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Jiang Z, Sun Y, Liu S. Association between human blood metabolites and cerebral cortex architecture: evidence from a Mendelian randomization study. Front Neurol 2024; 15:1386844. [PMID: 38784905 PMCID: PMC11111910 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1386844] [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: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Dysregulation of circulating metabolites may affect brain function and cognition, associated with alterations in the cerebral cortex architecture. However, the exact cause remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the causal effect of circulating metabolites on the cerebral cortex architecture. Methods This study utilized retrieved data from genome-wide association studies to investigate the relationship between blood metabolites and cortical architecture. A total of 1,091 metabolites and 309 metabolite ratios were used for exposure. The brain cortex surface area and cortex thickness were selected as the primary outcomes in this study. In this study, the inverse variance weighting method was used as the main analytical method, complemented by sensitivity analyses that were more robust to pleiotropy. Furthermore, metabolic pathway analysis was performed via MetaboAnalyst 6.0. Finally, reverse Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to assess the potential for reverse causation. Results After correcting for the false discovery rate (FDR), we identified 37 metabolites and 9 metabolite ratios that showed significant causal associations with cortical structures. Among these, Oxalate was found to be most strongly associated with cortical surface area (β: 2387.532, 95% CI 756.570-4018.495, p = 0.037), while Tyrosine was most correlated with cortical thickness (β: -0.015, 95% CI -0.005 to -0.025, p = 0.025). Furthermore, pathway analysis based on metabolites identified six significant metabolic pathways associated with cortical structures and 13 significant metabolic pathways based on metabolite ratios. Conclusion The identified metabolites and relevant metabolic pathways reveal potential therapeutic pathways for reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. These findings will help guide health policies and clinical practice in treating neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongzhi Jiang
- Department of Neurology, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Yining Sun
- Department of Neurology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Songyan Liu
- Department of Neurology, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, China
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Highet B, Wiseman JA, Mein H, Parker R, Ryan B, Turner CP, Jing Y, Singh-Bains MK, Liu P, Dragunow M, Faull RLM, Murray HC, Curtis MA. PSA-NCAM Regulatory Gene Expression Changes in the Alzheimer's Disease Entorhinal Cortex Revealed with Multiplexed in situ Hybridization. J Alzheimers Dis 2023; 92:371-390. [PMID: 36744342 DOI: 10.3233/jad-220986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is characterized by a substantial reduction of neuroplasticity. Our previous work demonstrated that neurons involved in memory function may lose plasticity because of decreased protein levels of polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) in the entorhinal cortex (EC) of the human AD brain, but the cause of this decrease is unclear. OBJECTIVE To investigate genes involved in PSA-NCAM regulation which may underlie its decrease in the AD EC. METHODS We subjected neurologically normal and AD human EC sections to multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to investigate genes involved in PSA-NCAM regulation. Gene expression changes were sought to be validated in both human tissue and a mouse model of AD. RESULTS In the AD EC, a cell population expressing a high level of CALB2 mRNA and a cell population expressing a high level of PST mRNA were both decreased. CALB2 mRNA and protein were not decreased globally, indicating that the decrease in CALB2 was specific to a sub-population of cells. A significant decrease in PST mRNA expression was observed with single-plex in situ hybridization in middle temporal gyrus tissue microarray cores from AD patients, which negatively correlated with tau pathology, hinting at global loss in PST expression across the AD brain. No significant differences in PSA-NCAM or PST protein expression were observed in the MAPT P301S mouse brain at 9 months of age. CONCLUSION We conclude that PSA-NCAM dysregulation may cause subsequent loss of structural plasticity in AD, and this may result from a loss of PST mRNA expression. Due PSTs involvement in structural plasticity, intervention for AD may be possible by targeting this disrupted plasticity pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blake Highet
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - James A Wiseman
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Hannah Mein
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Remai Parker
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Brigid Ryan
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Clinton P Turner
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand.,Department of Anatomical Pathology, LabPlus, Auckland City Hospital, New Zealand
| | - Yu Jing
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Malvindar K Singh-Bains
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ping Liu
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Mike Dragunow
- Department of Pharmacology and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Richard L M Faull
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Helen C Murray
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Maurice A Curtis
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand
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