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Brucato M, Lance E, Lanzkron S, Wang X, Pecker LH. Developmental disorders in children born to women with sickle cell disease: A report from the Boston Birth Cohort. eJHaem 2022; 3:894-898. [PMID: 36051016 PMCID: PMC9421989 DOI: 10.1002/jha2.478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Children exposed to maternal sickle cell disease (SCD) have many theoretical risks for developmental disorders, but little is known about long‐term outcomes for these children. We used the Boston Birth Cohort to compare developmental outcomes between children exposed to maternal SCD and matched, unexposed controls. Children with exposure to maternal SCD had increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (OR 5.12, 95% CI 1.36–19.19, p = 0.02) and obesity (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.10–6.87, p = 0.03). In utero and/or environmental exposures may help explain these findings. Further studies of outcomes of children born to women with SCD are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Brucato
- Department of Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
| | - Eboni Lance
- Department of Neurology and Developmental Medicine Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore Maryland USA
| | - Sophie Lanzkron
- Division of Hematology Department of Medicine Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore Maryland USA
| | - Lydia H. Pecker
- Division of Hematology Department of Medicine Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
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Holingue C, Brucato M, Ladd-Acosta C, Hong X, Volk H, Mueller NT, Wang X, Fallin MD. Interaction between Maternal Immune Activation and Antibiotic Use during Pregnancy and Child Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res 2020; 13:2230-2241. [PMID: 33067915 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to maternal immune activation (MIA) has been implicated as a risk factor for the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though the conditions under which this elevated risk occurs are unclear. Animal literature demonstrates that antibiotic use, which affects the composition of the maternal gut microbiota, modifies the effect of MIA on neurodevelopmental outcomes in the offspring. The aim of this study was to assess whether antibiotic use during pregnancy modifies the association between MIA and subsequent risk of ASD, in a prospective birth cohort with 116 ASD cases and 860 typically developing (TD) child controls. There was no evidence of interaction between fever or genitourinary infection and antibiotic use on the odds of ASD in unadjusted or adjusted analyzes. However, we found evidence of an interaction between flu, specifically in second trimester, and antibiotic use at any point during pregnancy on the odds of ASD in the child. Among women who received an antibiotic during pregnancy, flu in trimester two was not associated with ASD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.99 [0.43-2.28]). Among women who were not exposed to an antibiotic at any point during pregnancy, flu in second trimester was significantly associated with increased odds of ASD (aOR = 4.05 [1.14-14.38], P = .03), after adjustment for child sex, child birth year, maternal age, gestational age, C-section delivery, and low birthweight. These findings should be treated as hypothesis-generating and suggest that antibiotic use may modify the influence that MIA has on autism risk in the child. LAY SUMMARY: We looked at whether the association between activation of the immune system during pregnancy and risk of the child developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) differed among women who did or did not take an antibiotic at any point during pregnancy. We examined 116 children with ASD and 860 without ASD and found that flu in second trimester was associated with increased ASD, but only among women who did not take an antibiotic during pregnancy. No other immune activation exposures seemed to interact with antibiotic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calliope Holingue
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Martha Brucato
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Medical Scientist Training Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Christine Ladd-Acosta
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Heather Volk
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Noel T Mueller
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - M Daniele Fallin
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Park BY, Yao R, Tierney E, Brucato M, Hong X, Wang G, Ji Y, Pearson C, Fallin MD, Wang X, Volk H. The association between maternal lipid profile after birth and offspring risk of autism spectrum disorder. Ann Epidemiol 2020; 53:50-55.e1. [PMID: 32919032 DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2020.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Maternal obesity has been consistently associated with offspring risk for ASD, as well as lipid metabolism derangements. However, few ASD studies have examined maternal lipids in conjunction with maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI). METHODS This nested case-control study was based on the Boston Birth Cohort, a prospective cohort study of mother-child dyads recruited at the Boston Medical Center. Maternal blood samples were collected shortly after delivery and analyzed for total plasma cholesterol, HDL, and triglyceride (TG) concentrations. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was subsequently calculated by the Friedewald equation. Cases were identified using ASD diagnoses in children's medical records. The odds of ASD were estimated with continuous lipid levels for a linear relationship, and we further explored the nonlinear relationship using the tertile of each lipid analyte with the highest tertile as the reference group. Logistic regression was used to estimate the risk of ASD adjusting for potential confounders. The analyses were performed separately for mothers with normal weight and overweight/obese based on maternal prepregnancy BMI. RESULTS One standard deviation decrease in postpartum maternal LDL was associated with increased odds of ASD aOR 1.35 [1.04-1.75]. There was no association between postpartum maternal HDL and TG levels and ASD risk. Decreasing levels of LDL were not associated with ASD risk in normal-weight mothers (aOR 1.2 [0.83-1.75]), but the ASD risk was more pronounced in overweight and obese mothers (aOR 1.54 [1.03-2.27]). Follow-up analysis of nonlinear association models showed that, when compared to the highest tertile, lower maternal LDL concentrations were associated with approximately two times increased risk of ASD (first tertile: aOR 2.49 [1.27-4.87] and second tertile: aOR 2.79 [1.42-5.48]). A similar pattern was observed with overweight/obese mothers but not in normal-weight mothers. CONCLUSIONS Lower maternal postpartum plasma LDL concentration was associated with increased odds of ASD in offspring among children born to overweight and obese mothers. Our findings suggest that both maternal BMI and lipids should be considered in assessing their role in offspring ASD risk, and additional longitudinal studies are needed to better understand maternal lipid dynamics during pregnancy among normal-weight and overweight/obese mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Y Park
- Department of Public Health, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton.
| | - Ruofan Yao
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA
| | - Elaine Tierney
- Department of Psychiatry, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
| | - Martha Brucato
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD; The Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Xiumei Hong
- The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Guoying Wang
- The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Yuelong Ji
- The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Colleen Pearson
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
| | - M Daniele Fallin
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD; The Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD; Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Heather Volk
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD; The Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
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Raghavan R, Riley AW, Volk H, Caruso D, Hironaka L, Sices L, Hong X, Wang G, Ji Y, Brucato M, Wahl A, Stivers T, Pearson C, Zuckerman B, Stuart EA, Landa R, Fallin MD, Wang X. Maternal Multivitamin Intake, Plasma Folate and Vitamin B 12 Levels and Autism Spectrum Disorder Risk in Offspring. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2018; 32:100-111. [PMID: 28984369 PMCID: PMC5796848 DOI: 10.1111/ppe.12414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To examine the prospective association between multivitamin supplementation during pregnancy and biomarker measures of maternal plasma folate and vitamin B12 levels at birth and child's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) risk. METHODS This report included 1257 mother-child pairs, who were recruited at birth and prospectively followed through childhood at the Boston Medical Center. ASD was defined from diagnostic codes in electronic medical records. Maternal multivitamin supplementation was assessed via questionnaire interview; maternal plasma folate and B12 were measured from samples taken 2-3 days after birth. RESULTS Moderate (3-5 times/week) self-reported supplementation during pregnancy was associated with decreased risk of ASD, consistent with previous findings. Using this as the reference group, low (≤2 times/week) and high (>5 times/week) supplementation was associated with increased risk of ASD. Very high levels of maternal plasma folate at birth (≥60.3 nmol/L) had 2.5 times increased risk of ASD [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3, 4.6] compared to folate levels in the middle 80th percentile, after adjusting for covariates including MTHFR genotype. Similarly, very high B12 (≥536.8 pmol/L) showed 2.5 times increased risk (95% CI 1.4, 4.5). CONCLUSION There was a 'U shaped' relationship between maternal multivitamin supplementation frequency and ASD risk. Extremely high maternal plasma folate and B12 levels at birth were associated with ASD risk. This hypothesis-generating study does not question the importance of consuming adequate folic acid and vitamin B12 during pregnancy; rather, raises new questions about the impact of extremely elevated levels of plasma folate and B12 exposure in-utero on early brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramkripa Raghavan
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Anne W. Riley
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Heather Volk
