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Kim IB, Kim MH, Jung S, Kim WK, Lee J, Ju YS, Webster MJ, Kim S, Kim JH, Kim HJ, Kim J, Kim S, Lee JH. Low-level brain somatic mutations in exonic regions are collectively implicated in autism with germline mutations in autism risk genes. Exp Mol Med 2024:10.1038/s12276-024-01284-1. [PMID: 39085355 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-024-01284-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Low-level somatic mutations in the human brain are implicated in various neurological disorders. The contribution of low-level brain somatic mutations to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, remains poorly understood. Here, we performed high-depth exome sequencing with an average read depth of 559.3x in 181 cortical, cerebellar, and peripheral tissue samples to identify brain somatic single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in 24 ASD subjects and 31 controls. We detected ~2.4 brain somatic SNVs per exome per single brain region, with a variant allele frequency (VAF) as low as 0.3%. The mutational profiles, including the number, signature, and type, were not significantly different between the ASD patients and controls. Intriguingly, when considering genes with low-level brain somatic SNVs and ASD risk genes with damaging germline SNVs together, the merged set of genes carrying either somatic or germline SNVs in ASD patients was significantly involved in ASD-associated pathophysiology, including dendrite spine morphogenesis (p = 0.025), mental retardation (p = 0.012), and intrauterine growth retardation (p = 0.012). Additionally, the merged gene set showed ASD-associated spatiotemporal expression in the early and mid-fetal cortex, striatum, and thalamus (all p < 0.05). Patients with damaging mutations in the merged gene set had a greater ASD risk than did controls (odds ratio = 3.92, p = 0.025, 95% confidence interval = 1.12-14.79). The findings of this study suggest that brain somatic SNVs and germline SNVs may collectively contribute to ASD-associated pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Il Bin Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, CHA Gangnam Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seoul, 06135, Republic of Korea
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Myeong-Heui Kim
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Saehoon Jung
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Woo Kyeong Kim
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Junehawk Lee
- Center for Supercomputing Applications, Division of National Supercomputing, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Seok Ju
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Maree J Webster
- Stanley Medical Research Institute, Laboratory of Brain Research, 9800 Medical Center Drive, Suite C-050, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Sanghyeon Kim
- Stanley Medical Research Institute, Laboratory of Brain Research, 9800 Medical Center Drive, Suite C-050, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
| | - Ja Hye Kim
- Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Jung Kim
- Department of Anatomy, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Junho Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea.
| | - Sangwoo Kim
- Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics and Brain Korea 21 PLUS for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea.
| | - Jeong Ho Lee
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
- SoVarGen, SoVarGen, Inc., Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
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2
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Wang L, Xu M, Wang Y, Wang F, Deng J, Wang X, Zhao Y, Liao A, Yang F, Wang S, Li Y. Melatonin improves synapse development by PI3K/Akt signaling in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder. Neural Regen Res 2024; 19:1618-1624. [PMID: 38051907 PMCID: PMC10883500 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.387973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
JOURNAL/nrgr/04.03/01300535-202407000-00043/figure1/v/2023-11-20T171125Z/r/image-tiff
Autism spectrum disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders involving more than 1100 genes, including Ctnnd2 as a candidate gene. Ctnnd2 knockout mice, serving as an animal model of autism, have been demonstrated to exhibit decreased density of dendritic spines. The role of melatonin, as a neurohormone capable of effectively alleviating social interaction deficits and regulating the development of dendritic spines, in Ctnnd2 deletion-induced nerve injury remains unclear. In the present study, we discovered that the deletion of exon 2 of the Ctnnd2 gene was linked to social interaction deficits, spine loss, impaired inhibitory neurons, and suppressed phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signal pathway in the prefrontal cortex. Our findings demonstrated that the long-term oral administration of melatonin for 28 days effectively alleviated the aforementioned abnormalities in Ctnnd2 gene-knockout mice. Furthermore, the administration of melatonin in the prefrontal cortex was found to improve synaptic function and activate the PI3K/Akt signal pathway in this region. The pharmacological blockade of the PI3K/Akt signal pathway with a PI3K/Akt inhibitor, wortmannin, and melatonin receptor antagonists, luzindole and 4-phenyl-2-propionamidotetralin, prevented the melatonin-induced enhancement of GABAergic synaptic function. These findings suggest that melatonin treatment can ameliorate GABAergic synaptic function by activating the PI3K/Akt signal pathway, which may contribute to the improvement of dendritic spine abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luyi Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Man Xu
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Pediatric, Chongqing University Fuling Hospital, Chongqing, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Feifei Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jing Deng
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaoya Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Yu Zhao
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ailing Liao
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Reproductive Health, Chongqing Population and Family Planning Science and Technology Research Institute, Chongqing, China
| | - Feng Yang
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Shali Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yingbo Li
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
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Thomson AR, Pasanta D, Arichi T, Puts NA. Neurometabolite differences in Autism as assessed with Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 162:105728. [PMID: 38796123 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105728] [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: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024]
Abstract
1H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) is a non-invasive technique that can be used to quantify the concentrations of metabolites in the brain in vivo. MRS findings in the context of autism are inconsistent and conflicting. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of MRS studies measuring glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), as well as brain metabolites involved in energy metabolism (glutamine, creatine), neural and glial integrity (e.g. n-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline, myo-inositol) and oxidative stress (glutathione) in autism cohorts. Data were extracted and grouped by metabolite, brain region and several other factors before calculation of standardised effect sizes. Overall, we find significantly lower concentrations of GABA and NAA in autism, indicative of disruptions to the balance between excitation/inhibition within brain circuits, as well as neural integrity. Further analysis found these alterations are most pronounced in autistic children and in limbic brain regions relevant to autism phenotypes. Additionally, we show how study outcome varies due to demographic and methodological factors , emphasising the importance of conforming with standardised consensus study designs and transparent reporting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice R Thomson
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King's College London, UK; MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, UK; Centre for the Developing Brain, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Duanghathai Pasanta
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King's College London, UK
| | - Tomoki Arichi
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, UK; Centre for the Developing Brain, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Nicolaas A Puts
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King's College London, UK; MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, UK.
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4
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Nagai Y, Kirino E, Tanaka S, Usui C, Inami R, Inoue R, Hattori A, Uchida W, Kamagata K, Aoki S. Functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder evaluated using rs-fMRI and DKI. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:129-145. [PMID: 38012112 PMCID: PMC11065111 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad451] [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: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We evaluated functional connectivity (FC) in patients with adult autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI). We acquired rs-fMRI data from 33 individuals with ASD and 33 healthy controls (HC) and DKI data from 18 individuals with ASD and 17 HC. ASD showed attenuated FC between the right frontal pole (FP) and the bilateral temporal fusiform cortex (TFusC) and enhanced FC between the right thalamus and the bilateral inferior division of lateral occipital cortex, and between the cerebellar vermis and the right occipital fusiform gyrus (OFusG) and the right lingual gyrus, compared with HC. ASD demonstrated increased axial kurtosis (AK) and mean kurtosis (MK) in white matter (WM) tracts, including the right anterior corona radiata (ACR), forceps minor (FM), and right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). In ASD, there was also a significant negative correlation between MK and FC between the cerebellar vermis and the right OFusG in the corpus callosum, FM, right SLF and right ACR. Increased DKI metrics might represent neuroinflammation, increased complexity, or disrupted WM tissue integrity that alters long-distance connectivity. Nonetheless, protective or compensating adaptations of inflammation might lead to more abundant glial cells and cytokine activation effectively alleviating the degeneration of neurons, resulting in increased complexity. FC abnormality in ASD observed in rs-fMRI may be attributed to microstructural alterations of the commissural and long-range association tracts in WM as indicated by DKI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhito Nagai
- Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
| | - Eiji Kirino
- Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University Shizuoka Hospital, 1129 Nagaoka Izunokuni-shi Shizuoka 410-2295, Japan
- Juntendo Institute of Mental Health, 700-1 Fukuroyama Koshigaya-shi Saitama 343-0032, Japan
| | - Shoji Tanaka
- Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Sophia University, 7-1 Kioi-cho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 102-8554, Japan
| | - Chie Usui
- Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
| | - Rie Inami
- Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
| | - Reiichi Inoue
- Juntendo Institute of Mental Health, 700-1 Fukuroyama Koshigaya-shi Saitama 343-0032, Japan
| | - Aki Hattori
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
| | - Wataru Uchida
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
| | - Koji Kamagata
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
| | - Shigeki Aoki
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
- Faculty of Health Data Science, Juntendo University, 6-8-1 Hinode Urayasu-shi Chiba 279-0013, Japan
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Vakilzadeh G, Maseko BC, Bartely TD, McLennan YA, Martínez-Cerdeño V. Increased number of excitatory synapsis and decreased number of inhibitory synapsis in the prefrontal cortex in autism. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:121-128. [PMID: 38696601 PMCID: PMC11065106 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad268] [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: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous studies in autism spectrum disorder demonstrated an increased number of excitatory pyramidal cells and a decreased number of inhibitory parvalbumin+ chandelier interneurons in the prefrontal cortex of postmortem brains. How these changes in cellular composition affect the overall abundance of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the cortex is not known. Herein, we quantified the number of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the prefrontal cortex of 10 postmortem autism spectrum disorder brains and 10 control cases. To identify excitatory synapses, we used VGlut1 as a marker of the presynaptic component and postsynaptic density protein-95 as marker of the postsynaptic component. To identify inhibitory synapses, we used the vesicular gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter as a marker of the presynaptic component and gephyrin as a marker of the postsynaptic component. We used Puncta Analyzer to quantify the number of co-localized pre- and postsynaptic synaptic components in each area of interest. We found an increase in the number of excitatory synapses in upper cortical layers and a decrease in inhibitory synapses in all cortical layers in autism spectrum disorder brains compared with control cases. The alteration in the number of excitatory and inhibitory synapses could lead to neuronal dysfunction and disturbed network connectivity in the prefrontal cortex in autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gelareh Vakilzadeh
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
- Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children, Sacramento, CA, United States
| | - Busisiwe C Maseko
- Faculty of health Sciences, School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, The Republic of South Africa
| | - Trevor D Bartely
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
- Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children, Sacramento, CA, United States
| | - Yingratana A McLennan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
- Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children, Sacramento, CA, United States
| | - Verónica Martínez-Cerdeño
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
- Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children, Sacramento, CA, United States
- MIND Institute, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
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6
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Newman BT, Jacokes Z, Venkadesh S, Webb SJ, Kleinhans NM, McPartland JC, Druzgal TJ, Pelphrey KA, Van Horn JD. Conduction velocity, G-ratio, and extracellular water as microstructural characteristics of autism spectrum disorder. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301964. [PMID: 38630783 PMCID: PMC11023574 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The neuronal differences contributing to the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are still not well defined. Previous studies have suggested that myelin and axons are disrupted during development in ASD. By combining structural and diffusion MRI techniques, myelin and axons can be assessed using extracellular water, aggregate g-ratio, and a new approach to calculating axonal conduction velocity termed aggregate conduction velocity, which is related to the capacity of the axon to carry information. In this study, several innovative cellular microstructural methods, as measured from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are combined to characterize differences between ASD and typically developing adolescent participants in a large cohort. We first examine the relationship between each metric, including microstructural measurements of axonal and intracellular diffusion and the T1w/T2w ratio. We then demonstrate the sensitivity of these metrics by characterizing differences between ASD and neurotypical participants, finding widespread increases in extracellular water in the cortex and decreases in aggregate g-ratio and aggregate conduction velocity throughout the cortex, subcortex, and white matter skeleton. We finally provide evidence that these microstructural differences are associated with higher scores on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) a commonly used diagnostic tool to assess ASD. This study is the first to reveal that ASD involves MRI-measurable in vivo differences of myelin and axonal development with implications for neuronal and behavioral function. We also introduce a novel formulation for calculating aggregate conduction velocity, that is highly sensitive to these changes. We conclude that ASD may be characterized by otherwise intact structural connectivity but that functional connectivity may be attenuated by network properties affecting neural transmission speed. This effect may explain the putative reliance on local connectivity in contrast to more distal connectivity observed in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin T. Newman
