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Ihnatovych I, Saddler RA, Sule N, Szigeti K. Translational implications of CHRFAM7A, an elusive human-restricted fusion gene. Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:1020-1032. [PMID: 38200291 PMCID: PMC11176066 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02389-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Genes restricted to humans may contribute to human-specific traits and provide a different context for diseases. CHRFAM7A is a uniquely human fusion gene and a negative regulator of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7 nAChR). The α7 nAChR has been a promising target for diseases affecting cognition and higher cortical functions, however, the treatment effect observed in animal models failed to translate into human clinical trials. As CHRFAM7A was not accounted for in preclinical drug screens it may have contributed to the translational gap. Understanding the complex genetic architecture of the locus, deciphering the functional impact of CHRFAM7A on α7 nAChR neurobiology and utilizing human-relevant models may offer novel approaches to explore α7 nAChR as a drug target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivanna Ihnatovych
- Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Ruth-Ann Saddler
- Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Norbert Sule
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, 665 Elm St, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Kinga Szigeti
- Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA.
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2
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Zhou R, Niu K, Wang C, He J, Huang W, Li T, Lan H, Zhang Y, Dang X, Mao L. Human-specific CHRFAM7A primes macrophages for a heightened pro-inflammatory response at the earlier stage of inflammation. Cell Biol Int 2023; 47:1926-1941. [PMID: 37655479 DOI: 10.1002/cbin.12083] [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: 10/01/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
α7-Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) is the key effector molecule of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Evolution has evolved a uniquely human α7-nAChR encoded by CHRFAM7A. It has been demonstrated that CHRFAM7A dominant negatively regulates the functions of α7-nAChR. However, its role in inflammation remains to be fully characterized. CHRFAM7A transgenic (Tg) mice were phenotypically normal and their peritoneal macrophages exhibited decreased ligand-binding capability and, importantly, an activated gene expression profile of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Surprisingly, when challenged with sepsis, the Tg mice showed no survival disadvantage relative to their wild-type (Wt) counterparts. Further analysis showed that the complete blood count and serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were comparable at resting state, but the degrees of leukocyte mobilization and the increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly higher in Tg than Wt mice at the early stage of sepsis. In vitro, peritoneal macrophages of the Tg mice exhibited an exaggerated response to lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), especially at the earlier time points and at lower dosages of LPS. Remarkably, monocytes from CHRFAM7A-carrier showed similar dynamic changes of the pro-inflammatory cytokines to that observed in the Tg mice upon LPS challenge. Our results suggest that CHRFAM7A increases the mobilization of leukocytes and primes macrophages that confer an enhanced immune response at the early stage of inflammation, which may lead to prompt pathogen clearance, an evolutionary advantage in less severe inflammatory conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Zhou
- National Regional Children's Medical Center (Northwest), Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine to Pediatric Diseases of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an Key Laboratory of Children's Health and Diseases, Shaanxi Institute for Pediatric Diseases, Xi'an Children's Hospital, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Keran Niu
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Chaoying Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Jianghui He
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Wenjun Huang
- National Regional Children's Medical Center (Northwest), Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine to Pediatric Diseases of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an Key Laboratory of Children's Health and Diseases, Shaanxi Institute for Pediatric Diseases, Xi'an Children's Hospital, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Tao Li
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Huan Lan
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Yanmin Zhang
- National Regional Children's Medical Center (Northwest), Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine to Pediatric Diseases of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an Key Laboratory of Children's Health and Diseases, Shaanxi Institute for Pediatric Diseases, Xi'an Children's Hospital, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
- Department of Cardiology, Xi'an Children's Hospital, Affiliated Children's Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xitong Dang
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
| | - Liang Mao
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Luzhou, China
- Department of Cardiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
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Szigeti K, Ihnatovych I, Rosas N, Dorn RP, Notari E, Cortes Gomez E, He M, Maly I, Prasad S, Nimmer E, Heo Y, Fuchsova B, Bennett DA, Hofmann WA, Pralle A, Bae Y, Wang J. Neuronal actin cytoskeleton gain of function in the human brain. EBioMedicine 2023; 95:104725. [PMID: 37517100 PMCID: PMC10404607 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104725] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND While advancements in imaging techniques have led to major strides in deciphering the human brain, successful interventions are elusive and represent some of the most persistent translational gaps in medicine. Human restricted CHRFAM7A has been associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. METHODS The physiological role of CHRFAM7A in human brain is explored using multiomics approach on 600 post mortem human brain tissue samples. The emerging pathways and mechanistic hypotheses are tested and validated in an isogenic hiPSC model of CHRFAM7A knock-in medial ganglionic eminence progenitors and neurons. FINDINGS CHRFAM7A is identified as a modulator of intracellular calcium dynamics and an upstream regulator of Rac1. Rac1 activation re-designs the actin cytoskeleton leading to dynamic actin driven remodeling of membrane protrusion and a switch from filopodia to lamellipodia. The reinforced cytoskeleton leads to an advantage to tolerate stiffer mechanical properties of the extracellular environment. INTERPRETATION CHRFAM7A modifies the actin cytoskeleton to a more dynamic and stiffness resistant state in an α7nAChR dependent manner. CHRFAM7A may facilitate neuronal adaptation to changes in the brain environment in physiological and pathological conditions contributing to risk or recovery. Understanding how CHRFAM7A affects human brain requires human studies in the areas of memory formation and erasure, cognitive reserve, and neuronal plasticity. FUNDING This work is supported in part by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo (Kinga Szigeti). Also, in part by the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and The Company of Biologists (Nicolas Rosas). ROSMAP is supported by NIA grants P30AG10161, P30AG72975, R01AG15819, R01AG17917. U01AG46152, and U01AG61356.