Increased Paternal Age at Conception Is Associated with Transcriptomic Changes Involved in Mitochondrial Function in Elderly Individuals

Autism spectrum disorder: pathogenesis, biomarker, and intervention therapy

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become a common neurodevelopmental disorder. The heterogeneity of ASD poses great challenges for its research and clinical translation. On the basis of reviewing the heterogeneity of ASD, this review systematically summarized the current status and progress of pathogenesis, diagnostic markers, and interventions for ASD. We provided an overview of the ASD molecular mechanisms identified by multi-omics studies and convergent mechanism in different genetic backgrounds. The comorbidities, mechanisms associated with important physiological and metabolic abnormalities (i.e., inflammation, immunity, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction), and gut microbial disorder in ASD were reviewed. The non-targeted omics and targeting studies of diagnostic markers for ASD were also reviewed. Moreover, we summarized the progress and methods of behavioral and educational interventions, intervention methods related to technological devices, and research on medical interventions and potential drug targets. This review highlighted the application of high-throughput omics methods in ASD research and emphasized the importance of seeking homogeneity from heterogeneity and exploring the convergence of disease mechanisms, biomarkers, and intervention approaches, and proposes that taking into account individuality and commonality may be the key to achieve accurate diagnosis and treatment of ASD.

Effect of advanced parental age on pregnancy outcome and offspring health

PURPOSE

Fertility at advanced age has become increasingly common, but the aging of parents may adversely affect the maturation of gametes and the development of embryos, and therefore the effects of aging are likely to be transmitted to the next generation. This article reviewed the studies in this field in recent years.

METHODS

We searched the relevant literature in recent years with the keywords of "advanced maternal/paternal age" combined with "adverse pregnancy outcome" or "birth defect" in the PubMed database and classified the effects of parental advanced age on pregnancy outcomes and birth defects. Related studies on the effect of advanced age on birth defects were classified as chromosomal abnormalities, neurological and psychiatric disorders, and other systemic diseases. The effect of assisted reproduction technology (ART) on fertility in advanced age was also discussed.

RESULTS

Differences in the definition of the range of advanced age and other confounding factors among studies were excluded, most studies believed that advanced parental age would affect pregnancy outcomes and birth defects in offspring.

CONCLUSION

To some extent, advanced parental age caused adverse pregnancy outcomes and birth defects. The occurrence of these results was related to the molecular genetic changes caused by aging, such as gene mutations, epigenetic variations, etc. Any etiology of adverse pregnancy outcomes and birth defects related to aging might be more than one. The detrimental effect of advanced age can be corrected to some extent by ART.

Transcriptome Analysis of Juvenile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Blood, Fed With Different Concentrations of Resveratrol

Oreochromis niloticus (genetically improved farmed tilapia, GIFT) often bites the root of Polygonum cuspidatum when it is used as a floating bed, and resveratrol (RES) is mainly accumulated in the root of P. cuspidatum. Blood acts as a pipeline for the fish immune system. Generating blood transcriptomic resources is crucial for understanding molecular mechanisms underlying blood immune responses. In this study, we determined the effects of RES administration on blood transcriptomic response in GIFT. With increasing RES concentration, 133 (0.025 vs. 0.05 g/kg RES), 155 (0.025 vs. 0.1 g/kg RES), and 123 (0.05 vs. 0.1 g/kg RES) genes were detected as significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Three and ninety-five shared significant DEGs were found to be enriched among the three (except 0.1 g/kg RES) and four groups (0, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 g/kg RES), respectively. To determine the relationship between mitochondrial regulation and RES supplementation, the results of RNA-Seq were analyzed and nine mitochondria-related genes (ATP synthase or mitochondrial-function-related genes) were verified. The results revealed the same expression pattern: cytochrome c isoform X2 (cox2), katanin p60 ATPase-containing subunit A1 isoform X1 (katna1), plasma membrane calcium-transporting ATPase 1-like (atp2b1) and GTP-binding protein A-like (gtpbpal) showed the highest expression in the 0.1 g/kg RES group, while NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] iron-sulfur protein 2 mitochondrial (nad7), ATP synthase subunit beta, mitochondrial (atpb), ATP synthase subunit alpha, mitochondrial-like (atpal), ATP synthase subunit alpha, mitochondrial (atpa) and ATP-dependent Clp protease proteolytic subunit, mitochondrial (clpp) revealed a dose-dependent expression following RES supplementation. Blood Ca²⁺-ATPase activity, and malondialdehyde, glutathione, and ATP content were significantly increased in the 0.05 (except Ca²⁺-ATPase activity), 0.1 g/kg RES group when compared with the controls. Eighty-nine shared DGEs were mainly enriched in antigen processing and presentation, cell adhesion molecules and phagosome pathways, based on the comparison between previous reported hepatic and the present blood transcriptome. Our study demonstrated that RES supplementation might improve the resistance to metabolism dysfunction via mitochondrial energy synthesis and/or the respiratory chain (e.g., ATPase).

Advanced Parental Age at Conception and Sex Affects Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number in Human and Fruit Flies

Aging is a multifactorial trait caused by early as well as late-life circumstances. A society trend that parents deliberately delay having children is of concern to health professionals, for example as advanced parental age at conception increases disease risk profiles in offspring. We here aim to study if advanced parental age at conception affects mitochondrial DNA content, a cross-species biomarker of general health, in adult human twin offspring and in a model organism. We find no deteriorated mitochondrial DNA content at advanced parental age at conception, but human mitochondrial DNA content was higher in females than males, and the difference was twofold higher at advanced maternal age at conception. Similar parental age effects and sex-specific differences in mitochondrial DNA content were found in Drosophila melanogaster. In addition, parental longevity in humans associates with both mitochondrial DNA content and parental age at conception; thus, we carefully propose that a poorer disease risk profile from advanced parental age at conception might be surpassed by superior effects of parental successful late-life reproduction that associate with parental longevity.

Mitochondrial function and abnormalities implicated in the pathogenesis of ASD

Mitochondria are the powerhouse that generate over 90% of the ATP produced in cells. In addition to its role in energy production, the mitochondrion also plays a major role in carbohydrate, fatty acid, amino acid and nucleotide metabolism, programmed cell death (apoptosis), generation of and protection against reactive oxygen species (ROS), immune response, regulation of intracellular calcium ion levels and even maintenance of gut microbiota. With its essential role in bio-energetic as well as non-energetic biological processes, it is not surprising that proper cellular, tissue and organ function is dependent upon proper mitochondrial function. Accordingly, mitochondrial dysfunction has been shown to be directly linked to a variety of medical disorders, particularly neuromuscular disorders and increasing evidence has linked mitochondrial dysfunction to neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD), Rett Syndrome (RS) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Over the last 40 years there has been a dramatic increase in the diagnosis of ASD and, more recently, an increasing body of evidence indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in ASD development. In this review, the latest evidence linking mitochondrial dysfunction and abnormalities in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to the pathogenesis of autism will be presented. This review will also summarize the results of several recent `approaches used for improving mitochondrial function that may lead to new therapeutic approaches to managing and/or treating ASD.