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Zachary Jacokes
- School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Elson Building, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Siva Venkadesh
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Sara J. Webb
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of Washington, Seattle WA, United States of America
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle WA, United States of America
| | - Natalia M. Kleinhans
- Department of Radiology, Integrated Brain Imaging Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - James C. McPartland
- Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - T. Jason Druzgal
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Kevin A. Pelphrey
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - John Darrell Van Horn
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
- School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Elson Building, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
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Cano-Astorga N, Plaza-Alonso S, Turegano-Lopez M, Rodrigo-Rodríguez J, Merchan-Perez A, DeFelipe J. Unambiguous identification of asymmetric and symmetric synapses using volume electron microscopy. Front Neuroanat 2024; 18:1348032. [PMID: 38645671 PMCID: PMC11026665 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2024.1348032] [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: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The brain contains thousands of millions of synapses, exhibiting diverse structural, molecular, and functional characteristics. However, synapses can be classified into two primary morphological types: Gray's type I and type II, corresponding to Colonnier's asymmetric (AS) and symmetric (SS) synapses, respectively. AS and SS have a thick and thin postsynaptic density, respectively. In the cerebral cortex, since most AS are excitatory (glutamatergic), and SS are inhibitory (GABAergic), determining the distribution, size, density, and proportion of the two major cortical types of synapses is critical, not only to better understand synaptic organization in terms of connectivity, but also from a functional perspective. However, several technical challenges complicate the study of synapses. Potassium ferrocyanide has been utilized in recent volume electron microscope studies to enhance electron density in cellular membranes. However, identifying synaptic junctions, especially SS, becomes more challenging as the postsynaptic densities become thinner with increasing concentrations of potassium ferrocyanide. Here we describe a protocol employing Focused Ion Beam Milling and Scanning Electron Microscopy for studying brain tissue. The focus is on the unequivocal identification of AS and SS types. To validate SS observed using this protocol as GABAergic, experiments with immunocytochemistry for the vesicular GABA transporter were conducted on fixed mouse brain tissue sections. This material was processed with different concentrations of potassium ferrocyanide, aiming to determine its optimal concentration. We demonstrate that using a low concentration of potassium ferrocyanide (0.1%) improves membrane visualization while allowing unequivocal identification of synapses as AS or SS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolás Cano-Astorga
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- PhD Program in Neuroscience, Autonoma de Madrid University-Cajal Institute, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Plaza-Alonso
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Turegano-Lopez
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - José Rodrigo-Rodríguez
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Angel Merchan-Perez
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Arquitectura y Tecnología de Sistemas Informáticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
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8
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Newman BT, Jacokes Z, Venkadesh S, Webb SJ, Kleinhans NM, McPartland JC, Druzgal TJ, Pelphrey KA, Van Horn JD. Conduction Velocity, G-ratio, and Extracellular Water as Microstructural Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.23.550166. [PMID: 37546913 PMCID: PMC10402058 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.23.550166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
The neuronal differences contributing to the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are still not well defined. Previous studies have suggested that myelin and axons are disrupted during development in ASD. By combining structural and diffusion MRI techniques, myelin and axons can be assessed using extracellular water, aggregate g-ratio, and a novel metric termed aggregate conduction velocity, which is related to the capacity of the axon to carry information. In this study, several innovative cellular microstructural methods, as measured from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are combined to characterize differences between ASD and typically developing adolescent participants in a large cohort. We first examine the relationship between each metric, including microstructural measurements of axonal and intracellular diffusion and the T1w/T2w ratio. We then demonstrate the sensitivity of these metrics by characterizing differences between ASD and neurotypical participants, finding widespread increases in extracellular water in the cortex and decreases in aggregate g-ratio and aggregate conduction velocity throughout the cortex, subcortex, and white matter skeleton. We finally provide evidence that these microstructural differences are associated with higher scores on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) a commonly used diagnostic tool to assess ASD. This study is the first to reveal that ASD involves MRI-measurable in vivo differences of myelin and axonal development with implications for neuronal and behavioral function. We also introduce a novel neuroimaging metric, aggregate conduction velocity, that is highly sensitive to these changes. We conclude that ASD may be characterized by otherwise intact structural connectivity but that functional connectivity may be attenuated by network properties affecting neural transmission speed. This effect may explain the putative reliance on local connectivity in contrast to more distal connectivity observed in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin T. Newman
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, 560 Ray Hunt Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - Zachary Jacokes
- School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Elson Building, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - Siva Venkadesh
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - Sara J. Webb
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of Washington, Seattle WA USA 98195
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, 1920 Terry Ave, Building Cure-03, Seattle WA 98101
| | - Natalia M. Kleinhans
- Department of Radiology, Integrated Brain Imaging Center, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St Seattle, WA 98195
| | - James C. McPartland
- Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520
- Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, 40 Temple Street, Suite 6A, New Haven, CT, 06520
| | - T. Jason Druzgal
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, 560 Ray Hunt Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - Kevin A. Pelphrey
- UVA School of Medicine, University of Virginia, 560 Ray Hunt Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
| | - John Darrell Van Horn
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903
- School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Elson Building, Charlottesville, VA 22903
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9
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Cho CH, Deyneko IV, Cordova-Martinez D, Vazquez J, Maguire AS, Diaz JR, Carbonell AU, Tindi JO, Cui MH, Fleysher R, Molholm S, Lipton ML, Branch CA, Hodgson L, Jordan BA. ANKS1B encoded AIDA-1 regulates social behaviors by controlling oligodendrocyte function. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8499. [PMID: 38129387 PMCID: PMC10739966 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43438-1] [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: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterozygous deletions in the ANKS1B gene cause ANKS1B neurodevelopmental syndrome (ANDS), a rare genetic disease characterized by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and speech and motor deficits. The ANKS1B gene encodes for AIDA-1, a protein that is enriched at neuronal synapses and regulates synaptic plasticity. Here we report an unexpected role for oligodendroglial deficits in ANDS pathophysiology. We show that Anks1b-deficient mouse models display deficits in oligodendrocyte maturation, myelination, and Rac1 function, and recapitulate white matter abnormalities observed in ANDS patients. Selective loss of Anks1b from the oligodendrocyte lineage, but not from neuronal populations, leads to deficits in social preference and sensory reactivity previously observed in a brain-wide Anks1b haploinsufficiency model. Furthermore, we find that clemastine, an antihistamine shown to increase oligodendrocyte precursor cell maturation and central nervous system myelination, rescues deficits in social preference in 7-month-old Anks1b-deficient mice. Our work shows that deficits in social behaviors present in ANDS may originate from abnormal Rac1 activity within oligodendrocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Hoon Cho
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Human Pathobiology and OMNI Reverse Translation, Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ilana Vasilisa Deyneko
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Dylann Cordova-Martinez
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Juan Vazquez
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Anne S Maguire
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Jenny R Diaz
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Abigail U Carbonell
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Jaafar O Tindi
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Min-Hui Cui
- Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Roman Fleysher
- Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Sophie Molholm
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Michael L Lipton
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Craig A Branch
- Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Louis Hodgson
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Bryen A Jordan
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
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10
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Trivedi P, Pandey M, Kumar Rai P, Singh P, Srivastava P. A meta-analysis of differentially expressed and regulatory genes with their functional enrichment analysis for brain transcriptome data in autism spectrum disorder. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:9382-9388. [PMID: 36376022 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2143900] [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: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent challenges in social interactions and repetitive behavioral patterns. It is a significant problem emerging worldwide, as one in 100 children is affected by this disorder globally. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed for the identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) along with the expression analysis of regulatory genes. Functional enrichment analysis was an integral part of current findings to notify the significant pathways of this complex disorder. The study was conducted with two RNA-Seq datasets, viz., GSE64018 and GSE62098, for ASD patients and control samples from the GEO database. The identification of up-regulatory and down-regulatory genes was performed by the interaction analysis of transcription factors (TF) and DEGs. As an outcome of the meta-analysis, 2543 DEGs were identified as common across both of the datasets in which 1402 DEGs exhibited upregulation and 1130 genes have shown downregulation. In network analysis, upregulatory genes have shown strong interaction while downregulatory genes exhibit weak or null interaction. Further, in the enrichment analysis of screened upregulatory DEGs, three major significant pathways were identified namely the ATP synthesis pathway, FAS signaling pathway, and the Huntington's disease pathway. The common expression of CYC 1 gene in all the identified pathways has indicated that it is an important key regulator gene for the majorly associated pathways. The study concludes that all the potential DEGs were found to show their related high expression in neurobiological regulations specifically with ASD.Communicated by Ramaswamy S. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Payal Trivedi
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Lucknow, UP, India
| | - Manmohan Pandey
- Clinical Department, Redcliffe Lifetech Private Limited, Lucknow, UP, India
| | - Pankaj Kumar Rai
- Department of Biotechnology, Invertis University, Bareilly, UP, India
| | - Pradyumn Singh
- Department of Pathology, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, UP, India
| | - Prachi Srivastava
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Lucknow, UP, India
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11
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Raven EP, Veraart J, Kievit RA, Genc S, Ward IL, Hall J, Cunningham A, Doherty J, van den Bree MBM, Jones DK. In vivo evidence of microstructural hypo-connectivity of brain white matter in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:4342-4352. [PMID: 37495890 PMCID: PMC7615578 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02178-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
22q11.2 deletion syndrome, or 22q11.2DS, is a genetic syndrome associated with high rates of schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders, in addition to widespread structural and functional abnormalities throughout the brain. Experimental animal models have identified neuronal connectivity deficits, e.g., decreased axonal length and complexity of axonal branching, as a primary mechanism underlying atypical brain development in 22q11.2DS. However, it is still unclear whether deficits in axonal morphology can also be observed in people with 22q11.2DS. Here, we provide an unparalleled in vivo characterization of white matter microstructure in participants with 22q11.2DS (12-15 years) and those undergoing typical development (8-18 years) using a customized magnetic resonance imaging scanner which is sensitive to axonal morphology. A rich array of diffusion MRI metrics are extracted to present microstructural profiles of typical and atypical white matter development, and provide new evidence of connectivity differences in individuals with 22q11.2DS. A recent, large-scale consortium study of 22q11.2DS identified higher diffusion anisotropy and reduced overall diffusion mobility of water as hallmark microstructural alterations of white matter in individuals across a wide age range (6-52 years). We observed similar findings across the white matter tracts included in this study, in addition to identifying deficits in axonal morphology. This, in combination with reduced tract volume measurements, supports the hypothesis that abnormal microstructural connectivity in 22q11.2DS may be mediated by densely packed axons with disproportionately small diameters. Our findings provide insight into the in vivo white matter phenotype of 22q11.2DS, and promote the continued investigation of shared features in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika P Raven
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Jelle Veraart
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rogier A Kievit
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Sila Genc
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Neuroscience Advanced Clinical Imaging Service (NACIS), Department of Neurosurgery, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Isobel L Ward
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Jessica Hall
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Adam Cunningham
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Joanne Doherty
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Marianne B M van den Bree
- Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Derek K Jones
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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12