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kinga Szigeti
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA.
| | - Ivanna Ihnatovych
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Nicolás Rosas
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA; Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de, Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ryu P Dorn
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Emily Notari
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | | | - Muye He
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Ivan Maly
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Shreyas Prasad
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Erik Nimmer
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Yuna Heo
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Beata Fuchsova
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (EByN), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) - Consejo Nacional de, Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - David A Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Wilma A Hofmann
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Arnd Pralle
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Yongho Bae
- State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Jianmin Wang
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, 665 Elm St, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
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4
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Leonard S, Benfante R. Unanswered questions in the regulation and function of the duplicated α7 nicotinic receptor gene CHRFAM7A. Pharmacol Res 2023; 192:106783. [PMID: 37164281 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106783] [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: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The α7 nicotinic receptor (α7 nAChR) is an important entry point for Ca2+ into the cell, which has broad and important effects on gene expression and function. The gene (CHRNA7), mapping to chromosome (15q14), has been genetically linked to a large number of diseases, many of which involve defects in cognition. While numerous mutations in CHRNA7 are associated with mental illness and inflammation, an important control point may be the function of a recently discovered partial duplication CHRNA7, CHRFAM7A, that negatively regulates the function of the α7 receptor, through the formation of heteropentamers; other functions cannot be excluded. The deregulation of this human specific gene (CHRFAM7A) has been linked to neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and inflammatory disorders and has important copy number variations. Much effort is being made to understand its function and regulation both in healthy and pathological conditions. However, many questions remain to be answered regarding its functional role, its regulation, and its role in the etiogenesis of neurological and inflammatory disorders. Missing knowledge on the pharmacology of the heteroreceptor has limited the discovery of new molecules capable of modulating its activity. Here we review the state of the art on the role of CHRFAM7A, highlighting unanswered questions to be addressed. A possible therapeutic approach based on genome editing protocols is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherry Leonard
- Department of Psychiatry - University of Colorado Anschutz, Aurora, Colorado, USA
| | - Roberta Benfante
- CNR - Institute of Neuroscience, Vedano al Lambro (MB), Italy; Dept. Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy; NeuroMI - Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
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Peng W, Mao L, Dang X. The emergence of the uniquely human α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene and its roles in inflammation. Gene 2022; 842:146777. [PMID: 35952843 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.146777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The uniquely human CHRFAM7A gene is evolved from the fusion of two partially duplicated genes, ULK4 and CHRNA7. Transcription of CHRFAM7A gene produces a 1256-bp open reading frame (ORF) that encodes duplicate α7-nAChR (dup-α7-nAChR), in which a 27-aminoacid peptide derived from ULK4 gene replaces the 146-aminoacid N-terminal extracellular domain of α7-nAChR, and the rest protein domains are exactly the same as those of α7-nAChR. In vitro, dup-α7-nAChR has been shown to form hetero-pentamer with α7-nAChR and dominant-negatively inhibits the channel functions of the latter. α7-nAChR has been shown to participate in many pathophysiological processes such as cognition, memory, neuronal degenerative disease, psychological disease, and inflammatory diseases, among others, and thus has been extensively exploited as potential therapeutic targets for many diseases. Unfortunately, many lead compounds that showed potent therapeutic effect in preclinical animal models failed clinical trials, suggesting the possibility that the contribution of the uniquely human CHRFAM7A gene may not be accounted for in the preclinical research. Here, we review the emergence of CHRFAM7A gene and its transcriptional regulation, the regulatory roles of CHRFAM7A gene in α7-nAChR-mediated cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, and the potential implications of CHRFAM7A gene in translational research and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanling Peng
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, India
| | - Liang Mao
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, India
| | - Xitong Dang
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education, Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, India; Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The 1st Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China.
