1
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Sullivan PF, Yao S, Hjerling-Leffler J. Schizophrenia genomics: genetic complexity and functional insights. Nat Rev Neurosci 2024; 25:611-624. [PMID: 39030273 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00837-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024]
Abstract
Determining the causes of schizophrenia has been a notoriously intractable problem, resistant to a multitude of investigative approaches over centuries. In recent decades, genomic studies have delivered hundreds of robust findings that implicate nearly 300 common genetic variants (via genome-wide association studies) and more than 20 rare variants (via whole-exome sequencing and copy number variant studies) as risk factors for schizophrenia. In parallel, functional genomic and neurobiological studies have provided exceptionally detailed information about the cellular composition of the brain and its interconnections in neurotypical individuals and, increasingly, in those with schizophrenia. Taken together, these results suggest unexpected complexity in the mechanisms that drive schizophrenia, pointing to the involvement of ensembles of genes (polygenicity) rather than single-gene causation. In this Review, we describe what we now know about the genetics of schizophrenia and consider the neurobiological implications of this information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick F Sullivan
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Shuyang Yao
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jens Hjerling-Leffler
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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2
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Xu S, Wang J, Mao K, Jiao D, Li Z, Zhao H, Sun Y, Feng J, Lai Y, Peng R, Fu Y, Gan R, Chen S, Zhao HY, Wei HJ, Cheng Y. Generation and transcriptomic characterization of MIR137 knockout miniature pig model for neurodevelopmental disorders. Cell Biosci 2024; 14:86. [PMID: 38937838 PMCID: PMC11212353 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-024-01268-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disorders (ID), are highly debilitating childhood psychiatric conditions. Genetic factors are recognized as playing a major role in NDD, with a multitude of genes and genomic regions implicated. While the functional validation of NDD-associated genes has predominantly been carried out using mouse models, the significant differences in brain structure and gene function between mice and humans have limited the effectiveness of mouse models in exploring the underlying mechanisms of NDD. Therefore, it is important to establish alternative animal models that are more evolutionarily aligned with humans. RESULTS In this study, we employed CRISPR/Cas9 and somatic cell nuclear transplantation technologies to successfully generate a knockout miniature pig model of the MIR137 gene, which encodes the neuropsychiatric disorder-associated microRNA miR-137. The homozygous knockout of MIR137 (MIR137-/-) effectively suppressed the expression of mature miR-137 and led to the birth of stillborn or short-lived piglets. Transcriptomic analysis revealed significant changes in genes associated with neurodevelopment and synaptic signaling in the brains of MIR137-/- miniature pig, mirroring findings from human ASD transcriptomic data. In comparison to miR-137-deficient mouse and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neuron models, the miniature pig model exhibited more consistent changes in critical neuronal genes relevant to humans following the loss of miR-137. Furthermore, a comparative analysis identified differentially expressed genes associated with ASD and ID risk genes in both miniature pig and hiPSC-derived neurons. Notably, human-specific miR-137 targets, such as CAMK2A, known to be linked to cognitive impairments and NDD, exhibited dysregulation in MIR137-/- miniature pigs. These findings suggest that the loss of miR-137 in miniature pigs affects genes crucial for neurodevelopment, potentially contributing to the development of NDD. CONCLUSIONS Our study highlights the impact of miR-137 loss on critical genes involved in neurodevelopment and related disorders in MIR137-/- miniature pigs. It establishes the miniature pig model as a valuable tool for investigating neurodevelopmental disorders, providing valuable insights for potential applications in human research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengyun Xu
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Jiaoxiang Wang
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Kexin Mao
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
- Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming, 650092, China
| | - Deling Jiao
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Zhu Li
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Heng Zhao
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Yifei Sun
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Jin Feng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
- Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming, 650092, China
| | - Yuanhao Lai
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Ruiqi Peng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Yu Fu
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Ruoyi Gan
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
- Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming, 650092, China
| | - Shuhan Chen
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Hong-Ye Zhao
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China.
| | - Hong-Jiang Wei
- Key Laboratory for Porcine Gene Editing and Xenotransplantation in Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China.
| | - Ying Cheng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China.
- Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming, 650092, China.