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Lee HM, Hong SJ, Gill R, Caldairou B, Wang I, Zhang JG, Deleo F, Schrader D, Bartolomei F, Guye M, Cho KH, Barba C, Sisodiya S, Jackson G, Hogan RE, Wong-Kisiel L, Cascino GD, Schulze-Bonhage A, Lopes-Cendes I, Cendes F, Guerrini R, Bernhardt B, Bernasconi N, Bernasconi A. Multimodal mapping of regional brain vulnerability to focal cortical dysplasia. Brain 2023; 146:3404-3415. [PMID: 36852571 PMCID: PMC10393418 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) type II is a highly epileptogenic developmental malformation and a common cause of surgically treated drug-resistant epilepsy. While clinical observations suggest frequent occurrence in the frontal lobe, mechanisms for such propensity remain unexplored. Here, we hypothesized that cortex-wide spatial associations of FCD distribution with cortical cytoarchitecture, gene expression and organizational axes may offer complementary insights into processes that predispose given cortical regions to harbour FCD. We mapped the cortex-wide MRI distribution of FCDs in 337 patients collected from 13 sites worldwide. We then determined its associations with (i) cytoarchitectural features using histological atlases by Von Economo and Koskinas and BigBrain; (ii) whole-brain gene expression and spatiotemporal dynamics from prenatal to adulthood stages using the Allen Human Brain Atlas and PsychENCODE BrainSpan; and (iii) macroscale developmental axes of cortical organization. FCD lesions were preferentially located in the prefrontal and fronto-limbic cortices typified by low neuron density, large soma and thick grey matter. Transcriptomic associations with FCD distribution uncovered a prenatal component related to neuroglial proliferation and differentiation, likely accounting for the dysplastic makeup, and a postnatal component related to synaptogenesis and circuit organization, possibly contributing to circuit-level hyperexcitability. FCD distribution showed a strong association with the anterior region of the antero-posterior axis derived from heritability analysis of interregional structural covariance of cortical thickness, but not with structural and functional hierarchical axes. Reliability of all results was confirmed through resampling techniques. Multimodal associations with cytoarchitecture, gene expression and axes of cortical organization indicate that prenatal neurogenesis and postnatal synaptogenesis may be key points of developmental vulnerability of the frontal lobe to FCD. Concordant with a causal role of atypical neuroglial proliferation and growth, our results indicate that FCD-vulnerable cortices display properties indicative of earlier termination of neurogenesis and initiation of cell growth. They also suggest a potential contribution of aberrant postnatal synaptogenesis and circuit development to FCD epileptogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyo M Lee
- Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Seok-Jun Hong
- Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging, Research Institute for Basic Science, Department of Global Biomedical Engineering, SungKyunKwan University, Suwon, KoreaSuwon, Korea
| | - Ravnoor Gill
- Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Benoit Caldairou
- Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Irene Wang
- Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Jian-guo Zhang
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Francesco Deleo
- Epilepsy Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Dewi Schrader
- Department of Pediatrics, British Columbia Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Fabrice Bartolomei
- Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, INS, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, 13005, France
| | - Maxime Guye
- Aix Marseille University, CNRS, CRMBM UMR 7339, Marseille, France
| | - Kyoo Ho Cho
- Department of Neurology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Carmen Barba
- Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS, Florence, Italy
- University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Sanjay Sisodiya
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Graeme Jackson
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - R Edward Hogan
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | | | | | | | - Iscia Lopes-Cendes
- Department of Translational Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (BRAINN), Campinas SP, Brazil
| | - Fernando Cendes
- Department of Neurology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and the Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (BRAINN), Campinas SP, Brazil
| | - Renzo Guerrini
- Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS, Florence, Italy
- University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Boris Bernhardt
- Multimodal Imaging and Connectome Analysis Lab, McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Neda Bernasconi
- Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Andrea Bernasconi
- Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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13
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Melillo R, Leisman G, Machado C, Machado-Ferrer Y, Chinchilla-Acosta M, Melillo T, Carmeli E. The Relationship between Retained Primitive Reflexes and Hemispheric Connectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1147. [PMID: 37626503 PMCID: PMC10452103 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13081147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be identified by a general tendency toward a reduction in the expression of low-band, widely dispersed integrative activities, which is made up for by an increase in localized, high-frequency, regionally dispersed activity. The study assessed ASD children and adults all possessing retained primitive reflexes (RPRs) compared with a control group that did not attempt to reduce or remove those RPRs and then examined the effects on qEEG and brain network connectivity. METHODS Analysis of qEEG spectral and functional connectivity was performed, to identify associations with the presence or absence of retained primitive reflexes (RPRs), before and after an intervention based on TENS unilateral stimulation. RESULTS The results point to abnormal lateralization in ASD, including long-range underconnectivity, a greater left-over-right qEEG functional connectivity ratio, and short-range overconnectivity in ASD. CONCLUSIONS Clinical improvement and the absence of RPRs may be linked to variations in qEEG frequency bands and more optimized brain networks, resulting in more developmentally appropriate long-range connectivity links, primarily in the right hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Melillo
- Movement and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
| | - Gerry Leisman
- Movement and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
- Department of Neurology, University of the Medical Sciences of Havana, Havana 10400, Cuba
| | - Calixto Machado
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Havana 10400, Cuba
| | - Yanin Machado-Ferrer
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Havana 10400, Cuba
| | | | - Ty Melillo
- Northeast College of the Health Sciences, Seneca Falls, New York, NY 13148, USA
| | - Eli Carmeli
- Movement and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
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14
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Oya M, Matsuoka K, Kubota M, Fujino J, Tei S, Takahata K, Tagai K, Yamamoto Y, Shimada H, Seki C, Itahashi T, Aoki YY, Ohta H, Hashimoto RI, Sugihara G, Obata T, Zhang MR, Suhara T, Nakamura M, Kato N, Takado Y, Takahashi H, Higuchi M. Increased glutamate and glutamine levels and their relationship to astrocytes and dopaminergic transmissions in the brains of adults with autism. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11655. [PMID: 37468523 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38306-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Increased excitatory neuronal tones have been implicated in autism, but its mechanism remains elusive. The amplified glutamate signals may arise from enhanced glutamatergic circuits, which can be affected by astrocyte activation and suppressive signaling of dopamine neurotransmission. We tested this hypothesis using magnetic resonance spectroscopy and positron emission tomography scan with 11C-SCH23390 for dopamine D1 receptors in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). We enrolled 18 male adults with high-functioning autism and 20 typically developed (TD) male subjects. The autism group showed elevated glutamate, glutamine, and myo-inositol (mI) levels compared with the TD group (p = 0.045, p = 0.044, p = 0.030, respectively) and a positive correlation between glutamine and mI levels in the ACC (r = 0.54, p = 0.020). In autism and TD groups, ACC D1 receptor radioligand binding was negatively correlated with ACC glutamine levels (r = - 0.55, p = 0.022; r = - 0.58, p = 0.008, respectively). The enhanced glutamate-glutamine metabolism might be due to astroglial activation and the consequent reinforcement of glutamine synthesis in autistic brains. Glutamine synthesis could underly the physiological inhibitory control of dopaminergic D1 receptor signals. Our findings suggest a high neuron excitation-inhibition ratio with astrocytic activation in the etiology of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Oya
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kiwamu Matsuoka
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
- Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University, Kashihara-shi, Nara, Japan.
| | - Manabu Kubota
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junya Fujino
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shisei Tei
- Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Institute of Applied Brain Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama, Japan
- School of Human and Social Sciences, Tokyo International University, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama, Japan
| | - Keisuke Takahata
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kenji Tagai
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Yasuharu Yamamoto
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Shimada
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Center for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata-shi, Niigata, Japan
| | - Chie Seki
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Takashi Itahashi
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuta Y Aoki
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruhisa Ohta
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryu-Ichiro Hashimoto
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Genichi Sugihara
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takayuki Obata
- Department of Molecular Imaging and Theranostics, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan
| | - Ming-Rong Zhang
- Department of Advanced Nuclear Medicine Sciences, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Suhara
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Motoaki Nakamura
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Kanagawa Psychiatric Center, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Nobumasa Kato
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuhei Takado
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Takahashi
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Center for Brain Integration Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Makoto Higuchi
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
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15
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Sancha-Velasco A, Uceda-Heras A, García-Cabezas MÁ. Cortical type: a conceptual tool for meaningful biological interpretation of high-throughput gene expression data in the human cerebral cortex. Front Neuroanat 2023; 17:1187280. [PMID: 37426901 PMCID: PMC10323436 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2023.1187280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The interpretation of massive high-throughput gene expression data requires computational and biological analyses to identify statistically and biologically significant differences, respectively. There are abundant sources that describe computational tools for statistical analysis of massive gene expression data but few address data analysis for biological significance. In the present article we exemplify the importance of selecting the proper biological context in the human brain for gene expression data analysis and interpretation. For this purpose, we use cortical type as conceptual tool to make predictions about gene expression in areas of the human temporal cortex. We predict that the expression of genes related to glutamatergic transmission would be higher in areas of simpler cortical type, the expression of genes related to GABAergic transmission would be higher in areas of more complex cortical type, and the expression of genes related to epigenetic regulation would be higher in areas of simpler cortical type. Then, we test these predictions with gene expression data from several regions of the human temporal cortex obtained from the Allen Human Brain Atlas. We find that the expression of several genes shows statistically significant differences in agreement with the predicted gradual expression along the laminar complexity gradient of the human cortex, suggesting that simpler cortical types may have greater glutamatergic excitability and epigenetic turnover compared to more complex types; on the other hand, complex cortical types seem to have greater GABAergic inhibitory control compared to simpler types. Our results show that cortical type is a good predictor of synaptic plasticity, epigenetic turnover, and selective vulnerability in human cortical areas. Thus, cortical type can provide a meaningful context for interpreting high-throughput gene expression data in the human cerebral cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariadna Sancha-Velasco
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Master Program in Neuroscience, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alicia Uceda-Heras
- Master Program in Neuroscience, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience UAM-Cajal, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel García-Cabezas
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Master Program in Neuroscience, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience UAM-Cajal, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Neural Systems Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
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16
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A critical role of brain network architecture in a continuum model of autism spectrum disorders spanning from healthy individuals with genetic liability to individuals with ASD. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:1210-1218. [PMID: 36575304 PMCID: PMC10005951 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01916-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Studies have shown cortical alterations in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as well as in individuals with high polygenic risk for ASD. An important addition to the study of altered cortical anatomy is the investigation of the underlying brain network architecture that may reveal brain-wide mechanisms in ASD and in polygenic risk for ASD. Such an approach has been proven useful in other psychiatric disorders by revealing that brain network architecture shapes (to an extent) the disorder-related cortical alterations. This study uses data from a clinical dataset-560 male subjects (266 individuals with ASD and 294 healthy individuals, CTL, mean age at 17.2 years) from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange database, and data of 391 healthy individuals (207 males, mean age at 12.1 years) from the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition and Genetics database. ASD-related cortical alterations (group difference, ASD-CTL, in cortical thickness) and cortical correlates of polygenic risk for ASD were assessed, and then statistically compared with structural connectome-based network measures (such as hubs) using spin permutation tests. Next, we investigated whether polygenic risk for ASD could be predicted by network architecture by building machine-learning based prediction models, and whether the top predictors of the model were identified as disease epicenters of ASD. We observed that ASD-related cortical alterations as well as cortical correlates of polygenic risk for ASD implicated cortical hubs more strongly than non-hub regions. We also observed that age progression of ASD-related cortical alterations and cortical correlates of polygenic risk for ASD implicated cortical hubs more strongly than non-hub regions. Further investigation revealed that structural connectomes predicted polygenic risk for ASD (r = 0.30, p < 0.0001), and two brain regions (the left inferior parietal and left suparmarginal) with top predictive connections were identified as disease epicenters of ASD. Our study highlights a critical role of network architecture in a continuum model of ASD spanning from healthy individuals with genetic risk to individuals with ASD. Our study also highlights the strength of investigating polygenic risk scores in addition to multi-modal neuroimaging measures to better understand the interplay between genetic risk and brain alterations associated with ASD.
