A Rare Variant of ANK3 Is Associated With Intracranial Aneurysm

Chronic Wound Initiation: Single-Cell RNAseq of Cutaneous Wound Tissue and Contributions of Oxidative Stress to Initiation of Chronicity

Chronic wounds (CWs) in humans affect millions of people in the US alone, cost billions of dollars, cause much suffering, and still there are no effective treatments. Patients seek medical care when wound chronicity is already established, making it impossible to investigate factors that initiate chronicity. In this study, we used a diabetic mouse model of CWs that mimics many aspects of chronicity in humans. We performed scRNAseq to compare the cell composition and function during the first 72 h post-injury and profiled 102,737 cells into clusters of all major cell types involved in healing. We found two types of fibroblasts. Fib 1 (pro-healing) was enriched in non-CWs (NCWs) whereas Fib 2 (non-healing) was in CWs. Both showed disrupted proliferation and migration, and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in CWs. We identified several subtypes of keratinocytes, all of which were more abundant in NCWs, except for Channel-related keratinocytes, and showed altered migration, apoptosis, and response to oxidative stress (OS) in CWs. Vascular and lymphatic endothelial cells were both less abundant in CWs and both had impaired migration affecting the development of endothelial and lymphatic microvessels. Study of immune cells showed that neutrophils and mast cells are less abundant in CWs and that NCWs contained more proinflammatory macrophages (M1) whereas CWs were enriched in anti-inflammatory macrophages (M2). Also, several genes involved in mitochondrial function were abnormally expressed in CWs, suggesting impaired mitochondrial function and/or higher OS. Heat shock proteins needed for response to OS were downregulated in CWs, potentially leading to higher cellular damage. In conclusion, the initiation of chronicity is multifactorial and involves various cell types and cellular functions, indicating that one type of treatment will not fix all problems, unless the root cause is fundamental to the cell and molecular mechanisms of healing. We propose that such a fundamental process is high OS and its association with wound infection/biofilm.

CDX2 dose-dependently influences the gene regulatory network underlying human extraembryonic mesoderm development

Loss of Cdx2 in vivo leads to stunted development of the allantois, an extraembryonic mesoderm-derived structure critical for nutrient delivery and waste removal in the early embryo. Here, we investigate how CDX2 dose-dependently influences the gene regulatory network underlying extraembryonic mesoderm development. By engineering human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) consisting of wild-type (WT), heterozygous (CDX2-Het), and homozygous null CDX2 (CDX2-KO) genotypes, differentiating these cells in a 2D gastruloid model, and subjecting these cells to single-nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing, we identify several pathways that are dose-dependently regulated by CDX2 including VEGF and non-canonical WNT. snATAC-seq reveals that CDX2-Het cells retain a WT-like chromatin accessibility profile, suggesting accessibility alone is not sufficient to drive this variability in gene expression. Because the loss of CDX2 or TBXT phenocopy one another in vivo, we compared differentially expressed genes in our CDX2-KO to those from TBXT-KO hiPSCs differentiated in an analogous experiment. This comparison identifies several communally misregulated genes that are critical for cytoskeletal integrity and tissue permeability. Together, these results clarify how CDX2 dose-dependently regulates gene expression in the extraembryonic mesoderm and reveal pathways that may underlie the defects in vascular development and allantoic elongation seen in vivo.

CDX2 dose-dependently influences the gene regulatory network underlying human extraembryonic mesoderm development