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6
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Di Lascio S, Fornasari D, Benfante R. The Human-Restricted Isoform of the α7 nAChR, CHRFAM7A: A Double-Edged Sword in Neurological and Inflammatory Disorders. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23073463. [PMID: 35408823 PMCID: PMC8998457 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23073463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
CHRFAM7A is a relatively recent and exclusively human gene arising from the partial duplication of exons 5 to 10 of the α7 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit (α7 nAChR) encoding gene, CHRNA7. CHRNA7 is related to several disorders that involve cognitive deficits, including neuropsychiatric, neurodegenerative, and inflammatory disorders. In extra-neuronal tissues, α7nAChR plays an important role in proliferation, differentiation, migration, adhesion, cell contact, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and tumor progression, as well as in the modulation of the inflammatory response through the “cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway”. CHRFAM7A translates the dupα7 protein in a multitude of cell lines and heterologous systems, while maintaining processing and trafficking that are very similar to the full-length form. It does not form functional ion channel receptors alone. In the presence of CHRNA7 gene products, dupα7 can assemble and form heteromeric receptors that, in order to be functional, should include at least two α7 subunits to form the agonist binding site. When incorporated into the receptor, in vitro and in vivo data showed that dupα7 negatively modulated α7 activity, probably due to a reduction in the number of ACh binding sites. Very recent data in the literature report that the presence of the duplicated gene may be responsible for the translational gap in several human diseases. Here, we will review the studies that have been conducted on CHRFAM7A in different pathologies, with the intent of providing evidence regarding when and how the expression of this duplicated gene may be beneficial or detrimental in the pathogenesis, and eventually in the therapeutic response, to CHRNA7-related neurological and non-neurological diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Di Lascio
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine (BIOMETRA), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20129 Milan, Italy; (S.D.L.); (D.F.)
| | - Diego Fornasari
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine (BIOMETRA), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20129 Milan, Italy; (S.D.L.); (D.F.)
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience, 20845 Vedano al Lambro, Italy
| | - Roberta Benfante
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine (BIOMETRA), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20129 Milan, Italy; (S.D.L.); (D.F.)
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience, 20845 Vedano al Lambro, Italy
- NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Lee WP, Tucci AA, Conery M, Leung YY, Kuzma AB, Valladares O, Chou YF, Lu W, Wang LS, Schellenberg GD, Tzeng JY. Copy Number Variation Identification on 3,800 Alzheimer's Disease Whole Genome Sequencing Data from the Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project. Front Genet 2021; 12:752390. [PMID: 34804120 PMCID: PMC8599981 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.752390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive neurologic disease and the most common form of dementia. While the causes of AD are not completely understood, genetics plays a key role in the etiology of AD, and thus finding genetic factors holds the potential to uncover novel AD mechanisms. For this study, we focus on copy number variation (CNV) detection and burden analysis. Leveraging whole-genome sequence (WGS) data released by Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP), we developed a scalable bioinformatics pipeline to identify CNVs. This pipeline was applied to 1,737 AD cases and 2,063 cognitively normal controls. As a result, we observed 237,306 and 42,767 deletions and duplications, respectively, with an average of 2,255 deletions and 1,820 duplications per subject. The burden tests show that Non-Hispanic-White cases on average have 16 more duplications than controls do (p-value 2e-6), and Hispanic cases have larger deletions than controls do (p-value 6.8e-5).