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17
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Ritchie FD, Lizarraga SB. The role of histone methyltransferases in neurocognitive disorders associated with brain size abnormalities. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:989109. [PMID: 36845425 PMCID: PMC9950662 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.989109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain size is controlled by several factors during neuronal development, including neural progenitor proliferation, neuronal arborization, gliogenesis, cell death, and synaptogenesis. Multiple neurodevelopmental disorders have co-morbid brain size abnormalities, such as microcephaly and macrocephaly. Mutations in histone methyltransferases that modify histone H3 on Lysine 36 and Lysine 4 (H3K36 and H3K4) have been identified in neurodevelopmental disorders involving both microcephaly and macrocephaly. H3K36 and H3K4 methylation are both associated with transcriptional activation and are proposed to sterically hinder the repressive activity of the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2). During neuronal development, tri-methylation of H3K27 (H3K27me3) by PRC2 leads to genome wide transcriptional repression of genes that regulate cell fate transitions and neuronal arborization. Here we provide a review of neurodevelopmental processes and disorders associated with H3K36 and H3K4 histone methyltransferases, with emphasis on processes that contribute to brain size abnormalities. Additionally, we discuss how the counteracting activities of H3K36 and H3K4 modifying enzymes vs. PRC2 could contribute to brain size abnormalities which is an underexplored mechanism in relation to brain size control.
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18
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Lin J, de Rezende VL, de Aguiar da Costa M, de Oliveira J, Gonçalves CL. Cholesterol metabolism pathway in autism spectrum disorder: From animal models to clinical observations. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2023; 223:173522. [PMID: 36717034 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2023.173522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a persistent impairment of social skills, including aspects of perception, interpretation, and response, combined with restricted and repetitive behavior. ASD is a complex and multifactorial condition, and its etiology could be attributed to genetic and environmental factors. Despite numerous clinical and experimental studies, no etiological factor, biomarker, and specific model of transmission have been consistently associated with ASD. However, an imbalance in cholesterol levels has been observed in many patients, more specifically, a condition of hypocholesterolemia, which seems to be shared between ASD and ASD-related genetic syndromes such as fragile X syndrome (FXS), Rett syndrome (RS), and Smith- Lemli-Opitz (SLO). Furthermore, it is known that alterations in cholesterol levels lead to neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, impaired myelination and synaptogenesis. Thus, the aim of this review is to discuss the cholesterol metabolic pathways in the ASD context, as well as in genetic syndromes related to ASD, through clinical observations and animal models. In fact, SLO, FXS, and RS patients display early behavioral markers of ASD followed by cholesterol disturbances. Several studies have demonstrated the role of cholesterol in psychiatric conditions and how its levels modulate brain neurodevelopment. This review suggests an important relationship between ASD pathology and cholesterol metabolism impairment; thus, some strategies could be raised - at clinical and pre-clinical levels - to explore whether cholesterol metabolism disturbance has a generally adverse effect in exacerbating the symptoms of ASD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Lin
- Laboratory of Experimental Neurology, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciúma, SC, Brazil
| | - Victória Linden de Rezende
- Laboratory of Experimental Neurology, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciúma, SC, Brazil
| | - Maiara de Aguiar da Costa
- Laboratory of Experimental Neurology, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciúma, SC, Brazil
| | - Jade de Oliveira
- Laboratory for Research in Metabolic Disorders and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Cinara Ludvig Gonçalves
- Laboratory of Experimental Neurology, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciúma, SC, Brazil.
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19
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Almeida AS, Nunes F, Marques DM, Machado ACL, Oliveira CB, Porciuncula LO. Sex differences in maternal odor preferences and brain levels of GAP-43 and sonic hedgehog proteins in infant SHR and Wistar Kyoto rats. Behav Brain Res 2023; 436:114102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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20
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Schilling KG, Archer D, Yeh FC, Rheault F, Cai LY, Shafer A, Resnick SM, Hohman T, Jefferson A, Anderson AW, Kang H, Landman BA. Short superficial white matter and aging: a longitudinal multi-site study of 1293 subjects and 2711 sessions. AGING BRAIN 2023; 3:100067. [PMID: 36817413 PMCID: PMC9937516 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2023.100067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
It is estimated that short association fibers running immediately beneath the cortex may make up as much as 60% of the total white matter volume. However, these have been understudied relative to the long-range association, projection, and commissural fibers of the brain. This is largely because of limitations of diffusion MRI fiber tractography, which is the primary methodology used to non-invasively study the white matter connections. Inspired by recent anatomical considerations and methodological improvements in superficial white matter (SWM) tractography, we aim to characterize changes in these fiber systems in cognitively normal aging, which provide insight into the biological foundation of age-related cognitive changes, and a better understanding of how age-related pathology differs from healthy aging. To do this, we used three large, longitudinal and cross-sectional datasets (N = 1293 subjects, 2711 sessions) to quantify microstructural features and length/volume features of several SWM systems. We find that axial, radial, and mean diffusivities show positive associations with age, while fractional anisotropy has negative associations with age in SWM throughout the entire brain. These associations were most pronounced in the frontal, temporal, and temporoparietal regions. Moreover, measures of SWM volume and length decrease with age in a heterogenous manner across the brain, with different rates of change in inter-gyri and intra-gyri SWM, and at slower rates than well-studied long-range white matter pathways. These features, and their variations with age, provide the background for characterizing normal aging, and, in combination with larger association pathways and gray matter microstructural features, may provide insight into fundamental mechanisms associated with aging and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt G Schilling
- Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Derek Archer
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA,Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA,Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
| | - Fang-Cheng Yeh
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Francois Rheault
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Leon Y Cai
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Andrea Shafer
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Susan M. Resnick
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Timothy Hohman
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA,Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA,Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
| | - Angela Jefferson
- Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA,Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA,Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Adam W Anderson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Hakmook Kang
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Bennett A Landman
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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21
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Kraguljac NV, Guerreri M, Strickland MJ, Zhang H. Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging in Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review and a Technical Note. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 3:10-21. [PMID: 36712566 PMCID: PMC9874146 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
While major psychiatric disorders lack signature diagnostic neuropathologies akin to dementias, classic postmortem studies have established microstructural involvement, i.e., cellular changes in neurons and glia, as a key pathophysiological finding. Advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques allow mapping of cellular tissue architecture and microstructural abnormalities in vivo, which holds promise for advancing our understanding of the pathophysiology underlying psychiatric disorders. Here, we performed a systematic review of case-control studies using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to assess brain microstructure in psychiatric disorders and a selective review of technical considerations in NODDI. Of the 584 potentially relevant articles, 18 studies met the criteria to be included in this systematic review. We found a general theme of abnormal gray and white matter microstructure across the diagnostic spectrum. We also noted significant variability in patterns of neurite density and fiber orientation within and across diagnostic groups, as well as associations between brain microstructure and phenotypical variables. NODDI has been successfully used to detect subtle microstructure abnormalities in patients with psychiatric disorders. Given that NODDI indices may provide a more direct link to pathophysiological processes, this method may not only contribute to advancing our mechanistic understanding of disease processes, it may also be well positioned for next-generation biomarker development studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Vanessa Kraguljac
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Michele Guerreri
- Centre for Medical Image Computing and Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Molly Jordan Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Hui Zhang
- Centre for Medical Image Computing and Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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22
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Vakilzadeh G, Martinez-Cerdeño V. Pathology and Astrocytes in Autism. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2023; 19:841-850. [PMID: 37077706 PMCID: PMC10106330 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s390053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023] Open
Abstract
A distinct pathology for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains elusive. Human and animal studies have focused on investigating the role of neurons in ASD. However, recent studies have hinted that glial cell pathology could be a characteristic of ASD. Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cell in the brain and play an important role in neuronal function, both during development and in adult. They regulate neuronal migration, dendritic and spine development, and control the concentration of neurotransmitters at the synaptic cleft. They are also responsible for synaptogenesis, synaptic development, and synaptic function. Therefore, any change in astrocyte number and/or function could contribute to the impairment of connectivity that has been reported in ASD. Data available to date is scarce but indicates that while the number of astrocytes is reduced, their state of activation and their GFAP expression is increased in ASD. Disruption of astrocyte function in ASD may affect proper neurotransmitter metabolism, synaptogenesis, and the state of brain inflammation. Astrocytes alterations are common to ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Future studies about the role of astrocytes in ASD are required to better understand this disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gelareh Vakilzadeh
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
- Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine, and Shriners Hospitals for Children, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Veronica Martinez-Cerdeño
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
- Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine, and Shriners Hospitals for Children, Sacramento, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
- Correspondence: Veronica Martinez-Cerdeño, 2425 Stockton Boulevard, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA, Tel +916 453-2163, Email
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23
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Eroğlu Y, Baykara M, Perçinel Yazici İ, Utku Yazici K, Kürşad Poyraz A. Evaluation of the corpus callosum using magnetic resonance imaging histogram analysis in autism spectrum disorder. Neuroradiol J 2022; 35:751-757. [PMID: 35523430 PMCID: PMC9626850 DOI: 10.1177/19714009221097507] [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] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Histogram analysis is a texture analysis method that can be used in medical images. Quantitative values of the intensity of images can be obtained with histogram analysis. It aimed to evaluate corpus callosum in magnetic resonance images (MRIs) using histogram analysis of pediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to compare them with healthy controls. METHODS This study included 29 children with ASD and 29 healthy children with normal brain MRI. High-resolution three-dimensional turbo field echo images were obtained with a 1.5 T scanner device for brain magnetic resonance imaging. On the corpus callosum in the sagittal T1-weighted images obtained, mean gray level density (mean), the standard deviation, median, minimum, maximum, entropy, variance, skewness, kurtosis, uniformity, size % L, size % M, size % U, and percentile parameters were measured. RESULTS In ASD patients, mean, standard deviation, maximum, median, variance, entropy, 25%, 75%, 90%, 97%, and 99% values were found to be lower than the control group, and size % U value was higher. In addition, the corpus callosum area was significantly lower in the ASD compared to the controls. CONCLUSION According to our study, corpus callosum of patients with ASD showed differences compared to healthy controls by histogram analysis, even though they were seen as normal in brain MRI. We think that histogram analysis can be used to evaluate possibly affected areas of brain in ASD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeşim Eroğlu
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of
Radiology, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
| | - Murat Baykara
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of
Radiology, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
| | - İpek Perçinel Yazici
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
| | - Kemal Utku Yazici
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
| | - Ahmet Kürşad Poyraz
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of
Radiology, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
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24
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Beopoulos A, Géa M, Fasano A, Iris F. Autism spectrum disorders pathogenesis: Toward a comprehensive model based on neuroanatomic and neurodevelopment considerations. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:988735. [PMID: 36408388 PMCID: PMC9671112 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.988735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves alterations in neural connectivity affecting cortical network organization and excitation to inhibition ratio. It is characterized by an early increase in brain volume mediated by abnormal cortical overgrowth patterns and by increases in size, spine density, and neuron population in the amygdala and surrounding nuclei. Neuronal expansion is followed by a rapid decline from adolescence to middle age. Since no known neurobiological mechanism in human postnatal life is capable of generating large excesses of frontocortical neurons, this likely occurs due to a dysregulation of layer formation and layer-specific neuronal migration during key early stages of prenatal cerebral cortex development. This leads to the dysregulation of post-natal synaptic pruning and results in a huge variety of forms and degrees of signal-over-noise discrimination losses, accounting for ASD clinical heterogeneities, including autonomic nervous system abnormalities and comorbidities. We postulate that sudden changes in environmental conditions linked to serotonin/kynurenine supply to the developing fetus, throughout the critical GW7 - GW20 (Gestational Week) developmental window, are likely to promote ASD pathogenesis during fetal brain development. This appears to be driven by discrete alterations in differentiation and patterning mechanisms arising from in utero RNA editing, favoring vulnerability outcomes over plasticity outcomes. This paper attempts to provide a comprehensive model of the pathogenesis and progression of ASD neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alessio Fasano
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, United States
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Center for Celiac Research and Treatment, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, United States
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25
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Parsons N, Ugon J, Morgan K, Shelyag S, Hocking A, Chan SY, Poudel G, Domìnguez D JF, Caeyenberghs K. Structural-Functional Connectivity Bandwidth of the Human Brain. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119659. [PMID: 36191756 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The human brain is a complex network that seamlessly manifests behaviour and cognition. This network comprises neurons that directly, or indirectly mediate communication between brain regions. Here, we show how multilayer/multiplex network analysis provides a suitable framework to uncover the throughput of structural connectivity (SC) to mediate information transfer-giving rise to functional connectivity (FC). METHOD We implemented a novel method to reconcile SC and FC using diffusion and resting-state functional MRI connectivity data from 484 subjects (272 females, 212 males; age = 29.15 ± 3.47) from the Human Connectome Project. First, we counted the number of direct and indirect structural paths that mediate FC. FC nodes with indirect SC paths were then weighted according to their least restrictive SC path. We refer to this as SC-FC Bandwidth. We then mapped paths with the highest SC-FC Bandwidth across 7 canonical resting-state networks. FINDINGS We found that most pairs of FC nodes were connected by SC paths of length two and three (SC paths of length >5 were virtually non-existent). Direct SC-FC connections accounted for only 10% of all SC-FC connections. The majority of FC nodes without a direct SC path were mediated by a proportion of two (44%) or three SC path lengths (39%). Only a small proportion of FC nodes were mediated by SC path lengths of four (5%). We found high-bandwidth direct SC-FC connections show dense intra- and sparse inter-network connectivity, with a bilateral, anteroposterior distribution. High bandwidth SC-FC triangles have a right superomedial distribution within the somatomotor network. High-bandwidth SC-FC quads have a superoposterior distribution within the default mode network. CONCLUSION Our method allows the measurement of indirect SC-FC using undirected, weighted graphs derived from multimodal MRI data in order to map the location and throughput of SC to mediate FC. An extension of this work may be to explore how SC-FC Bandwidth changes over time, relates to cognition/behavior, and if this measure reflects a marker of neurological injury or psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Parsons
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Julien Ugon
- School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Kerri Morgan
- School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sergiy Shelyag
- School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Alex Hocking
- School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Su Yuan Chan
- School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Govinda Poudel
- School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Juan F Domìnguez D
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Karen Caeyenberghs
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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26
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Multiscale neural gradients reflect transdiagnostic effects of major psychiatric conditions on cortical morphology. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1024. [PMID: 36168040 PMCID: PMC9515219 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03963-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
It is increasingly recognized that multiple psychiatric conditions are underpinned by shared neural pathways, affecting similar brain systems. Here, we carried out a multiscale neural contextualization of shared alterations of cortical morphology across six major psychiatric conditions (autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depression disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia). Our framework cross-referenced shared morphological anomalies with respect to cortical myeloarchitecture and cytoarchitecture, as well as connectome and neurotransmitter organization. Pooling disease-related effects on MRI-based cortical thickness measures across six ENIGMA working groups, including a total of 28,546 participants (12,876 patients and 15,670 controls), we identified a cortex-wide dimension of morphological changes that described a sensory-fugal pattern, with paralimbic regions showing the most consistent alterations across conditions. The shared disease dimension was closely related to cortical gradients of microstructure as well as neurotransmitter axes, specifically cortex-wide variations in serotonin and dopamine. Multiple sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness with respect to slight variations in analytical choices. Our findings embed shared effects of common psychiatric conditions on brain structure in multiple scales of brain organization, and may provide insights into neural mechanisms of transdiagnostic vulnerability.