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3
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Brennand KJ. Aligning Stem Cell Models and Postmortem Studies to Query Striatal Neurodevelopment in Schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 2024; 181:465-467. [PMID: 38822585 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20240245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristen J Brennand
- Departments of Psychiatry and Genetics, Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn
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4
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Li Z, Mao K, Liu L, Xu S, Zeng M, Fu Y, Huang J, Li T, Gao G, Teng ZQ, Sun Q, Chen D, Cheng Y. Nuclear microRNA-mediated transcriptional control determines adult microglial homeostasis and brain function. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113964. [PMID: 38489263 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Microglia are versatile regulators in brain development and disorders. Emerging evidence links microRNA (miRNA)-mediated regulation to microglial function; however, the exact underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we uncover the enrichment of miR-137, a neuropsychiatric-disorder-associated miRNA, in the microglial nucleus, and reveal its unexpected nuclear functions in maintaining the microglial global transcriptomic state, phagocytosis, and inflammatory response. Mechanistically, microglial Mir137 deletion increases chromatin accessibility, which contains binding motifs for the microglial master transcription factor Pu.1. Through biochemical and bioinformatics analyses, we propose that miR-137 modulates Pu.1-mediated gene expression by suppressing Pu.1 binding to chromatin. Importantly, we find that increased Pu.1 binding upregulates the target gene Jdp2 (Jun dimerization protein 2) and that knockdown of Jdp2 significantly suppresses the impaired phagocytosis and pro-inflammatory response in Mir137 knockout microglia. Collectively, our study provides evidence supporting the notion that nuclear miR-137 acts as a transcriptional modulator and that this microglia-specific function is essential for maintaining normal adult brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhu Li
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Kexin Mao
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China; Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Lin Liu
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Shengyun Xu
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Min Zeng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Yu Fu
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Jintao Huang
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Tingting Li
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Guoan Gao
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Zhao-Qian Teng
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Qinmiao Sun
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Dahua Chen
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China; Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650500, China.
| | - Ying Cheng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China; Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650500, China.
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5
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Wu K, Bu F, Wu Y, Zhang G, Wang X, He S, Liu MF, Chen R, Yuan H. Exploring noncoding variants in genetic diseases: from detection to functional insights. J Genet Genomics 2024; 51:111-132. [PMID: 38181897 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2024.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies on genetic diseases predominantly focused on protein-coding variations, overlooking the vast noncoding regions in the human genome. The development of high-throughput sequencing technologies and functional genomics tools has enabled the systematic identification of functional noncoding variants. These variants can impact gene expression, regulation, and chromatin conformation, thereby contributing to disease pathogenesis. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the impact of noncoding variants on genetic diseases is indispensable for the development of precisely targeted therapies and the implementation of personalized medicine strategies. The intricacies of noncoding regions introduce a multitude of challenges and research opportunities. In this review, we introduce a spectrum of noncoding variants involved in genetic diseases, along with research strategies and advanced technologies for their precise identification and in-depth understanding of the complexity of the noncoding genome. We will delve into the research challenges and propose potential solutions for unraveling the genetic basis of rare and complex diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Wu
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Fengxiao Bu
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Yang Wu
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Gen Zhang
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Xin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Health Science of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Shunmin He
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Center for Big Data Research in Health, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Mo-Fang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Health Science of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
| | - Runsheng Chen
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Center for Big Data Research in Health, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Huijun Yuan
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.