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Affiliation(s)
- Wan-Ping Lee
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Albert A. Tucci
- Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Mitchell Conery
- Division of Human Genetics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Graduate Group in Genomics and Computational Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Yuk Yee Leung
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Amanda B. Kuzma
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Otto Valladares
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Yi-Fan Chou
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Wenbin Lu
- Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Li-San Wang
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Gerard D. Schellenberg
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Jung-Ying Tzeng
- Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
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Dehghani N, Guven G, Kun-Rodrigues C, Gouveia C, Foster K, Hanagasi H, Lohmann E, Samanci B, Gurvit H, Bilgic B, Bras J, Guerreiro R. A comprehensive analysis of copy number variation in a Turkish dementia cohort. Hum Genomics 2021; 15:48. [PMID: 34321086 PMCID: PMC8317312 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-021-00346-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Copy number variants (CNVs) include deletions or multiplications spanning genomic regions. These regions vary in size and may span genes known to play a role in human diseases. As examples, duplications and triplications of SNCA have been shown to cause forms of Parkinson's disease, while duplications of APP cause early onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). RESULTS Here, we performed a systematic analysis of CNVs in a Turkish dementia cohort in order to further characterize the genetic causes of dementia in this population. One hundred twenty-four Turkish individuals, either at risk of dementia due to family history, diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, AD, or frontotemporal dementia, were whole-genome genotyped and CNVs were detected. We integrated family analysis with a comprehensive assessment of potentially disease-associated CNVs in this Turkish dementia cohort. We also utilized both dementia and non-dementia individuals from the UK Biobank in order to further elucidate the potential role of the identified CNVs in neurodegenerative diseases. We report CNVs overlapping the previously implicated genes ZNF804A, SNORA70B, USP34, XPO1, and a locus on chromosome 9 which includes a cluster of olfactory receptors and ABCA1. Additionally, we also describe novel CNVs potentially associated with dementia, overlapping the genes AFG1L, SNX3, VWDE, and BC039545. CONCLUSIONS Genotyping data from understudied populations can be utilized to identify copy number variation which may contribute to dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Dehghani
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
| | - Gamze Guven
- Department of Genetics, Aziz Sancar Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Celia Kun-Rodrigues
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
| | - Catarina Gouveia
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
| | - Kalina Foster
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
- Neuroscience Department, Michigan State University College of Natural Science, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Hasmet Hanagasi
- Behavioural Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ebba Lohmann
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- DZNE, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Bedia Samanci
- Behavioural Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hakan Gurvit
- Behavioural Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Basar Bilgic
- Behavioural Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Jose Bras
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
- Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
| | - Rita Guerreiro
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
- Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
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9
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Strickland SL, Reddy JS, Allen M, N'songo A, Burgess JD, Corda MM, Ballard T, Wang X, Carrasquillo MM, Biernacka JM, Jenkins GD, Mukherjee S, Boehme K, Crane P, Kauwe JS, Ertekin‐Taner N. MAPT haplotype-stratified GWAS reveals differential association for AD risk variants. Alzheimers Dement 2020; 16:983-1002. [PMID: 32400971 PMCID: PMC7983911 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [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: 08/26/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION MAPT H1 haplotype is implicated as a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS Using Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium (ADGC) genome-wide association study (GWAS) data (n = 18,841), we conducted a MAPT H1/H2 haplotype-stratified association to discover MAPT haplotype-specific AD risk loci. RESULTS We identified 11 loci-5 in H2-non-carriers and 6 in H2-carriers-although none of the MAPT haplotype-specific associations achieved genome-wide significance. The most significant H2 non-carrier-specific association was with a NECTIN2 intronic (P = 1.33E-07) variant, and that for H2 carriers was near NKX6-1 (P = 1.99E-06). The GABRG2 locus had the strongest epistasis with MAPT H1/H2 variant rs8070723 (P = 3.91E-06). Eight of the 12 genes at these loci had transcriptome-wide significant differential expression in AD versus control temporal cortex (q < 0.05). Six genes were members of the brain transcriptional co-expression network implicated in "synaptic transmission" (P = 9.85E-59), which is also enriched for neuronal genes (P = 1.0E-164), including MAPT. DISCUSSION This stratified GWAS identified loci that may confer AD risk in a MAPT haplotype-specific manner. This approach may preferentially enrich for neuronal genes implicated in synaptic transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joseph S. Reddy
- Department of Health Sciences ResearchMayo ClinicJacksonvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Mariet Allen
- Department of NeuroscienceMayo ClinicJacksonvilleFloridaUSA
| | | | | | | | - Travis Ballard
- Department of NeuroscienceMayo ClinicJacksonvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Xue Wang