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities & Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Deanna Caruso
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Lynn Hironaka
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Laura Sices
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Guoying Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Yuelong Ji
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Martha Brucato
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Anastacia Wahl
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Tom Stivers
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Colleen Pearson
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Barry Zuckerman
- Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Elizabeth A. Stuart
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities & Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD,Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - M. Daniele Fallin
- Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities & Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD,Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Daniele Fallin, Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities; Department of Mental Health Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, ; Xiaobin Wang, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD,
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD,Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD,Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Daniele Fallin, Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities; Department of Mental Health Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, ; Xiaobin Wang, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD,
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Brucato M, Ladd-Acosta C, Li M, Caruso D, Hong X, Kaczaniuk J, Stuart EA, Fallin MD, Wang X. Prenatal exposure to fever is associated with autism spectrum disorder in the boston birth cohort. Autism Res 2017; 10:1878-1890. [PMID: 28799289 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2017] [Revised: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 07/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is phenotypically and etiologically heterogeneous, with evidence for genetic and environmental contributions to disease risk. Research has focused on the prenatal period as a time where environmental exposures are likely to influence risk for ASD. Epidemiological studies have shown significant associations between prenatal exposure to maternal immune activation (MIA), caused by infections and fever, and ASD. However, due to differences in study design and exposure measurements no consistent patterns have emerged revealing specific times or type of MIA exposure that are most important to ASD risk. No prior studies have examined prenatal MIA exposure and ASD risk in an under-represented minority population of African ancestry. To overcome these limitations, we estimated the association between prenatal exposure to fever and maternal infections and ASD in a prospective birth cohort of an understudied minority population in a city in the United States. No association was found between prenatal exposure to genitourinary infections or flu and the risk of ASD in a nested sample of 116 ASD cases and 988 typically developing controls in crude or adjusted analyses. Prenatal exposure to fever was associated with increased ASD risk (aOR 2.02 [1.04-3.92]) after adjustment for educational attainment, marital status, race, child sex, maternal age, birth year, gestational age, and maternal smoking. This effect may be specific to fever during the third trimester (aOR 2.70 [1.00-7.29]). Our findings provide a focus for future research efforts and ASD prevention strategies across diverse populations. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1878-1890. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY We looked at whether activation of the immune system during pregnancy increases the chance a child will develop ASD. We examined 116 children with ASD and 988 children without ASD that came from a predominantly low income, urban, minority population. We found that having the flu or genitourinary tract infections during pregnancy is not related to the child being diagnosed with ASD. However, we did find children were at increased risk for ASD when their mothers had a fever during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Brucato
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205.,Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Medical Scientist Training Program, Baltimore, MD, 21205.,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Baltimore, MD, 21205
| | - Christine Ladd-Acosta
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205
| | - Mengying Li
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Baltimore, MD, 21205
| | - Deanna Caruso
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Baltimore, MD, 21205.,Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Baltimore, MD, 21205
| | - Xiumei Hong
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Baltimore, MD, 21205
| | - Jamie Kaczaniuk
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Baltimore, MD, 21205
| | - Elizabeth A Stuart
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205
| | - M Daniele Fallin
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Baltimore, MD, 21205.,Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Baltimore, MD, 21205