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6
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Raabe FJ, Hausruckinger A, Gagliardi M, Ahmad R, Almeida V, Galinski S, Hoffmann A, Weigert L, Rummel CK, Murek V, Trastulla L, Jimenez-Barron L, Atella A, Maidl S, Menegaz D, Hauger B, Wagner EM, Gabellini N, Kauschat B, Riccardo S, Cesana M, Papiol S, Sportelli V, Rex-Haffner M, Stolte SJ, Wehr MC, Salcedo TO, Papazova I, Detera-Wadleigh S, McMahon FJ, Schmitt A, Falkai P, Hasan A, Cacchiarelli D, Dannlowski U, Nenadić I, Kircher T, Scheuss V, Eder M, Binder EB, Spengler D, Rossner MJ, Ziller MJ. Polygenic risk for schizophrenia converges on alternative polyadenylation as molecular mechanism underlying synaptic impairment. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.09.574815. [PMID: 38260577 PMCID: PMC10802452 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.09.574815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a genetically heterogenous psychiatric disorder of highly polygenic nature. Correlative evidence from genetic studies indicate that the aggregated effects of distinct genetic risk factor combinations found in each patient converge onto common molecular mechanisms. To prove this on a functional level, we employed a reductionistic cellular model system for polygenic risk by differentiating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from 104 individuals with high polygenic risk load and controls into cortical glutamatergic neurons (iNs). Multi-omics profiling identified widespread differences in alternative polyadenylation (APA) in the 3' untranslated region of many synaptic transcripts between iNs from SCZ patients and healthy donors. On the cellular level, 3'APA was associated with a reduction in synaptic density of iNs. Importantly, differential APA was largely conserved between postmortem human prefrontal cortex from SCZ patients and healthy donors, and strongly enriched for transcripts related to synapse biology. 3'APA was highly correlated with SCZ polygenic risk and affected genes were significantly enriched for SCZ associated common genetic variation. Integrative functional genomic analysis identified the RNA binding protein and SCZ GWAS risk gene PTBP2 as a critical trans-acting factor mediating 3'APA of synaptic genes in SCZ subjects. Functional characterization of PTBP2 in iNs confirmed its key role in 3'APA of synaptic transcripts and regulation of synapse density. Jointly, our findings show that the aggregated effects of polygenic risk converge on 3'APA as one common molecular mechanism that underlies synaptic impairments in SCZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian J. Raabe
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Hausruckinger
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Miriam Gagliardi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
- Center for Soft Nanoscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Ruhel Ahmad
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Valeria Almeida
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
- Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sabrina Galinski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
- Systasy Bioscience GmbH, 81669 Munich, Germany
| | - Anke Hoffmann
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Liesa Weigert
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Christine K. Rummel
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Vanessa Murek
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Lucia Trastulla
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Jimenez-Barron
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Alessia Atella
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
- Center for Soft Nanoscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Susanne Maidl
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Danusa Menegaz
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Barbara Hauger
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | | | - Nadia Gabellini
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Beate Kauschat
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Sara Riccardo
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Armenise/Harvard Laboratory of Integrative Genomics, Pozzuoli, Italy
- NEGEDIA (Next Generation Diagnostic), Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Marcella Cesana
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Armenise/Harvard Laboratory of Integrative Genomics, Pozzuoli, Italy
- Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy
| | - Sergi Papiol
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Institute of Psychiatric Phenomics and Genomics (IPPG), University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Vincenza Sportelli
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Monika Rex-Haffner
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Sebastian J. Stolte
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Michael C. Wehr
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
- Systasy Bioscience GmbH, 81669 Munich, Germany
| | - Tatiana Oviedo Salcedo
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Irina Papazova
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, 86156 Augsburg, Germany
| | - Sevilla Detera-Wadleigh
- Human Genetics Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP), Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Francis J McMahon
- Human Genetics Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP), Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Andrea Schmitt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
- Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM27), Institute of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo-SP 05403-903, Brazil
| | - Peter Falkai
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Alkomiet Hasan
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, 86156 Augsburg, Germany
| | - Davide Cacchiarelli
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Armenise/Harvard Laboratory of Integrative Genomics, Pozzuoli, Italy
- School for Advanced Studies, Genomics and Experimental Medicine Program, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy
| | - Udo Dannlowski
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Igor Nenadić
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University and University Hospital Marburg, UKGM, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Tilo Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University and University Hospital Marburg, UKGM, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Volker Scheuss
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
- MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Eder
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Elisabeth B. Binder
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Dietmar Spengler
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Moritz J. Rossner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Michael J. Ziller
- Lab for Genomics of Complex Diseases, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
- Center for Soft Nanoscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
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7
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Seah C, Signer R, Deans M, Bader H, Rusielewicz T, Hicks EM, Young H, Cote A, Townsley K, Xu C, Hunter CJ, McCarthy B, Goldberg J, Dobariya S, Holtzherimer PE, Young KA, Noggle SA, Krystal JH, Paull D, Girgenti MJ, Yehuda R, Brennand KJ, Huckins LM. Common genetic variation impacts stress response in the brain. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.27.573459. [PMID: 38234801 PMCID: PMC10793429 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.27.573459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
To explain why individuals exposed to identical stressors experience divergent clinical outcomes, we determine how molecular encoding of stress modifies genetic risk for brain disorders. Analysis of post-mortem brain (n=304) revealed 8557 stress-interactive expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) that dysregulate expression of 915 eGenes in response to stress, and lie in stress-related transcription factor binding sites. Response to stress is robust across experimental paradigms: up to 50% of stress-interactive eGenes validate in glucocorticoid treated hiPSC-derived neurons (n=39 donors). Stress-interactive eGenes show brain region- and cell type-specificity, and, in post-mortem brain, implicate glial and endothelial mechanisms. Stress dysregulates long-term expression of disorder risk genes in a genotype-dependent manner; stress-interactive transcriptomic imputation uncovered 139 novel genes conferring brain disorder risk only in the context of traumatic stress. Molecular stress-encoding explains individualized responses to traumatic stress; incorporating trauma into genomic studies of brain disorders is likely to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and drug discovery.
