differentially expressed. The expression levels of Egfr in mice are statistical significant different between C57BL/6 J (B6) and DBA/2 J (D2) genotypes in male while no difference in female mice. The eQTLs that regulate the expression levels of Egfr between female and male mice are also different. Furthermore, the differential expression levels of Egfr showed significantly different correlations with two known biological traits between male and female mice. Conclusion Overall there is a substantial sex difference in the Egfr pathways in mice. These data may have significant impact on drug target design, development, formulation, and dosage determinant for women and men in clinical trials. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-016-0449-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengxia Liu
- The Fourth Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050011, China.,Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and BME-Campbell Clinic, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Yan Jiao
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and BME-Campbell Clinic, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Yun Jiao
- Department of Neuroscience, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Franklin Garcia-Godoy
- Bioscience Research Center, College of Dentistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 875 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Weikuan Gu
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and BME-Campbell Clinic, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA. .,Research Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1030 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis, TN, USA. .,, 956 Court Ave, Memphis, TN, 38163, USA.
| | - Qingyi Liu
- The Fourth Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050011, China.
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Slapničková M, Volkova V, Čepičková M, Kobets T, Šíma M, Svobodová M, Demant P, Lipoldová M. Gene-specific sex effects on eosinophil infiltration in leishmaniasis. Biol Sex Differ 2016; 7:59. [PMID: 27895891 PMCID: PMC5120444 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-016-0117-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2016] [Accepted: 11/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sex influences susceptibility to many infectious diseases, including some manifestations of leishmaniasis. The disease is caused by parasites that enter to the skin and can spread to the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, bone marrow, and sometimes lungs. Parasites induce host defenses including cell infiltration, leading to protective or ineffective inflammation. These responses are often influenced by host genotype and sex. We analyzed the role of sex in the impact of specific gene loci on eosinophil infiltration and its functional relevance. Methods We studied the genetic control of infiltration of eosinophils into the inguinal lymph nodes after 8 weeks of Leishmania major infection using mouse strains BALB/c, STS, and recombinant congenic strains CcS-1,-3,-4,-5,-7,-9,-11,-12,-15,-16,-18, and -20, each of which contains a different random set of 12.5% genes from the parental “donor” strain STS and 87.5% genes from the “background” strain BALB/c. Numbers of eosinophils were counted in hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections of the inguinal lymph nodes under a light microscope. Parasite load was determined using PCR-ELISA. Results The lymph nodes of resistant STS and susceptible BALB/c mice contained very low and intermediate numbers of eosinophils, respectively. Unexpectedly, eosinophil infiltration in strain CcS-9 exceeded that in BALB/c and STS and was higher in males than in females. We searched for genes controlling high eosinophil infiltration in CcS-9 mice by linkage analysis in F2 hybrids between BALB/c and CcS-9 and detected four loci controlling eosinophil numbers. Lmr14 (chromosome 2) and Lmr25 (chromosome 5) operate independently from other genes (main effects). Lmr14 functions only in males, the effect of Lmr25 is sex independent. Lmr15 (chromosome 11) and Lmr26 (chromosome 9) operate in cooperation (non-additive interaction) with each other. This interaction was significant in males only, but sex-marker interaction was not significant. Eosinophil infiltration was positively correlated with parasite load in lymph nodes of F2 hybrids in males, but not in females. Conclusions We demonstrated a strong influence of sex on numbers of eosinophils in the lymph nodes after L. major infection and present the first identification of sex-dependent autosomal loci controlling eosinophilic infiltration. The positive correlation between eosinophil infiltration and parasite load in males suggests that this sex-dependent eosinophilic infiltration reflects ineffective inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Slapničková
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Vídeňská 1083, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Valeriya Volkova
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Vídeňská 1083, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Marie Čepičková
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Vídeňská 1083, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tatyana Kobets
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Vídeňská 1083, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Matyáš Šíma
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Vídeňská 1083, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Milena Svobodová
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Peter Demant
- Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263 USA
| | - Marie Lipoldová
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Vídeňská 1083, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic
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Ashbrook DG, Gini B, Hager R. Genetic variation in offspring indirectly influences the quality of maternal behaviour in mice. eLife 2015; 4. [PMID: 26701914 PMCID: PMC4758942 DOI: 10.7554/elife.11814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Conflict over parental investment between parent and offspring is predicted to lead to selection on genes expressed in offspring for traits influencing maternal investment, and on parentally expressed genes affecting offspring behaviour. However, the specific genetic variants that indirectly modify maternal or offspring behaviour remain largely unknown. Using a cross-fostered population of mice, we map maternal behaviour in genetically uniform mothers as a function of genetic variation in offspring and identify loci on offspring chromosomes 5 and 7 that modify maternal behaviour. Conversely, we found that genetic variation among mothers influences offspring development, independent of offspring genotype. Offspring solicitation and maternal behaviour show signs of coadaptation as they are negatively correlated between mothers and their biological offspring, which may be linked to costs of increased solicitation on growth found in our study. Overall, our results show levels of parental provisioning and offspring solicitation are unique to specific genotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David George Ashbrook
- Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Beatrice Gini
- Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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Ashbrook DG, Williams RW, Lu L, Hager R. A cross-species genetic analysis identifies candidate genes for mouse anxiety and human bipolar disorder. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:171. [PMID: 26190982 PMCID: PMC4486840 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2015] [Accepted: 06/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a significant neuropsychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of ~1%. To identify genetic variants underlying BD genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been carried out. While many variants of small effect associated with BD have been identified few have yet been confirmed, partly because of the low power of GWAS due to multiple comparisons being made. Complementary mapping studies using murine models have identified genetic variants for behavioral traits linked to BD, often with high power, but these identified regions often contain too many genes for clear identification of candidate genes. In the current study we have aligned human BD GWAS results and mouse linkage studies to help define and evaluate candidate genes linked to BD, seeking to use the power of the mouse mapping with the precision of GWAS. We use quantitative trait mapping for open field test and elevated zero maze data in the largest mammalian model system, the BXD recombinant inbred mouse population, to identify genomic regions associated with these BD-like phenotypes. We then investigate these regions in whole genome data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium's bipolar disorder GWAS to identify candidate genes associated with BD. Finally we establish the biological relevance and pathways of these genes in a comprehensive systems genetics analysis. We identify four genes associated with both mouse anxiety and human BD. While TNR is a novel candidate for BD, we can confirm previously suggested associations with CMYA5, MCTP1, and RXRG. A cross-species, systems genetics analysis shows that MCTP1, RXRG, and TNR coexpress with genes linked to psychiatric disorders and identify the striatum as a potential site of action. CMYA5, MCTP1, RXRG, and TNR are associated with mouse anxiety and human BD. We hypothesize that MCTP1, RXRG, and TNR influence intercellular signaling in the striatum.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Ashbrook
- Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester Manchester, UK
| | - Robert W Williams
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, University of Tennessee Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Lu Lu
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, University of Tennessee Memphis, TN, USA ; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University Nantong, China
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester Manchester, UK
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