Proper regulation of gene dosage is critical for the development of the early embryo and the extraembryonic tissues that support it. Specifically, loss of Cdx2 in vivo leads to stunted development of the allantois, an extraembryonic mesoderm-derived structure critical for nutrient delivery and waste removal in the early embryo. In this study, we investigate how CDX2 dose-dependently influences the gene regulatory network underlying extraembryonic mesoderm development. We generate an allelic series for CDX2 in human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) consisting of WT, heterozygous, and homozygous null CDX2 genotypes, differentiate these cells in a 2D gastruloid model, and subject these cells to multiomic single nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing. We identify several genes that CDX2 dose-dependently regulate cytoskeletal integrity and adhesiveness in the extraembryonic mesoderm population, including regulators of the VEGF, canonical WNT, and non-canonical WNT signaling pathways. Despite these dose-dependent gene expression patterns, snATAC-seq reveals that heterozygous CDX2 expression is capable of inducing a WT-like chromatin accessibility profile, suggesting accessibility is not sufficient to drive gene expression when the CDX2 dosage is reduced. Finally, because the loss of CDX2 or TBXT phenocopy one another in vivo, we compare differentially expressed genes in our CDX2 knock-out model to those from TBXT knock-out hiPSCs differentiated in an analogous experiment. This comparison identifies several communally misregulated genes that are critical for cytoskeletal integrity and tissue permeability, including ANK3 and ANGPT1. Together, these results clarify how CDX2 dose-dependently regulates gene expression in the extraembryonic mesoderm and suggest these genes may underlie the defects in vascular development and allantoic elongation seen in the absence or reduction of CDX2 in vivo.

Multinational Genome-Wide Association Study and Functional Genomics Analysis Implicates Decreased SIRT3 Expression Underlying Intracranial Aneurysm Risk

BACKGROUND

The genetic mechanisms regulating intracranial aneurysm (IA) formation and rupture are largely unknown. To identify germline-genetic risk factors for IA, we perform a multinational genome-wide association study (GWAS) of individuals from the United Kingdom, Finland, and Japan.

OBJECTIVE

To identify a shared, multinational genetic basis of IA.

METHODS

Using GWAS summary statistics from UK Biobank, FinnGen, and Biobank Japan, we perform a meta-analysis of IA, containing ruptured and unruptured IA cases. Logistic regression was used to identify IA-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Effect size was calculated using the coefficient r , estimating the contribution of the single-nucleotide polymorphism to the genetic variance of the trait. Genome-wide significance was set at 5.0 × 10 -8 . Expression quantitative trait loci mapping and functional genomics approaches were used to infer mechanistic consequences of implicated variants.

RESULTS

Our cohort contained 155 154 individuals (3132 IA cases and 152 022 controls). We identified 4 genetic loci reaching genome-wide: rs73392700 ( SIRT3 , effect size = 0.28, P = 4.3 × 10 -12 ), rs58721068 ( EDNRA , effect size = -0.20, P = 4.8 × 10 -12 ), rs4977574 ( AL359922.1 , effect size = 0.18, P = 7.9 × 10 -12 ), and rs11105337 ( ATP2B1 , effect size = -0.15, P = 3.4 × 10 -8 ). Expression quantitative trait loci mapping suggests that rs73392700 has a large effect size on SIRT3 gene expression in arterial and muscle, but not neurological, tissues. Functional genomics analysis suggests that rs73392700 causes decreased SIRT3 gene expression.

CONCLUSION

We perform a multinational GWAS of IA and identify 4 genetic risk loci, including 2 novel IA risk loci ( SIRT3 and AL359922.1 ). Identification of high-risk genetic loci across ancestries will enable population-genetic screening approaches to identify patients with IA.

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule/cluster of differentiation 166 rs10933819 (G>A) variant is associated with familial intracranial aneurysms

Rupture of intracranial aneurysms (IAs) is the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Currently, there is sufficient evidence to indicate that inflammatory responses contribute to aneurysm rupture. Moreover, the familial occurrence of SAH suggests that genetic factors may be involved in disease susceptibility. In the present study, a clinically proven case of IA in a patient who is a heterozygous mutation carrier of the activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM)/cluster of differentiation 166 (CD166) gene, is reported. Genomic DNA was extracted from two siblings diagnosed with SAH and other available family members. A variant prioritization strategy that focused on functional prediction, frequency, predicted pathogenicity, and segregation within the family was employed. Sanger sequencing was also performed on the unaffected relatives to assess the segregation of variants within the phenotype. The verified mutations were sequenced in 145 ethnicity-matched healthy individuals. Based on whole exome sequencing data obtained from three individuals, two of whom were diagnosed with IAs, the single-nucleotide variant rs10933819 was prioritized in the family. Only one variant, rs10933819 (G>A), in ALCAM co-segregated with the phenotype, and this mutation was absent in ethnicity-matched healthy individuals. Collectively, ALCAM c1382 G>A p.Gly229Val was identified, for the first time, as a pathogenic mutation in this IA pedigree.