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Bharti K, Gasper M, Ou J, Brucato M, Clore-Gronenborn K, Pickel J, Arnheiter H. A regulatory loop involving PAX6, MITF, and WNT signaling controls retinal pigment epithelium development. PLoS Genet 2012; 8:e1002757. [PMID: 22792072 PMCID: PMC3390378 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2011] [Accepted: 04/20/2012] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The separation of the optic neuroepithelium into future retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a critical event in early eye development in vertebrates. Here we show in mice that the transcription factor PAX6, well-known for its retina-promoting activity, also plays a crucial role in early pigment epithelium development. This role is seen, however, only in a background genetically sensitized by mutations in the pigment cell transcription factor MITF. In fact, a reduction in Pax6 gene dose exacerbates the RPE-to-retina transdifferentiation seen in embryos homozygous for an Mitf null allele, and it induces such a transdifferentiation in embryos that are either heterozygous for the Mitf null allele or homozygous for an RPE–specific hypomorphic Mitf allele generated by targeted mutation. Conversely, an increase in Pax6 gene dose interferes with transdifferentiation even in homozygous Mitf null embryos. Gene expression analyses show that, together with MITF or its paralog TFEC, PAX6 suppresses the expression of Fgf15 and Dkk3. Explant culture experiments indicate that a combination of FGF and DKK3 promote retina formation by inhibiting canonical WNT signaling and stimulating the expression of retinogenic genes, including Six6 and Vsx2. Our results demonstrate that in conjunction with Mitf/Tfec Pax6 acts as an anti-retinogenic factor, whereas in conjunction with retinogenic genes it acts as a pro-retinogenic factor. The results suggest that careful manipulation of the Pax6 regulatory circuit may facilitate the generation of retinal and pigment epithelium cells from embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells. The retinal pigment epithelium or RPE in the back of the eye is critical for the normal function of the retina, and its abnormalities can lead to retinal disorders such as adult-onset macular degeneration. Insights into the pathogenesis of such disorders, and potential therapies, may come from using RPE cells generated in vitro from induced pluripotent stem cells. To obtain authentic RPE cells in vitro, we need to thoroughly understand the normal process of their development in vivo. Here we find that the potent retina-inducing transcription factor PAX6 plays a critical anti-retinogenic role in the RPE of mice. But how can PAX6 be pro-retinogenic in the retina and anti-retinogenic in the RPE? To address this question, we used gene expression studies and combined them with chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, which analyze the interaction of transcription factors with chromatin in vivo. Our findings show that, in the RPE, PAX6 cooperates with either one (or both) of two related RPE transcription factors, MITF and TFEC, to suppress extracellular signals that in the normal retina induce a signaling cascade promoting retina formation. Hence, this study provides mechanistic insights into RPE development that may become important for the efficient generation of retina and RPE from induced pluripotent stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kapil Bharti
- Mammalian Development Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
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Bharti K, Gasper M, Brucato M, Arnheiter H. The role of PAX6 in the development of the retinal pigment epithelium. Dev Biol 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2009.05.198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Brucato M, Sundlof SF, Bell JU, Edds GT. Aflatoxin B1 toxicosis in dairy calves pretreated with selenium-vitamin E. Am J Vet Res 1986; 47:179-83. [PMID: 3080929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Effects of a single IM injection of selenium-vitamin E (Se-E; 5 mg of Se + 68 IU of alpha-tocopherol/60 kg of body weight) as a pretreatment 14 days before an oral dose of aflatoxin B1 (1.0 mg/kg) were studied in 24 dairy calves. Treatment groups were designated as follows: group 1 = no Se-E or aflatoxin B1 (control); group 2 = Se-E supplementation only; group 3 = aflatoxin B1 dose only; and group 4 = Se-E supplementation before aflatoxin B1 dose. Clinical signs of toxicosis in aflatoxin B1-treated calves included anorexia, ataxia, rough haircoats, increased respiration rates, dyspnea, dehydration, and nasal discharge. Packed-cell volume, RBC, WBC, and hemoglobin were increased in aflatoxin-treated calves. Significant increases in serum aspartate aminotransferase (P less than 0.05) and gamma-glutamyl-transferase (P less than 0.001) activities and prothrombin times (P less than 0.001) were observed in aflatoxin-treated calves, indicating that there was hepatic involvement. Although aflatoxin exposure caused a significant decrease in body weight (P less than 0.01) and feed intake (P less than 0.001) in treatment groups 3 and 4, Se was demonstrated to interact significantly (P less than 0.001) with aflatoxin B1 for feed intake, causing an improved feed intake in treatment group 4 calves.
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