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27
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Kato Y, Yokokura M, Iwabuchi T, Murayama C, Harada T, Goto T, Tamayama T, Kameno Y, Wakuda T, Kuwabara H, Benner S, Senju A, Tsukada H, Nishizawa S, Ouchi Y, Yamasue H. Lower Availability of Mitochondrial Complex I in Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Autism: A Positron Emission Tomography Study. Am J Psychiatry 2022; 180:277-284. [PMID: 36069020 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.22010014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in previous studies of postmortem brain or peripheral samples. The authors investigated whether and where mitochondrial dysfunction occurs in the living brains of individuals with ASD and to identify the clinical correlates of detected mitochondrial dysfunction. METHODS This case-control study used positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-tert-butyl-4-chloro-5-{6-[2-(2-[18F]fluoroethoxy)-ethoxy]-pyridin-3-ylmethoxy}-2H-pyridazin-3-one ([18F]BCPP-EF), a radioligand that binds to the mitochondrial electron transport chain complex I, to examine the topographical distribution of mitochondrial dysfunction in living brains of individuals with ASD. Twenty-three adult males with high-functioning ASD, with no psychiatric comorbidities and free of psychotropic medication, and 24 typically developed males with no psychiatric diagnoses, matched with the ASD group on age, parental socioeconomic background, and IQ, underwent [18F]BCPP-EF PET measurements. Individuals with mitochondrial disease were excluded by clinical evaluation and blood tests for abnormalities in lactate and pyruvate levels. RESULTS Among the brain regions in which mitochondrial dysfunction has been reported in postmortem studies of autistic brains, participants with ASD had significantly decreased [18F]BCPP-EF availability specifically in the anterior cingulate cortex compared with typically developed participants. The regional specificity was revealed by a significant interaction between diagnosis and brain regions. Moreover, the lower [18F]BCPP-EF availability in the anterior cingulate cortex was significantly correlated with the more severe ASD core symptom of social communication deficits. CONCLUSIONS This study provides direct evidence to link in vivo brain mitochondrial dysfunction with ASD pathophysiology and its communicational deficits. The findings support the possibility that mitochondrial electron transport chain complex I is a novel therapeutic target for ASD core symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiko Kato
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Masamichi Yokokura
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Toshiki Iwabuchi
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Chihiro Murayama
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Taeko Harada
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Takafumi Goto
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Taishi Tamayama
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Yosuke Kameno
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Tomoyasu Wakuda
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Hitoshi Kuwabara
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Seico Benner
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Atsushi Senju
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Hideo Tsukada
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Sadahiko Nishizawa
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Yasuomi Ouchi
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
| | - Hidenori Yamasue
- Department of Psychiatry (Kato, Yokokura, Murayama, Goto, Tamayama, Kameno, Wakuda, Kuwabara, Benner, Yamasue), United Graduate School of Child Development (Yokokura, Iwabuchi, Harada, Kameno, Kuwabara, Senju, Yamasue), Research Center for Child Mental Development (Iwabuchi, Harada, Senju), and Department of Biofunctional Imaging (Ouchi), Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan; Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan (Tsukada); Hamamatsu Medical Imaging Center, Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation, Hamamatsu, Japan (Nishizawa, Ouchi)
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Pantazopoulos H, Hossain NM, Chelini G, Durning P, Barbas H, Zikopoulos B, Berretta S. Chondroitin Sulphate Proteoglycan Axonal Coats in the Human Mediodorsal Thalamic Nucleus. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:934764. [PMID: 35875507 PMCID: PMC9298528 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.934764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Mounting evidence supports a key involvement of the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) NG2 and brevican (BCAN) in the regulation of axonal functions, including axon guidance, fasciculation, conductance, and myelination. Prior work suggested the possibility that these functions may, at least in part, be carried out by specialized CSPG structures surrounding axons, termed axonal coats. However, their existence remains controversial. We tested the hypothesis that NG2 and BCAN, known to be associated with oligodendrocyte precursor cells, form axonal coats enveloping myelinated axons in the human brain. In tissue blocks containing the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) from healthy donors (n = 5), we used dual immunofluorescence, confocal microscopy, and unbiased stereology to characterize BCAN and NG2 immunoreactive (IR) axonal coats and measure the percentage of myelinated axons associated with them. In a subset of donors (n = 3), we used electron microscopy to analyze the spatial relationship between axons and NG2- and BCAN-IR axonal coats within the human MD. Our results show that a substantial percentage (∼64%) of large and medium myelinated axons in the human MD are surrounded by NG2- and BCAN-IR axonal coats. Electron microscopy studies show NG2- and BCAN-IR axonal coats are interleaved with myelin sheets, with larger axons displaying greater association with axonal coats. These findings represent the first characterization of NG2 and BCAN axonal coats in the human brain. The large percentage of axons surrounded by CSPG coats, and the role of CSPGs in axonal guidance, fasciculation, conductance, and myelination suggest that these structures may contribute to several key axonal properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Pantazopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry and Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | | | - Gabriele Chelini
- Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Mclean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Peter Durning
- Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Mclean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Helen Barbas
- Department of Health Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Neural Systems Laboratory, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Basilis Zikopoulos
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Neural Systems Laboratory, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Sabina Berretta
- Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Mclean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Sabina Berretta,
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29
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Park BY, Paquola C, Bethlehem RAI, Benkarim O, Mišić B, Smallwood J, Bullmore ET, Bernhardt BC. Adolescent development of multiscale structural wiring and functional interactions in the human connectome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2116673119. [PMID: 35776541 PMCID: PMC9271154 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116673119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is a time of profound changes in the physical wiring and function of the brain. Here, we analyzed structural and functional brain network development in an accelerated longitudinal cohort spanning 14 to 25 y (n = 199). Core to our work was an advanced in vivo model of cortical wiring incorporating MRI features of corticocortical proximity, microstructural similarity, and white matter tractography. Longitudinal analyses assessing age-related changes in cortical wiring identified a continued differentiation of multiple corticocortical structural networks in youth. We then assessed structure-function coupling using resting-state functional MRI measures in the same participants both via cross-sectional analysis at baseline and by studying longitudinal change between baseline and follow-up scans. At baseline, regions with more similar structural wiring were more likely to be functionally coupled. Moreover, correlating longitudinal structural wiring changes with longitudinal functional connectivity reconfigurations, we found that increased structural differentiation, particularly between sensory/unimodal and default mode networks, was reflected by reduced functional interactions. These findings provide insights into adolescent development of human brain structure and function, illustrating how structural wiring interacts with the maturation of macroscale functional hierarchies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo-yong Park
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
- Department of Data Science, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, Republic of Korea
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Casey Paquola
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, 52428, Germany
| | - Richard A. I. Bethlehem
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH, United Kingdom
- Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH, United Kingdom
| | - Oualid Benkarim
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
| | | | - Bratislav Mišić
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Jonathan Smallwood
- Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Edward T. Bullmore
- Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH, United Kingdom
| | - Boris C. Bernhardt
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
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30
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Li Y, Zhao Y, Lu Y, Lu X, Hu Y, Li Q, Shuai M, Li R. Autism spectrum disorder-like behavior induced in rat offspring by perinatal exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:52083-52097. [PMID: 35254616 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19531-1] [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: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), also known as childhood autism, is a common neurological developmental disorder. Although it is generally believed that genetic factors are a primary cause for ASD development, more and more studies show that an increasing number of ASD diagnoses are related to environmental exposure. Epidemiological studies indicated that perinatal exposure to endocrine disruptors might cause neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used as a plasticizer in many products. To explore the neurodevelopmental effect induced by perinatal exposure to DEHP on rat offspring, and the potential mechanisms, female Wistar rats were exposed to 1, 10, and 100 mg/kg/day DEHP during pregnancy and lactation, while valproic acid (VPA) was used as a positive control. The behavior tests showed that rat pups exposed to VPA and 100 mg/kg/day DEHP were not good as those from the control group in both their socialability and social novelty. Expression of mTOR pathway-related components increased while the number of autophagosomes decreased in the brain tissue of the rat offspring exposed to 100 mg/kg/day DEHP. In addition, perinatal exposure to DEHP at all dosages decreased the level of autophagy proteins LC3II and Beclin1 in the brain tissue of rat pups. Our results indicated that perinatal DEHP exposure would induce ASD-like behavioral changes in rat offspring, which might be mediated by activation of the mTOR signaling pathway, and inhibition of autophagy in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China
- Office of the Youth League Committee, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China
| | - Yun Zhao
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Lu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China
- College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China
| | - Xianxian Lu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingdan Hu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiulin Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Menglei Shuai
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, People's Republic of China.