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8
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Zhang S, Zhang H, Forrest MP, Zhou Y, Sun X, Bagchi VA, Kozlova A, Santos MD, Piguel NH, Dionisio LE, Sanders AR, Pang ZP, He X, Penzes P, Duan J. Multiple genes in a single GWAS risk locus synergistically mediate aberrant synaptic development and function in human neurons. CELL GENOMICS 2023; 3:100399. [PMID: 37719141 PMCID: PMC10504676 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023]
Abstract
The mechanistic tie between genome-wide association study (GWAS)-implicated risk variants and disease-relevant cellular phenotypes remains largely unknown. Here, using human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons as a neurodevelopmental model, we identify multiple schizophrenia (SZ) risk variants that display allele-specific open chromatin (ASoC) and are likely to be functional. Editing the strongest ASoC SNP, rs2027349, near vacuolar protein sorting 45 homolog (VPS45) alters the expression of VPS45, lncRNA AC244033.2, and a distal gene, C1orf54. Notably, the transcriptomic changes in neurons are associated with SZ and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Neurons carrying the risk allele exhibit increased dendritic complexity and hyperactivity. Interestingly, individual/combinatorial gene knockdown shows that these genes alter cellular phenotypes in a non-additive synergistic manner. Our study reveals that multiple genes at a single GWAS risk locus mediate a compound effect on neural function, providing a mechanistic link between a non-coding risk variant and disease-related cellular phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siwei Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Hanwen Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Marc P. Forrest
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Yifan Zhou
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Xiaotong Sun
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Vikram A. Bagchi
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Alena Kozlova
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Marc Dos Santos
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Nicolas H. Piguel
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Leonardo E. Dionisio
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Alan R. Sanders
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Zhiping P. Pang
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Xin He
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Peter Penzes
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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9
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Duan J. Human stem cell modeling of neuropsychiatric disorders: from polygenicity to convergence. MEDICAL REVIEW (2021) 2023; 3:347-350. [PMID: 38235404 PMCID: PMC10790208 DOI: 10.1515/mr-2023-0016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disorders (NPD) are prevalent and devastating, posing an enormous socioeconomic burden to modern society. Recent genetic studies of NPD have identified a plethora of common genetic risk variants with small effect sizes and rare risk variants of high penetrance. While exciting, there is a pressing need to translate these genetic discoveries into better understanding of disease biology and more tailored clinical interventions. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived 2D and 3D neural cultures are becoming a promising cellular model for bridging the gap between genetic findings and disease biology for NPD. Leveraging the accessibility of patient biospecimen to convert into stem cells and the power of genome editing technology to engineer disease risk variants, hiPSC model holds the promise to disentangle the disease polygenicity, model genetic interaction with environmental factors, and uncover convergent gene pathways that may be targeted for more tailored clinical intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University Health System Research Institute, Evanston, IL, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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10
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Keough KC, Whalen S, Inoue F, Przytycki PF, Fair T, Deng C, Steyert M, Ryu H, Lindblad-Toh K, Karlsson E, Nowakowski T, Ahituv N, Pollen A, Pollard KS. Three-dimensional genome rewiring in loci with human accelerated regions. Science 2023; 380:eabm1696. [PMID: 37104607 PMCID: PMC10999243 DOI: 10.1126/science.abm1696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Human accelerated regions (HARs) are conserved genomic loci that evolved at an accelerated rate in the human lineage and may underlie human-specific traits. We generated HARs and chimpanzee accelerated regions with an automated pipeline and an alignment of 241 mammalian genomes. Combining deep learning with chromatin capture experiments in human and chimpanzee neural progenitor cells, we discovered a significant enrichment of HARs in topologically associating domains containing human-specific genomic variants that change three-dimensional (3D) genome organization. Differential gene expression between humans and chimpanzees at these loci suggests rewiring of regulatory interactions between HARs and neurodevelopmental genes. Thus, comparative genomics together with models of 3D genome folding revealed enhancer hijacking as an explanation for the rapid evolution of HARs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen C Keough
- Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Sean Whalen
- Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Fumitaka Inoue
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Pawel F Przytycki
- Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Tyler Fair
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Chengyu Deng
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Marilyn Steyert
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hane Ryu
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kerstin Lindblad-Toh
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Elinor Karlsson
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Program in Molecular Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Tomasz Nowakowski
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alex Pollen
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Katherine S Pollard
- Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Bakar Institute for Computational Health Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
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11
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Hong Y, Yang Q, Song H, Ming GL. Opportunities and limitations for studying neuropsychiatric disorders using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:1430-1439. [PMID: 36782062 PMCID: PMC10213114 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-01990-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disorders affect a large proportion of the global population and there is an urgent need to understand the pathogenesis and to develop novel and improved treatments of these devastating disorders. However, the diverse symptomatology combined with complex polygenic etiology, and the limited access to disorder-relevant cell types in human brains represent a major obstacle for mechanistic disease research. Conventional animal models, such as rodents, are limited by inherent species differences in brain development, architecture, and function. Advances in human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) technologies have provided platforms for new discoveries in neuropsychiatric disorders. First, hiPSC-based disease models enable unprecedented investigation of psychiatric disorders at the molecular, cellular, and structural levels. Second, hiPSCs derived from patients with known genetics, symptoms, and drug response profiles offer an opportunity to recapitulate pathogenesis in relevant cell types and provide novel approaches for understanding disease mechanisms and for developing effective treatments. Third, genome-editing technologies have extended the potential of hiPSCs for generating models to elucidate the genetic basis of rare monogenetic and complex polygenic psychiatric disorders and to establish the causality between genotype and phenotype. Here we review opportunities and limitations for studying psychiatric disorders using various hiPSC-derived model systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Hong
- Department of Neuroscience and Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Qian Yang
- Department of Neuroscience and Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Hongjun Song
- Department of Neuroscience and Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- The Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Guo-Li Ming
- Department of Neuroscience and Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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12
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Santarriaga S, Gerlovin K, Layadi Y, Karmacharya R. Human stem cell-based models to study synaptic dysfunction and cognition in schizophrenia: A narrative review. Schizophr Res 2023:S0920-9964(23)00084-1. [PMID: 36925354 PMCID: PMC10500041 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive impairment is the strongest predictor of functional outcomes in schizophrenia and is hypothesized to result from synaptic dysfunction. However, targeting synaptic plasticity and cognitive deficits in patients remains a significant clinical challenge. A comprehensive understanding of synaptic plasticity and the molecular basis of learning and memory in a disease context can provide specific targets for the development of novel therapeutics targeting cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. Here, we describe the role of synaptic plasticity in cognition, summarize evidence for synaptic dysfunction in schizophrenia and demonstrate the use of patient derived induced-pluripotent stem cells for studying synaptic plasticity in vitro. Lastly, we discuss current advances and future technologies for bridging basic science research of synaptic dysfunction with clinical and translational research that can be used to predict treatment response and develop novel therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Santarriaga
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Chemical Biology and Therapeutic Science Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kaia Gerlovin
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Chemical Biology and Therapeutic Science Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Yasmine Layadi
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Chimie ParisTech, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Paris, France
| | - Rakesh Karmacharya
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Chemical Biology and Therapeutic Science Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
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13