- Department of Health Sciences ResearchMayo ClinicJacksonvilleFloridaUSA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Paul Crane
- University of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | | | - Nilüfer Ertekin‐Taner
- Department of NeuroscienceMayo ClinicJacksonvilleFloridaUSA
- Department of NeurologyMayo ClinicJacksonvilleFloridaUSA
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10
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Ziegler GC, Almos P, McNeill RV, Jansch C, Lesch KP. Cellular effects and clinical implications of SLC2A3 copy number variation. J Cell Physiol 2020; 235:9021-9036. [PMID: 32372501 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.29753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2019] [Revised: 04/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
SLC2A3 encodes the predominantly neuronal glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3), which facilitates diffusion of glucose across plasma membranes. The human brain depends on a steady glucose supply for ATP generation, which consequently fuels critical biochemical processes, such as axonal transport and neurotransmitter release. Besides its role in the central nervous system, GLUT3 is also expressed in nonneural organs, such as the heart and white blood cells, where it is equally involved in energy metabolism. In cancer cells, GLUT3 overexpression contributes to the Warburg effect by answering the cell's increased glycolytic demands. The SLC2A3 gene locus at chromosome 12p13.31 is unstable and prone to non-allelic homologous recombination events, generating multiple copy number variants (CNVs) of SLC2A3 which account for alterations in SLC2A3 expression. Recent associations of SLC2A3 CNVs with different clinical phenotypes warrant investigation of the potential influence of these structural variants on pathomechanisms of neuropsychiatric, cardiovascular, and immune diseases. In this review, we accumulate and discuss the evidence how SLC2A3 gene dosage may exert diverse protective or detrimental effects depending on the pathological condition. Cellular states which lead to increased energetic demand, such as organ development, proliferation, and cellular degeneration, appear particularly susceptible to alterations in SLC2A3 copy number. We conclude that better understanding of the impact of SLC2A3 variation on disease etiology may potentially provide novel therapeutic approaches specifically targeting this GLUT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg C Ziegler
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Center of Mental Health, University of Würzburg, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Center of Mental Health, University of Würzburg, Germany
| | - Peter Almos
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Center of Mental Health, University of Würzburg, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Szeged, Hungary
| | - Rhiannon V McNeill
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Center of Mental Health, University of Würzburg, Germany
| | - Charline Jansch
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Center of Mental Health, University of Würzburg, Germany
| | - Klaus-Peter Lesch
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Center of Mental Health, University of Würzburg, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Laboratory of Psychiatric Neurobiology, Institute of Molecular Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
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11
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Jiang Y, Yuan H, Huang L, Hou X, Zhou R, Dang X. Global proteomic profiling of the uniquely human CHRFAM7A gene in transgenic mouse brain. Gene 2019; 714:143996. [PMID: 31348980 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2019.143996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The uniquely human α7-nAChR gene (CHRFAM7A) is evolved from the fusion of two partially duplicated genes, FAM7 and α7-nAChR gene (CHRNA7), and is inserted on same chromosome 15, 5' end of the CHRNA7 gene. Transcription of CHRFAM7A gene produces a 1256-bp open reading frame encoding dup-α7-nAChR, where a 27-aminoacid residues from FAM7 replaced the 146-aminoacid residues of the N-terminal extracellular ligand binding domain of α7-nAChR. In vitro, dup-α7-nAChR has been shown to form hetero-pentamer with α7-nAChR and dominant-negatively regulates the channel functions of α7-nAChR. However, the contribution of CHRFAM7A gene to the biology of α7-nAChR in the brain in vivo remains largely a matter of conjecture. CHRFAM7A transgenic mouse was created and differentially expressed proteins were profiled from the whole brain using iTRAQ-2D-LC-MS/MS proteomic technology. Proteins with a fold change of ≥1.2 or ≤0.83 and p < 0.05 were considered to be significant. Bioinformatics analysis showed that over-expression of the CHRFAM7A gene significantly modulated the proteins commonly involved in the signaling pathways of α7-nAChR-mediated neuropsychiatric disorders including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and alcoholism, suggesting that the CHRFAM7A gene contributes to the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders mostly likely through fine-tuning the functions of α7-nAChR in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Jiang
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education & Medical Electrophysiological Key Lab of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000,China
| | - Haiyang Yuan
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education & Medical Electrophysiological Key Lab of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000,China
| | - Li Huang
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education & Medical Electrophysiological Key Lab of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000,China
| | - Xiaojie Hou
- Division of Vascular Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Rui Zhou
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education & Medical Electrophysiological Key Lab of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000,China
| | - Xitong Dang
- The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education & Medical Electrophysiological Key Lab of Sichuan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000,China; Division of Vascular Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China.