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31
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Park S, Zikopoulos B, Yazdanbakhsh A. Visual illusion susceptibility in autism: A neural model. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:4246-4265. [PMID: 35701859 PMCID: PMC9541695 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15739] [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: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
While atypical sensory perception is reported among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the underlying neural mechanisms of autism that give rise to disruptions in sensory perception remain unclear. We developed a neural model with key physiological, functional and neuroanatomical parameters to investigate mechanisms underlying the range of representations of visual illusions related to orientation perception in typically developed subjects compared to individuals with ASD. Our results showed that two theorized autistic traits, excitation/inhibition imbalance and weakening of top‐down modulation, could be potential candidates for reduced susceptibility to some visual illusions. Parametric correlation between cortical suppression, balance of excitation/inhibition, feedback from higher visual areas on one hand and susceptibility to a class of visual illusions related to orientation perception on the other hand provide the opportunity to investigate the contribution and complex interactions of distinct sensory processing mechanisms in ASD. The novel approach used in this study can be used to link behavioural, functional and neuropathological studies; estimate and predict perceptual and cognitive heterogeneity in ASD; and form a basis for the development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangwook Park
- Computational Neuroscience and Vision Laboratory, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Basilis Zikopoulos
- Human Systems Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Arash Yazdanbakhsh
- Computational Neuroscience and Vision Laboratory, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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32
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Koch K, Bartmann K, Hartmann J, Kapr J, Klose J, Kuchovská E, Pahl M, Schlüppmann K, Zühr E, Fritsche E. Scientific Validation of Human Neurosphere Assays for Developmental Neurotoxicity Evaluation. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2022; 4:816370. [PMID: 35295221 PMCID: PMC8915868 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2022.816370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a call for a paradigm shift in developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) evaluation, which demands the implementation of faster, more cost-efficient, and human-relevant test systems than current in vivo guideline studies. Under the umbrella of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a guidance document is currently being prepared that instructs on the regulatory use of a DNT in vitro battery (DNT IVB) for fit-for-purpose applications. One crucial issue for OECD application of methods is validation, which for new approach methods (NAMs) requires novel approaches. Here, mechanistic information previously identified in vivo, as well as reported neurodevelopmental adversities in response to disturbances on the cellular and tissue level, are of central importance. In this study, we scientifically validate the Neurosphere Assay, which is based on human primary neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and an integral part of the DNT IVB. It assesses neurodevelopmental key events (KEs) like NPC proliferation (NPC1ab), radial glia cell migration (NPC2a), neuronal differentiation (NPC3), neurite outgrowth (NPC4), oligodendrocyte differentiation (NPC5), and thyroid hormone-dependent oligodendrocyte maturation (NPC6). In addition, we extend our work from the hNPCs to human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived NPCs (hiNPCs) for the NPC proliferation (iNPC1ab) and radial glia assays (iNPC2a). The validation process we report for the endpoints studied with the Neurosphere Assays is based on 1) describing the relevance of the respective endpoints for brain development, 2) the confirmation of the cell type-specific morphologies observed in vitro, 3) expressions of cell type-specific markers consistent with those morphologies, 4) appropriate anticipated responses to physiological pertinent signaling stimuli and 5) alterations in specific in vitro endpoints upon challenges with confirmed DNT compounds. With these strong mechanistic underpinnings, we posit that the Neurosphere Assay as an integral part of the DNT in vitro screening battery is well poised for DNT evaluation for regulatory purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Koch
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Kristina Bartmann
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Julia Hartmann
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Julia Kapr
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Jördis Klose
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Eliška Kuchovská
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Melanie Pahl
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Kevin Schlüppmann
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Etta Zühr
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Ellen Fritsche
- IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany
- Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
- *Correspondence: Ellen Fritsche,
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33
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Rosen BQ, Halgren E. An estimation of the absolute number of axons indicates that human cortical areas are sparsely connected. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001575. [PMID: 35286306 PMCID: PMC8947121 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The tracts between cortical areas are conceived as playing a central role in cortical information processing, but their actual numbers have never been determined in humans. Here, we estimate the absolute number of axons linking cortical areas from a whole-cortex diffusion MRI (dMRI) connectome, calibrated using the histologically measured callosal fiber density. Median connectivity is estimated as approximately 6,200 axons between cortical areas within hemisphere and approximately 1,300 axons interhemispherically, with axons connecting functionally related areas surprisingly sparse. For example, we estimate that <5% of the axons in the trunk of the arcuate and superior longitudinal fasciculi connect Wernicke's and Broca's areas. These results suggest that detailed information is transmitted between cortical areas either via linkage of the dense local connections or via rare, extraordinarily privileged long-range connections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burke Q Rosen
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Eric Halgren
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Departments of Neurosciences & Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
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34
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Autism, heparan sulfate and potential interventions. Exp Neurol 2022; 353:114050. [DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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35
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Vakilzadeh G, Falcone C, Dufour B, Hong T, Noctor SC, Martínez-Cerdeño V. Decreased number and increased activation state of astrocytes in gray and white matter of the prefrontal cortex in autism. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:4902-4912. [PMID: 35212358 PMCID: PMC9627019 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex presents with alterations in the number of specific cell types in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Astrocytes have many functions in the brain including a role in higher cognitive functions and in inflammatory brain processes. Therefore, an alteration in number, function, and/or activation state of astrocytes, could be present in ASD. We quantified astrocyte number in the gray and white matter of the prefrontal cortex-BA9, BA46, and BA47-in 15 ASD and 15 age- and sex-matched control cases. We labeled astrocytes with antibodies against the protein GFAP and S100β, markers of astrocytes. We found a significant decrease in the number of astrocytes in the gray and white matter of all prefrontal areas of interest with both markers. We also found an increased state of activation of GFAP+ astrocytes in all areas. A reduced number of astrocytes in the cerebral cortex in ASD could lead to impaired synaptic function and disrupted connectivity. An increased astrocyte activation may indicate a chronic mild inflammatory state of the cerebral cortex in ASD. Overall, we found that astrocytes are disrupted in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gelareh Vakilzadeh
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA,Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Carmen Falcone
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA,Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Brett Dufour
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA,Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Tiffany Hong
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA,Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Stephen C Noctor
- MIND Institute, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Verónica Martínez-Cerdeño
- Address correspondence to Verónica Martínez-Cerdeño, 2425 Stockton Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
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Degraded cortical temporal processing in the valproic acid-induced rat model of autism. Neuropharmacology 2022; 209:109000. [PMID: 35182575 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Hearing disorders, such as abnormal speech perception, are frequently reported in individuals with autism. However, the mechanisms underlying these auditory-associated signature deficits in autism remain largely unknown. In this study, we documented significant behavioral impairments in the sound temporal rate discrimination task for rats prenatally exposed to valproic acid (VPA), a well-validated animal model for studying the pathology of autism. In parallel, there was a large-scale degradation in temporal information-processing in their primary auditory cortices (A1) at both levels of spiking outputs and synaptic inputs. Substantially increased spine density of excitatory neurons and decreased numbers of parvalbumin- and somatostatin-labeled inhibitory inter-neurons were also recorded in the A1 after VPA exposure. Given the fact that cortical temporal processing of sound is associated with speech perception in humans, these results in the animal model of VPA exposure provide insight into a possible neurological mechanism underlying auditory and language-related deficits in individuals with autism.
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Hiramoto T, Sumiyoshi A, Yamauchi T, Tanigaki K, Shi Q, Kang G, Ryoke R, Nonaka H, Enomoto S, Izumi T, Bhat MA, Kawashima R, Hiroi N. Tbx1, a gene encoded in 22q11.2 copy number variant, is a link between alterations in fimbria myelination and cognitive speed in mice. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:929-938. [PMID: 34737458 PMCID: PMC9054676 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01318-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Copy number variants (CNVs) have provided a reliable entry point to identify the structural correlates of atypical cognitive development. Hemizygous deletion of human chromosome 22q11.2 is associated with impaired cognitive function; however, the mechanisms by which the CNVs contribute to cognitive deficits via diverse structural alterations in the brain remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the cellular basis of the link between alterations in brain structure and cognitive functions in mice with a heterozygous deletion of Tbx1, one of the 22q11.2-encoded genes. Ex vivo whole-brain diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in Tbx1 heterozygous mice indicated that the fimbria was the only region with significant myelin alteration. Electron microscopic and histological analyses showed that Tbx1 heterozygous mice exhibited an apparent absence of large myelinated axons and thicker myelin in medium axons in the fimbria, resulting in an overall decrease in myelin. The fimbria of Tbx1 heterozygous mice showed reduced mRNA levels of Ng2, a gene required to produce oligodendrocyte precursor cells. Moreover, postnatal progenitor cells derived from the subventricular zone, a source of oligodendrocytes in the fimbria, produced fewer oligodendrocytes in vitro. Behavioral analyses of these mice showed selectively slower acquisition of spatial memory and cognitive flexibility with no effects on their accuracy or sensory or motor capacities. Our findings provide a genetic and cellular basis for the compromised cognitive speed in patients with 22q11.2 hemizygous deletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeshi Hiramoto
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA
| | - Akira Sumiyoshi
- Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, 4-1, Seiryo-cho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan
- National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1, Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Takahira Yamauchi
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA
| | - Kenji Tanigaki
- Research Institute, Shiga Medical Center, 5-4-30 Moriyama, Moriyama-shi, Shiga, Japan
| | - Qian Shi
- Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA
| | - Gina Kang
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA
| | - Rie Ryoke
- Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, 4-1, Seiryo-cho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan
| | - Hiroi Nonaka
- Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, 4-1, Seiryo-cho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan
| | - Shingo Enomoto
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA
| | - Takeshi Izumi
- Department of Pharmacology, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, 1757 Kanazawa, Tobetsu, Ishikari, Hokkaido, 061-0293, Japan
- Advanced Research Promotion Center, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, 1757 Kanazawa, Tobetsu, Ishikari, Hokkaido, 061-0293, Japan
| | - Manzoor A Bhat
- Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA
| | - Ryuta Kawashima
- Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, 4-1, Seiryo-cho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan
| | - Noboru Hiroi
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
- Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
- Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
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Innocenti GM. Defining neuroplasticity. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 184:3-18. [PMID: 35034744 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-819410-2.00001-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Neuroplasticity, i.e., the modifiability of the brain, is different in development and adulthood. The first includes changes in: (i) neurogenesis and control of neuron number; (ii) neuronal migration; (iii) differentiation of the somato-dendritic and axonal phenotypes; (iv) formation of connections; (v) cytoarchitectonic differentiation. These changes are often interrelated and can lead to: (vi) system-wide modifications of brain structure as well as to (vii) acquisition of specific functions such as ocular dominance or language. Myelination appears to be plastic both in development and adulthood, at least, in rodents. Adult neuroplasticity is limited, and is mainly expressed as changes in the strength of excitatory and inhibitory synapses while the attempts to regenerate connections have met with limited success. The outcomes of neuroplasticity are not necessarily adaptive, but can also be the cause of neurological and psychiatric pathologies.