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Berry KJ, Chandran U, Mu F, Deochand DK, Lei T, Pagin M, Nicolis SK, Monaghan-Nichols AP, Rogatsky I, DeFranco DB. Genomic glucocorticoid action in embryonic mouse neural stem cells. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2023; 563:111864. [PMID: 36690169 PMCID: PMC10057471 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.111864] [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: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to synthetic glucocorticoids (sGCs) reprograms brain development and predisposes the developing fetus towards potential adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Using a mouse model of sGC administration, previous studies show that these changes are accompanied by sexually dimorphic alterations in the transcriptome of neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) derived from the embryonic telencephalon. Because cell type-specific gene expression profiles tightly regulate cell fate decisions and are controlled by a flexible landscape of chromatin domains upon which transcription factors and enhancer elements act, we multiplexed data from four genome-wide assays: RNA-seq, ATAC-seq (assay for transposase accessible chromatin followed by genome wide sequencing), dual cross-linking ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by genome wide sequencing), and microarray gene expression to identify novel relationships between gene regulation, chromatin structure, and genomic glucocorticoid receptor (GR) action in NSPCs. These data reveal that GR binds preferentially to predetermined regions of accessible chromatin to influence gene programming and cell fate decisions. In addition, we identify SOX2 as a transcription factor that impacts the genomic response of select GR target genes to sGCs (i.e., dexamethasone) in NSPCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly J Berry
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Uma Chandran
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Research Computing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Fangping Mu
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Research Computing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dinesh K Deochand
- Hospital for Special Surgery Research Institute, The David Rosensweig Genomics Center, New York, USA
| | - T Lei
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Miriam Pagin
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University Milano-Bicocca, 20126, Milano, Italy
| | - Silvia K Nicolis
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University Milano-Bicocca, 20126, Milano, Italy
| | - A Paula Monaghan-Nichols
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Inez Rogatsky
- Hospital for Special Surgery Research Institute, The David Rosensweig Genomics Center, New York, USA; Graduate Program in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, USA
| | - Donald B DeFranco
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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14
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Liu D, Zinski A, Mishra A, Noh H, Park GH, Qin Y, Olorife O, Park JM, Abani CP, Park JS, Fung J, Sawaqed F, Coyle JT, Stahl E, Bendl J, Fullard JF, Roussos P, Zhang X, Stanton PK, Yin C, Huang W, Kim HY, Won H, Cho JH, Chung S. Impact of schizophrenia GWAS loci converge onto distinct pathways in cortical interneurons vs glutamatergic neurons during development. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:4218-4233. [PMID: 35701597 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01654-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Remarkable advances have been made in schizophrenia (SCZ) GWAS, but gleaning biological insight from these loci is challenging. Genetic influences on gene expression (e.g., eQTLs) are cell type-specific, but most studies that attempt to clarify GWAS loci's influence on gene expression have employed tissues with mixed cell compositions that can obscure cell-specific effects. Furthermore, enriched SCZ heritability in the fetal brain underscores the need to study the impact of SCZ risk loci in specific developing neurons. MGE-derived cortical interneurons (cINs) are consistently affected in SCZ brains and show enriched SCZ heritability in human fetal brains. We identified SCZ GWAS risk genes that are dysregulated in iPSC-derived homogeneous populations of developing SCZ cINs. These SCZ GWAS loci differential expression (DE) genes converge on the PKC pathway. Their disruption results in PKC hyperactivity in developing cINs, leading to arborization deficits. We show that the fine-mapped GWAS locus in the ATP2A2 gene of the PKC pathway harbors enhancer marks by ATACseq and ChIPseq, and regulates ATP2A2 expression. We also generated developing glutamatergic neurons (GNs), another population with enriched SCZ heritability, and confirmed their functionality after transplantation into the mouse brain. Then, we identified SCZ GWAS risk genes that are dysregulated in developing SCZ GNs. GN-specific SCZ GWAS loci DE genes converge on the ion transporter pathway, distinct from those for cINs. Disruption of the pathway gene CACNA1D resulted in deficits of Ca2+ currents in developing GNs, suggesting compromised neuronal function by GWAS loci pathway deficits during development. This study allows us to identify cell type-specific and developmental stage-specific mechanisms of SCZ risk gene function, and may aid in identifying mechanism-based novel therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongxin Liu
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA.