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12
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Ihnatovych I, Nayak TK, Ouf A, Sule N, Birkaya B, Chaves L, Auerbach A, Szigeti K. iPSC model of CHRFAM7A effect on α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor function in the human context. Transl Psychiatry 2019; 9:59. [PMID: 30710073 PMCID: PMC6358606 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0375-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) has been a promising target for diseases affecting cognition and higher cortical functions; however, the effect observed in animal models failed to translate into human clinical trials identifying a translational gap. CHRFAM7A is a human-specific fusion gene with properties that enable incorporation into the α7nAChR and, being human specific, CHRFAM7A effect was not accounted for in preclinical studies. We hypothesized that CHRFAM7A may account for this translational gap and understanding its function may offer novel insights when exploring α7nAChR as a drug target. CHRFAM7A is present in different copy number variations (CNV) in the human genome with high frequency. To study the functional consequences of the presence of the CHRFAM7A, two induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines (0 copy and 1 copy direct) were developed. The 0 copy line was rescued with CHRFAM7A transfection to control for genetic heterogeneity. As readouts for genotype-phenotype correlation, α7nAChR synaptic transmission and amyloid beta 1-42 (Aβ1-42) uptake were tested. Synaptic transmission in the presence of CHRFAM7A demonstrated that PNU-modulated desensitization of α7nAChR currents increased as a function of CHRFAM7A dosage. CHRFAM7A mitigated the dose response of Aβ1-42 uptake suggesting a protective effect beyond physiological concentrations. Furthermore, in the presence of CHRFAM7A Aβ1-42 uptake activated neuronal interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) without activating the canonical inflammasome pathway. Lead optimization may identify more potent molecules when the screen has a model harboring CHRFAM7A. Incorporating pharmacogenetics into clinical trials may enhance signals in efficacy measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivanna Ihnatovych
- Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Tapan K Nayak
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
- Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Aya Ouf
- Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Norbert Sule
- Department of Pathology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Barbara Birkaya
- Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Lee Chaves
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Anthony Auerbach
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Kinga Szigeti
- Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
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13
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Lew AR, Kellermayer TR, Sule BP, Szigeti K. Copy Number Variations in Adult-onset Neuropsychiatric Diseases. Curr Genomics 2018; 19:420-430. [PMID: 30258274 PMCID: PMC6128389 DOI: 10.2174/1389202919666180330153842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Revised: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Adult-onset neuropsychiatric diseases are one of the most challenging areas of medicine. While symptomatic treatments are available, for most of these diseases the exact pathomechanism is not known, thus, disease-modifying therapies are difficult to conceptualize and find. The two most common and best studied neuropsychiatric diseases affecting higher cortical functions in humans are schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease; both diseases have high heritability, however, the genetic architecture is not fully elucidated. Robust Single Nucleotide Variant (SNV) studies have identified several loci with modest effect sizes. While Copy Number Variants (CNV) make an important contribution to genetic variation, CNV GWAS suffer from dependence on mainly SNP arrays with underperforming genotyping accuracy. We evaluated dynamic range of the assays for three types of CNV loci, including biallelic deletion, high copy gain, and fusion gene, to assess the depth of exploration of the contribution of CNVs to disease susceptibility. Despite the suboptimal genotyping, novel mechanisms are emerging and further large-scale studies with genotyping assays optimized for CNV detection are needed. Furthermore, the CHRFAM7A human-specific fusion gene association warrants large scale locus specific association studies in AD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra R Lew
- Department of Neurology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY14203, USA
| | | | - Balint P Sule
- Department of Neurology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY14203, USA
| | - Kinga Szigeti
- Department of Neurology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY14203, USA
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14