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Abstract
During evolution, the cerebral cortex advances by increasing in surface and the introduction of new cytoarchitectonic areas among which the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is considered to be the substrate of highest cognitive functions. Although neurons of the PFC are generated before birth, the differentiation of its neurons and development of synaptic connections in humans extend to the 3rd decade of life. During this period, synapses as well as neurotransmitter systems including their receptors and transporters, are initially overproduced followed by selective elimination. Advanced methods applied to human and animal models, enable investigation of the cellular mechanisms and role of specific genes, non-coding regulatory elements and signaling molecules in control of prefrontal neuronal production and phenotypic fate, as well as neuronal migration to establish layering of the PFC. Likewise, various genetic approaches in combination with functional assays and immunohistochemical and imaging methods reveal roles of neurotransmitter systems during maturation of the PFC. Disruption, or even a slight slowing of the rate of neuronal production, migration and synaptogenesis by genetic or environmental factors, can induce gross as well as subtle changes that eventually can lead to cognitive impairment. An understanding of the development and evolution of the PFC provide insight into the pathogenesis and treatment of congenital neuropsychiatric diseases as well as idiopathic developmental disorders that cause intellectual disabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon M Kolk
- Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Pasko Rakic
- Department of Neuroscience and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
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Scott JT, Bourne JA. Modelling behaviors relevant to brain disorders in the nonhuman primate: Are we there yet? Prog Neurobiol 2021; 208:102183. [PMID: 34728308 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102183] [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] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent years have seen a profound resurgence of activity with nonhuman primates (NHPs) to model human brain disorders. From marmosets to macaques, the study of NHP species offers a unique window into the function of primate-specific neural circuits that are impossible to examine in other models. Examining how these circuits manifest into the complex behaviors of primates, such as advanced cognitive and social functions, has provided enormous insights to date into the mechanisms underlying symptoms of numerous neurological and neuropsychiatric illnesses. With the recent optimization of modern techniques to manipulate and measure neural activity in vivo, such as optogenetics and calcium imaging, NHP research is more well-equipped than ever to probe the neural mechanisms underlying pathological behavior. However, methods for behavioral experimentation and analysis in NHPs have noticeably failed to keep pace with these advances. As behavior ultimately lies at the junction between preclinical findings and its translation to clinical outcomes for brain disorders, approaches to improve the integrity, reproducibility, and translatability of behavioral experiments in NHPs requires critical evaluation. In this review, we provide a unifying account of existing brain disorder models using NHPs, and provide insights into the present and emerging contributions of behavioral studies to the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack T Scott
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - James A Bourne
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
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Vallés AS, Barrantes FJ. Dendritic spine membrane proteome and its alterations in autistic spectrum disorder. ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2021; 128:435-474. [PMID: 35034726 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Dendritic spines are small protrusions stemming from the dendritic shaft that constitute the primary specialization for receiving and processing excitatory neurotransmission in brain synapses. The disruption of dendritic spine function in several neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases leads to severe information-processing deficits with impairments in neuronal connectivity and plasticity. Spine dysregulation is usually accompanied by morphological alterations to spine shape, size and/or number that may occur at early pathophysiological stages and not necessarily be reflected in clinical manifestations. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one such group of diseases involving changes in neuronal connectivity and abnormal morphology of dendritic spines on postsynaptic neurons. These alterations at the subcellular level correlate with molecular changes in the spine proteome, with alterations in the copy number, topography, or in severe cases in the phenotype of the molecular components, predominantly of those proteins involved in spine recognition and adhesion, reflected in abnormally short lifetimes of the synapse and compensatory increases in synaptic connections. Since cholinergic neurotransmission participates in the regulation of cognitive function (attention, memory, learning processes, cognitive flexibility, social interactions) brain acetylcholine receptors are likely to play an important role in the dysfunctional synapses in ASD, either directly or indirectly via the modulatory functions exerted on other neurotransmitter receptor proteins and spine-resident proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Sofía Vallés
- Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca (UNS-CONICET), Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Francisco J Barrantes
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (BIOMED), UCA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Optimization of Neurite Tracing and Further Characterization of Human Monocyte-Derived-Neuronal-like Cells. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11111372. [PMID: 34827371 PMCID: PMC8615477 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11111372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Deficits in neuronal structure are consistently associated with neurodevelopmental illnesses such as autism and schizophrenia. Nonetheless, the inability to access neurons from clinical patients has limited the study of early neurostructural changes directly in patients’ cells. This obstacle has been circumvented by differentiating stem cells into neurons, although the most used methodologies are time consuming. Therefore, we recently developed a relatively rapid (~20 days) protocol for transdifferentiating human circulating monocytes into neuronal-like cells. These monocyte-derived-neuronal-like cells (MDNCs) express several genes and proteins considered neuronal markers, such as MAP-2 and PSD-95. In addition, these cells conduct electrical activity. We have also previously shown that the structure of MDNCs is comparable with that of human developing neurons (HDNs) after 5 days in culture. Moreover, the neurostructure of MDNCs responds similarly to that of HDNs when exposed to colchicine and dopamine. In this manuscript, we expanded our characterization of MDNCs to include the expression of 12 neuronal genes, including tau. Following, we compared three different tracing approaches (two semi-automated and one automated) that enable tracing using photographs of live cells. This comparison is imperative for determining which neurite tracing method is more efficient in extracting neurostructural data from MDNCs and thus allowing researchers to take advantage of the faster yield provided by these neuronal-like cells. Surprisingly, it was one of the semi-automated methods that was the fastest, consisting of tracing only the longest primary and the longest secondary neurite. This tracing technique also detected more structural deficits. The only automated method tested, Volocity, detected MDNCs but failed to trace the entire neuritic length. Other advantages and disadvantages of the three tracing approaches are also presented and discussed.
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Kawamura A, Katayama Y, Nishiyama M, Shoji H, Tokuoka K, Ueta Y, Miyata M, Isa T, Miyakawa T, Hayashi-Takagi A, Nakayama KI. Oligodendrocyte dysfunction due to Chd8 mutation gives rise to behavioral deficits in mice. Hum Mol Genet 2021; 29:1274-1291. [PMID: 32142125 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddaa036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations in the gene encoding the chromatin remodeler CHD8 are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). CHD8 haploinsufficiency also results in autistic phenotypes in humans and mice. Although myelination defects have been observed in individuals with ASD, whether oligodendrocyte dysfunction is responsible for autistic phenotypes has remained unknown. Here we show that reduced expression of CHD8 in oligodendrocytes gives rise to abnormal behavioral phenotypes in mice. CHD8 was found to regulate the expression of many myelination-related genes and to be required for oligodendrocyte maturation and myelination. Ablation of Chd8 specifically in oligodendrocytes of mice impaired myelination, slowed action potential propagation and resulted in behavioral deficits including increased social interaction and anxiety-like behavior, with similar effects being apparent in Chd8 heterozygous mutant mice. Our results thus indicate that CHD8 is essential for myelination and that dysfunction of oligodendrocytes as a result of CHD8 haploinsufficiency gives rise to several neuropsychiatric phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsuki Kawamura
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
| | - Yuta Katayama
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
| | - Masaaki Nishiyama
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
| | - Hirotaka Shoji
- Division of Systems Medical Science, Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan
| | - Kota Tokuoka
- Department of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Yoshifumi Ueta
- Department of Physiology I (Neurophysiology), Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan
| | - Mariko Miyata
- Department of Physiology I (Neurophysiology), Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan
| | - Tadashi Isa
- Department of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Miyakawa
- Division of Systems Medical Science, Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan
| | - Akiko Hayashi-Takagi
- Laboratory of Medical Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Regulation, Gunma University, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8512, Japan.,PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Keiichi I Nakayama
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
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Shiva S, Gharesouran J, Sabaie H, Asadi MR, Arsang-Jang S, Taheri M, Rezazadeh M. Expression Analysis of Ermin and Listerin E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase 1 Genes in Autistic Patients. Front Mol Neurosci 2021; 14:701977. [PMID: 34349621 PMCID: PMC8326841 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.701977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that involves social interaction defects, impairment of non-verbal and verbal interactions, and limited interests along with stereotypic activities. Its incidence has been increasing rapidly in recent decades. Despite numerous attempts to understand the pathophysiology of ASD, its exact etiology is still unclear. Recent data shows the role of accurate myelination and translational regulation in ASD's pathogenesis. In this study, we assessed Ermin (ERMN) and Listerin E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase 1 (LTN1) genes expression in Iranian ASD patients and age- and gender-matched healthy subjects' peripheral blood using quantitative real-time PCR to recognize any probable dysregulation in the expression of these genes and propose this disorder's mechanisms. Analysis of the expression demonstrated a significant ERMN downregulation in total ASD patients compared to the healthy individuals (posterior beta = -0.794, adjusted P-value = 0.025). LTN1 expression was suggestively higher in ASD patients in comparison with the corresponding control individuals. Considering the gender of study participants, the analysis showed that the mentioned genes' different expression levels were significant only in male subjects. Besides, a significant correlation was found between expression of the mentioned genes (r = -0.49, P < 0.0001). The present study provides further supports for the contribution of ERMN and LTN1 in ASD's pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shadi Shiva
- Pediatric Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Jalal Gharesouran
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Hani Sabaie
- Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Asadi
- Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Shahram Arsang-Jang
- Cancer Gene Therapy Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Science, Zanjan, Iran
| | - Mohammad Taheri
- Skull Base Research Center, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Rezazadeh
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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Fetit R, Hillary RF, Price DJ, Lawrie SM. The neuropathology of autism: A systematic review of post-mortem studies of autism and related disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 129:35-62. [PMID: 34273379 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Post-mortem studies allow for the direct investigation of brain tissue in those with autism and related disorders. Several review articles have focused on aspects of post-mortem abnormalities but none has brought together the entire post-mortem literature. Here, we systematically review the evidence from post-mortem studies of autism, and of related disorders that present with autistic features. The literature consists of a small body of studies with small sample sizes, but several remarkably consistent findings are evident. Cortical layering is largely undisturbed, but there are consistent reductions in minicolumn numbers and aberrant myelination. Transcriptomics repeatedly implicate abberant synaptic, metabolic, proliferation, apoptosis and immune pathways. Sufficient replicated evidence is available to implicate non-coding RNA, aberrant epigenetic profiles, GABAergic, glutamatergic and glial dysfunction in autism pathogenesis. Overall, the cerebellum and frontal cortex are most consistently implicated, sometimes revealing distinct region-specific alterations. The literature on related disorders such as Rett syndrome, Fragile X and copy number variations (CNVs) predisposing to autism is particularly small and inconclusive. Larger studies, matched for gender, developmental stage, co-morbidities and drug treatment are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rana Fetit
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.