- Department of Developmental Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Public Health, and Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
| | - Amy Zinski
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Akanksha Mishra
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Haneul Noh
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA
| | - Gun-Hoo Park
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Yiren Qin
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Oshoname Olorife
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - James M Park
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Chiderah P Abani
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Joy S Park
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Janice Fung
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Farah Sawaqed
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Joseph T Coyle
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA
| | - Eli Stahl
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Jaroslav Bendl
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - John F Fullard
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Panos Roussos
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Institute for Data Science and Genomic Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (VISN 2 South), James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10468, USA
| | - Xiaolei Zhang
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Patric K Stanton
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Changhong Yin
- Department of Pathology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Weihua Huang
- Department of Pathology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA
| | - Hae-Young Kim
- Department of Public Health, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA
| | - Hyejung Won
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Jun-Hyeong Cho
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Sangmi Chung
- Department of Cell biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA.
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15
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Kreir M, Floren W, Policarpo R, De Bondt A, Van den Wyngaert I, Teisman A, Gallacher DJ, Lu HR. Is the forming of neuronal network activity in human-induced pluripotent stem cells important for the detection of drug-induced seizure risks? Eur J Pharmacol 2022; 931:175189. [PMID: 35987255 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2022.175189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Functional network activity is a characteristic for neuronal cells, and the complexity of the network activity represents the necessary substrate to support complex brain functions. Drugs that drastically increase the neuronal network activity may have a potential higher risk for seizures in human. Although there has been some recent considerable progress made using cultures from different types of human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) derived neurons, one of the primary limitations is the lack of - or very low - network activity. METHOD In the present study, we investigated whether the limited neuronal network activity in commercial hiPSC-neurons (CNS.4U®) is capable of detecting drug-induced potential seizure risks. Therefore, we compared the hiPSC-results to those in rat primary neurons with known high neuronal network activity in vitro. RESULTS Gene expression and electrical activity from in vitro developing neuronal networks were assessed at multiple time-points. Transcriptomes of 7, 28, and 50 days in vitro were analyzed and compared to those from human brain tissues. Data from measurements of electrical activity using multielectrode arrays (MEAs) indicate that neuronal networks matured gradually over time, albeit in hiPSC this developed slower than rat primary cultures. The response of neuronal networks to neuronal active reference drugs modulating glutamatergic, acetylcholinergic and GABAergic pathways could be detected in both hiPSC-neurons and rat primary neurons. However, in comparison, GABAergic responses were limited in hiPSC-neurons. CONCLUSION Overall, despite a slower network development and lower network activity, CNS.4U® hiPSC-neurons can be used to detect drug induced changes in neuronal network activity, as shown by well-known seizurogenic drugs (affecting e.g., the Glycine receptor and Na+ channel). However, lower sensitivity to GABA antagonists has been observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Kreir
- Global Safety Pharmacology, Predictive & Investigative Translational Toxicology, Nonclinical Safety, Janssen Research and Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium.
| | - Wim Floren
- Global Safety Pharmacology, Predictive & Investigative Translational Toxicology, Nonclinical Safety, Janssen Research and Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Rafaela Policarpo
- Neuroscience Therapeutic Area, Janssen Research & Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Belgium
| | - An De Bondt
- High Dimensional & Computational Biology, Janssen Research and Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Ilse Van den Wyngaert
- High Dimensional & Computational Biology, Janssen Research and Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Ard Teisman
- Global Safety Pharmacology, Predictive & Investigative Translational Toxicology, Nonclinical Safety, Janssen Research and Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
| | - David J Gallacher
- Global Safety Pharmacology, Predictive & Investigative Translational Toxicology, Nonclinical Safety, Janssen Research and Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Hua Rong Lu
- Global Safety Pharmacology, Predictive & Investigative Translational Toxicology, Nonclinical Safety, Janssen Research and Development, A Division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
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16