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Blue EE, Yu CE, Thornton TA, Chapman NH, Kernfeld E, Jiang N, Shively KM, Buckingham KJ, Marvin CT, Bamshad MJ, Bird TD, Wijsman EM. Variants regulating ZBTB4 are associated with age-at-onset of Alzheimer's disease. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2018; 17:e12429. [PMID: 29045054 PMCID: PMC5902667 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Revised: 10/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The identification of novel genetic modifiers of age-at-onset (AAO) of Alzheimer's disease (AD) could advance our understanding of AD and provide novel therapeutic targets. A previous genome scan for modifiers of AAO among families affected by early-onset AD caused by the PSEN2 N141I variant identified 2 loci with significant evidence for linkage: 1q23.3 and 17p13.2. Here, we describe the fine-mapping of these 2 linkage regions, and test for replication in 6 independent datasets. By fine-mapping these linkage signals in a single large family, we reduced the linkage regions to 11% their original size and nominated 54 candidate variants. Among the 11 variants associated with AAO of AD in a larger sample of Germans from Russia, the strongest evidence implicated promoter variants influencing NCSTN on 1q23.3 and ZBTB4 on 17p13.2. The association between ZBTB4 and AAO of AD was replicated by multiple variants in independent, trans-ethnic datasets. Our results show association between AAO of AD and both ZBTB4 and NCSTN. ZBTB4 is a transcriptional repressor that regulates the cell cycle, including the apoptotic response to amyloid beta, while NCSTN is part of the gamma secretase complex, known to influence amyloid beta production. These genes therefore suggest important roles for amyloid beta and cell cycle pathways in AAO of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth E. Blue
- Division of Medical Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Chang-En Yu
- Division of Gerontology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Timothy A. Thornton
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Nicola H. Chapman
- Division of Medical Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Eric Kernfeld
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Nan Jiang
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Kathryn M. Shively
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Kati J. Buckingham
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Colby T. Marvin
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Michael J. Bamshad
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Division of Genetic Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Thomas D. Bird
- Division of Medical Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ellen M. Wijsman
- Division of Medical Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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15
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Sekine M, Makino T. Inference of Causative Genes for Alzheimer's Disease Due to Dosage Imbalance. Mol Biol Evol 2017; 34:2396-2407. [PMID: 28666362 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Copy number variations (CNVs) have recently drawn attention as an important genetic factor for diseases, especially common neuropsychiatric disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Because most of the pathogenic CNV regions overlap with multiple genes, it has been challenging to identify the true disease-causing genes amongst them. Notably, a recent study reported that CNV regions containing ohnologs, which are dosage-sensitive genes, are likely to be deleterious. Utilizing the unique feature of ohnologs could be useful for identifying causative genes with pathogenic CNVs, however its effectiveness is still unclear. Although it has been reported that AD is strongly affected by CNVs, most of AD-causing genes with pathogenic CNVs have not been identified yet. Here, we show that dosage-sensitive ohnologs within CNV regions reported in patients with AD are related to the nervous system and are highly expressed in the brain, similar to other known susceptible genes for AD. We found that CNV regions in patients with AD contained dosage-sensitive genes, which are ohnologs not overlapping with control CNV regions, frequently. Furthermore, these dosage-sensitive genes in pathogenic CNV regions had a strong enrichment in the nervous system for mouse knockout phenotype and high expression in the brain similar to the known susceptible genes for AD. Our results demonstrated that selecting dosage-sensitive ohnologs out of multiple genes with pathogenic CNVs is effective in identifying the causative genes for AD. This methodology can be applied to other diseases caused by dosage imbalance and might help to establish the medical diagnosis by analysis of CNVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mizuka Sekine
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Takashi Makino
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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16