| | - Robert F Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - David J Price
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK
| | - Stephen M Lawrie
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF, UK; Patrick Wild Centre, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF, UK
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Andica C, Kamagata K, Kirino E, Uchida W, Irie R, Murata S, Aoki S. Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging reveals white matter microstructural alterations in adults with autism. Mol Autism 2021; 12:48. [PMID: 34193257 PMCID: PMC8247240 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-021-00456-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Evidences suggesting the association between behavioral anomalies in autism and white matter (WM) microstructural alterations are increasing. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is widely used to infer tissue microstructure. However, due to its lack of specificity, the underlying pathology of reported differences in DTI measures in autism remains poorly understood. Herein, we applied neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to quantify and define more specific causes of WM microstructural changes associated with autism in adults. Methods NODDI (neurite density index [NDI], orientation dispersion index, and isotropic volume fraction [ISOVF]) and DTI (fractional anisotropy [FA], mean diffusivity [MD], axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity [RD]) measures were compared between autism (N = 26; 19 males and 7 females; 32.93 ± 9.24 years old) and age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD; N = 25; 17 males and 8 females; 34.43 ± 9.02 years old) groups using tract-based spatial statistics and region-of-interest analyses. Linear discriminant analysis using leave-one-out cross-validation (LDA-LOOCV) was also performed to assess the discriminative power of diffusion measures in autism and TD. Results Significantly lower NDI and higher ISOVF, suggestive of decreased neurite density and increased extracellular free-water, respectively, were demonstrated in the autism group compared with the TD group, mainly in commissural and long-range association tracts, but with distinct predominant sides. Consistent with previous reports, the autism group showed lower FA and higher MD and RD when compared with TD group. Notably, LDA-LOOCV suggests that NDI and ISOVF have relatively higher accuracy (82%) and specificity (NDI, 84%; ISOVF, 88%) compared with that of FA, MD, and RD (accuracy, 67–73%; specificity, 68–80%). Limitations The absence of histopathological confirmation limit the interpretation of our findings. Conclusions Our results suggest that NODDI measures might be useful as imaging biomarkers to diagnose autism in adults and assess its behavioral characteristics. Furthermore, NODDI allows interpretation of previous findings on changes in WM diffusion tensor metrics in individuals with autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Andica
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Koji Kamagata
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Eiji Kirino
- Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Juntendo University Shizuoka Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Wataru Uchida
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryusuke Irie
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Syo Murata
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Radiological Sciences, Faculty of Healthy Sciences, Komazawa University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shigeki Aoki
- Department of Radiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
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Shin KO, Crumrine DA, Kim S, Lee Y, Kim B, Abuabara K, Park C, Uchida Y, Wakefield JS, Meyer JM, Jeong S, Park BD, Park K, Elias PM. Phenotypic overlap between atopic dermatitis and autism. BMC Neurosci 2021; 22:43. [PMID: 34157971 PMCID: PMC8218496 DOI: 10.1186/s12868-021-00645-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [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: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism, a childhood behavioral disorder, belongs to a large suite of diseases, collectively referred to as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Though multifactorial in etiology, approximately 10% of ASD are associated with atopic dermatitis (AD). Moreover, ASD prevalence increases further as AD severity worsens, though these disorders share no common causative mutations. We assessed here the link between these two disorders in the standard, valproic acid mouse model of ASD. In prior studies, there was no evidence of skin involvement, but we hypothesized that cutaneous involvement could be detected in experiments conducted in BALB/c mice. BALB/c is an albino, laboratory-bred strain of the house mouse and is among the most widely used inbred strains used in animal experimentation. METHODS We performed our studies in valproic acid (VPA)-treated BALB/c hairless mice, a standard mouse model of ASD. Mid-trimester pregnant mice received a single intraperitoneal injection of either valproic acid sodium salt dissolved in saline or saline alone on embryonic day 12.5 and were housed individually until postnatal day 21. Only the brain and epidermis appeared to be affected, while other tissues remain unchanged. At various postnatal time points, brain, skin and blood samples were obtained for histology and for quantitation of tissue sphingolipid content and cytokine levels. RESULTS AD-like changes in ceramide content occurred by day one postpartum in both VPA-treated mouse skin and brain. The temporal co-emergence of AD and ASD, and the AD phenotype-dependent increase in ASD prevalence correlated with early appearance of cytokine markers (i.e., interleukin [IL]-4, 5, and 13), as well as mast cells in skin and brain. The high levels of interferon (IFN)γ not only in skin, but also in brain likely account for a significant decline in esterified very-long-chain N-acyl fatty acids in brain ceramides, again mimicking known IFNγ-induced changes in AD. CONCLUSION Baseline involvement of both AD and ASD could reflect concurrent neuro- and epidermal toxicity, possibly because both epidermis and neural tissues originate from the embryonic neuroectoderm. These studies illuminate the shared susceptibility of the brain and epidermis to a known neurotoxin, suggesting that the atopic diathesis could be extended to include ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyong-Oh Shin
- Department of Food Science/Nutrition, & Convergence Program of Material Science for Medicine/Pharmaceutics, and the Korean Institute of Nutrition, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea
| | - Debra A Crumrine
- Dept. of Dermatology, University of California, NCIRE, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, MS 190, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA
| | - Sungeun Kim
- Department of Food Science/Nutrition, & Convergence Program of Material Science for Medicine/Pharmaceutics, and the Korean Institute of Nutrition, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea
| | - Yerin Lee
- Department of Food Science/Nutrition, & Convergence Program of Material Science for Medicine/Pharmaceutics, and the Korean Institute of Nutrition, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea
| | - Bogyeong Kim
- Department of Food Science/Nutrition, & Convergence Program of Material Science for Medicine/Pharmaceutics, and the Korean Institute of Nutrition, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea
| | - Katrina Abuabara
- Department of Dermatology, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Chaehyeong Park
- Dept. of Dermatology, University of California, NCIRE, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, MS 190, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA
| | - Yoshikazu Uchida
- Dept. of Dermatology, University of California, NCIRE, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, MS 190, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA
| | - Joan S Wakefield
- Dept. of Dermatology, University of California, NCIRE, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, MS 190, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA
| | - Jason M Meyer
- Dept. of Dermatology, University of California, NCIRE, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, MS 190, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA
| | - Sekyoo Jeong
- Dept of Cosmetic Science, Seowon University, Cheongju, South Korea
| | - Byeong Deog Park
- Sphingobrain Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA
- Dr. Raymond Laboratories, Inc, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA
| | - Kyungho Park
- Department of Food Science/Nutrition, & Convergence Program of Material Science for Medicine/Pharmaceutics, and the Korean Institute of Nutrition, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
| | - Peter M Elias
- Dept. of Dermatology, University of California, NCIRE, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, MS 190, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA.
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Chien YL, Chen YC, Gau SSF. Altered cingulate structures and the associations with social awareness deficits and CNTNAP2 gene in autism spectrum disorder. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2021; 31:102729. [PMID: 34271514 PMCID: PMC8280509 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
ASD individuals showed thinner cortical thickness in bilateral cingulate subregions. The right anterior cingulate WM volume was correlated with social awareness deficit. The CNTNAP2 variant might be associated with the right middle cingulate WM volume. The CNTNAP2 might interact with ASD diagnosis and age on the cortical thickness.
Backgrounds Although evidence suggests that the activity of the anterior cingulate cortex involves social cognition, there are inconsistent findings regarding the aberrant cingulate gray matter (GM) and scanty evidence about altered cortical thickness and white matter (WM) of cingulate in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Evidence supports the association between the genetic variants of CNTNAP2 and altered brain connectivity. This study investigated the cingulate substructure and its association with social awareness deficits and the CNTNAP2 variants in individuals with ASD and typically-developing controls (TDC). Methods We assessed 118 individuals with ASD and 122 TDC with MRI and clinical evaluation. The GM, WM volumes and cortical thickness of the cingulate gyrus were compared between ASD and TDC based on fine parcellation. Five SNPs of the CNTNAP2 linked to ASD and brain structural abnormality were genotyped, and rs2710102, rs2538991, rs2710126 passed quality control filters. Results ASD individuals showed thinner cortical thickness in bilateral cingulate subregions than TDC without significant group differences in GM and WM volumes. The WM volume of the right anterior cingulate gyrus was correlated with social awareness deficits in ASD. The CNTNAP2 variant demonstrated a main effect on the WM volumes of the right middle cingulate gyrus. Besides, the CNTNAP2 variants interacted with ASD diagnosis and age on the cortical thickness of the left anterior middle cingulate cortex. Conclusions Our findings suggest that aberrant cingulate structure in ASD might be associated with the social awareness deficits and genetic variants of the CNTNAP2. These novel findings need validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ling Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chieh Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Olafson E, Bedford SA, Devenyi GA, Patel R, Tullo S, Park MTM, Parent O, Anagnostou E, Baron-Cohen S, Bullmore ET, Chura LR, Craig MC, Ecker C, Floris DL, Holt RJ, Lenroot R, Lerch JP, Lombardo MV, Murphy DGM, Raznahan A, Ruigrok ANV, Spencer MD, Suckling J, Taylor MJ, Lai MC, Chakravarty MM. Examining the Boundary Sharpness Coefficient as an Index of Cortical Microstructure in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:3338-3352. [PMID: 33693614 PMCID: PMC8196259 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Revised: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical brain development. However, the phenotype of regionally specific increased cortical thickness observed in ASD may be driven by several independent biological processes that influence the gray/white matter boundary, such as synaptic pruning, myelination, or atypical migration. Here, we propose to use the boundary sharpness coefficient (BSC), a proxy for alterations in microstructure at the cortical gray/white matter boundary, to investigate brain differences in individuals with ASD, including factors that may influence ASD-related heterogeneity (age, sex, and intelligence quotient). Using a vertex-based meta-analysis and a large multicenter structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dataset, with a total of 1136 individuals, 415 with ASD (112 female; 303 male), and 721 controls (283 female; 438 male), we observed that individuals with ASD had significantly greater BSC in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus indicating an abrupt transition (high contrast) between white matter and cortical intensities. Individuals with ASD under 18 had significantly greater BSC in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and right postcentral gyrus; individuals with ASD over 18 had significantly increased BSC in the bilateral precuneus and superior temporal gyrus. Increases were observed in different brain regions in males and females, with larger effect sizes in females. BSC correlated with ADOS-2 Calibrated Severity Score in individuals with ASD in the right medial temporal pole. Importantly, there was a significant spatial overlap between maps of the effect of diagnosis on BSC when compared with cortical thickness. These results invite studies to use BSC as a possible new measure of cortical development in ASD and to further examine the microstructural underpinnings of BSC-related differences and their impact on measures of cortical morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Olafson
- Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal H4H 1R3, Canada
- Department of Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York City, NY 10021, USA
| | - Saashi A Bedford
- Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal H4H 1R3, Canada
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
| | - Gabriel A Devenyi
- Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal H4H 1R3, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Raihaan Patel
- Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal H4H 1R3, Canada
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Stephanie Tullo
- Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal H4H 1R3, Canada
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Min Tae M Park
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London N6A 3K7, ON, Canada
| | - Olivier Parent
- Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal H4H 1R3, Canada
- Departement de Psychologie, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Evdokia Anagnostou
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto M4G 1R8, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
| | - Edward T Bullmore
- Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - Lindsay R Chura
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
| | - Michael C Craig
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
- National Autism Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, London BR3 3BX, UK
| | - Christine Ecker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of the Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main 60528, Germany
| | - Dorothea L Floris
- Donders Center for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen 6525 HR, The Netherlands
- Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen 02.275, The Netherlands
| | - Rosemary J Holt
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
| | - Rhoshel Lenroot
- Department of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Jason P Lerch
- Department of Medical Biophysics, The University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Michael V Lombardo
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
- Laboratory for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, @UniTn, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Declan G M Murphy
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Armin Raznahan
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, Human Genetics Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-9663, USA
| | - Amber N V Ruigrok
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
| | - Michael D Spencer
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
| | - John Suckling
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
- Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - Margot J Taylor
- Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto M5G 1X8, Canada
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto M5G 1X8, Canada
- Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto M5G 1X8, Canada
| | | | - Meng-Chuan Lai
- Autism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
- The Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto M6J 1H4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 1R8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei 100229, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - M Mallar Chakravarty
- Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal H4H 1R3, Canada
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada
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Westmark CJ. Consumption of Breast Milk Is Associated with Decreased Prevalence of Autism in Fragile X Syndrome. Nutrients 2021; 13:nu13061785. [PMID: 34073785 PMCID: PMC8225095 DOI: 10.3390/nu13061785] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Breastfeeding is associated with numerous health benefits, but early life nutrition has not been specifically studied in the neurodevelopmental disorder fragile X syndrome (FXS). Herein, I evaluate associations between the consumption of breast milk during infancy and the prevalence of autism, allergies, diabetes, gastrointestinal (GI) problems and seizures in FXS. The study design was a retrospective survey of families enrolled in the Fragile X Online Registry and Accessible Research Database (FORWARD). There was a 1.7-fold reduction in the prevalence of autism in FXS participants who were fed breast milk for 12 months or longer. There were strong negative correlations between increased time the infant was fed breast milk and the prevalence of autism and seizures and moderate negative correlations with the prevalence of GI problems and allergies. However, participants reporting GI problems or allergies commenced these comorbidities significantly earlier than those not fed breast milk. Parsing the data by sex indicated that males exclusively fed breast milk exhibited decreased prevalence of GI problems and allergies. These data suggest that long-term or exclusive use of breast milk is associated with reduced prevalence of key comorbidities in FXS, although breast milk is associated with the earlier development of GI problems and allergies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara J. Westmark
- Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA; ; Tel.: +1-608-262-9730
- Molecular & Environmental Toxicology Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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