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Shah C, DeMichele-Sweet MAA, Sweet RA. Genetics of psychosis of Alzheimer disease. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2017; 174:27-35. [PMID: 26756273 PMCID: PMC5154859 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Accepted: 12/21/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Psychotic symptoms, comprised of delusions and hallucinations, occur in about half of individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD with psychosis, AD+P). These individuals have greater agitation, aggression, depression, functional impairment, and mortality than individuals without psychosis (AD-P). Although the exact etiopathogenesis of AD+P is unclear, the rapidly developing field of genomics continues to expand our understanding of this disease. Several independent studies have demonstrated familial aggregation and heritability of AD+P. Linkage studies have been suggestive of loci on several chromosomes associated with AD+P. Association studies examining apolipoprotein E gene, the best established genetic risk factor for late-onset AD, did not find any significant association of this gene with AD+P. Other candidate gene studies focusing on monoamine neurotransmitter systems have yielded equivocal results. A genome-wide association study and studies examining copy number variations recently have detected suggestive associations, but have been underpowered. Approaches to increase sizes of AD+P samples for genome wide association studies are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chintan Shah
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Robert A. Sweet
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- VISN 4 Mental Health Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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17
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Song F, Han G, Bai Z, Peng X, Wang J, Lei H. Alzheimer's Disease: Genomics and Beyond. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2015; 121:1-24. [PMID: 26315760 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2015.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major form of senile dementia. Despite the critical roles of Aβ and tau in AD pathology, drugs targeting Aβ or tau have so far reached limited success. The advent of genomic technologies has made it possible to gain a more complete picture regarding the molecular network underlying the disease progression which may lead to discoveries of novel treatment targets. In this review, we will discuss recent progresses in AD research focusing on genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and related subjects. Advancements have been made in the finding of novel genetic risk factors, new hypothesis for disease mechanism, candidate biomarkers for early diagnosis, and potential drug targets. As an integration effort, we have curated relevant data in a database named AlzBase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuhai Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Guangchun Han
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Zhouxian Bai
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Xing Peng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Jiajia Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Hongxing Lei
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Center of Alzheimer's Disease, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, PR China.
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18
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Zheng X, Demirci FY, Barmada MM, Richardson GA, Lopez OL, Sweet RA, Kamboh MI, Feingold E. Genome-wide copy-number variation study of psychosis in Alzheimer's disease. Transl Psychiatry 2015; 5:e574. [PMID: 26035058 PMCID: PMC4490277 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2015.64] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Revised: 01/23/2015] [Accepted: 02/08/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
About 40-60% of patients with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) develop psychosis, which represents a distinct phenotype of more severe cognitive and functional deficits. The estimated heritability of AD+P is ~61%, which makes it a good target for genetic mapping. We performed a genome-wide copy-number variation (CNV) study on 496 AD cases with psychosis (AD+P), 639 AD subjects with intermediate psychosis (AD intermediate P) and 156 AD subjects without psychosis (AD-P) who were recruited at the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer's Disease Research Center using over 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and CNV markers. CNV load analysis found no significant difference in total and average CNV length and CNV number in the AD+P or AD intermediate P groups compared with the AD-P group. Our analysis revealed a marginally significant lower number of duplication events in AD+P cases compared with AD-P controls (P=0.059) using multivariable regression model. The most interesting finding was the presence of a genome-wide significant duplication in the APC2 gene on chromosome 19, which was protective against developing AD+P (odds ratio=0.42; P=7.2E-10). We also observed suggestive associations of duplications with AD+P in the SET (P=1.95E-06), JAG2 (P=5.01E-07) and ZFPM1 (P=2.13E-07) genes and marginal association of a deletion in CNTLN (P=8.87E-04). We have identified potential novel loci for psychosis in Alzheimer's disease that warrant follow-up in large-scale independent studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- X Zheng
- Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA,Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA. E-mail:
| | - F Y Demirci
- Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - M M Barmada
- Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - G A Richardson
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - O L Lopez
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - R A Sweet
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - M I Kamboh
- Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - E Feingold
- Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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