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Kozlova A, Zhang S, Kotlar AV, Jamison B, Zhang H, Shi S, Forrest MP, McDaid J, Cutler DJ, Epstein MP, Zwick ME, Pang ZP, Sanders AR, Warren ST, Gejman PV, Mulle JG, Duan J. Loss of function of OTUD7A in the schizophrenia- associated 15q13.3 deletion impairs synapse development and function in human neurons. Am J Hum Genet 2022; 109:1500-1519. [PMID: 35931052 PMCID: PMC9388388 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Identifying causative gene(s) within disease-associated large genomic regions of copy-number variants (CNVs) is challenging. Here, by targeted sequencing of genes within schizophrenia (SZ)-associated CNVs in 1,779 SZ cases and 1,418 controls, we identified three rare putative loss-of-function (LoF) mutations in OTU deubiquitinase 7A (OTUD7A) within the 15q13.3 deletion in cases but none in controls. To tie OTUD7A LoF with any SZ-relevant cellular phenotypes, we modeled the OTUD7A LoF mutation, rs757148409, in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived induced excitatory neurons (iNs) by CRISPR-Cas9 engineering. The mutant iNs showed a ∼50% decrease in OTUD7A expression without undergoing nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. The mutant iNs also exhibited marked reduction of dendritic complexity, density of synaptic proteins GluA1 and PSD-95, and neuronal network activity. Congruent with the neuronal phenotypes in mutant iNs, our transcriptomic analysis showed that the set of OTUD7A LoF-downregulated genes was enriched for those relating to synapse development and function and was associated with SZ and other neuropsychiatric disorders. These results suggest that OTUD7A LoF impairs synapse development and neuronal function in human neurons, providing mechanistic insight into the possible role of OTUD7A in driving neuropsychiatric phenotypes associated with the 15q13.3 deletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alena Kozlova
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Siwei Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Alex V Kotlar
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Pillar Biosciences Inc., Natick, MA 01760, USA
| | - Brendan Jamison
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Hanwen Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Serena Shi
- Winston Churchill High School, Potomac, MD 20854, USA
| | - Marc P Forrest
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - John McDaid
- Department of Neurosurgery, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - David J Cutler
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Michael P Epstein
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Michael E Zwick
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Senior Vice President for Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Zhiping P Pang
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Alan R Sanders
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Stephen T Warren
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Pablo V Gejman
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Jennifer G Mulle
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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17
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Grandi FC, Modi H, Kampman L, Corces MR. Chromatin accessibility profiling by ATAC-seq. Nat Protoc 2022; 17:1518-1552. [PMID: 35478247 PMCID: PMC9189070 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-022-00692-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 59.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq) provides a simple and scalable way to detect the unique chromatin landscape associated with a cell type and how it may be altered by perturbation or disease. ATAC-seq requires a relatively small number of input cells and does not require a priori knowledge of the epigenetic marks or transcription factors governing the dynamics of the system. Here we describe an updated and optimized protocol for ATAC-seq, called Omni-ATAC, that is applicable across a broad range of cell and tissue types. The ATAC-seq workflow has five main steps: sample preparation, transposition, library preparation, sequencing and data analysis. This protocol details the steps to generate and sequence ATAC-seq libraries, with recommendations for sample preparation and downstream bioinformatic analysis. ATAC-seq libraries for roughly 12 samples can be generated in 10 h by someone familiar with basic molecular biology, and downstream sequencing analysis can be implemented using benchmarked pipelines by someone with basic bioinformatics skills and with access to a high-performance computing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiorella C Grandi
- Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hailey Modi
- Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Lucas Kampman
- Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - M Ryan Corces
- Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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18
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Brennand KJ. Using Stem Cell Models to Explore the Genetics Underlying Psychiatric Disorders: Linking Risk Variants, Genes, and Biology in Brain Disease. Am J Psychiatry 2022; 179:322-328. [PMID: 35491564 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20220235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
There is an urgent and unmet need to advance our ability to translate genetic studies of psychiatric disorders into clinically actionable information, which could transform diagnostics and even one day lead to novel (and potentially presymptomatic) therapeutic interventions. Today, although there are hundreds of significant loci associated with psychiatric disorders, resolving the target gene(s) and pathway(s) impacted by each is a major challenge. Integrating human induced pluripotent stem cell-based approaches with CRISPR-mediated genomic engineering strategies makes it possible to study the impact of patient-specific variants within the cell types of the brain. As the scale and scope of functional genomic studies expands, so does our ability to resolve the complex interplay of the many risk variants linked to psychiatric disorders. In this review, the author discusses some of the technological advances that make it possible to ask exciting questions that are fundamental to our understanding of psychiatric disorders. How do distinct risk variants converge and interact with each other (and the environment) across the diverse cell types that comprise the human brain? Can clinical trajectories and/or therapeutic response be predicted from genetic profiles? Just as critically, by spreading the message that genetic risk for psychiatric disorders is biological and fundamentally no different than for other human conditions, we can dispel the stigma associated with mental illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen J Brennand
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Genetics, Wu Tsai Institute at Yale, and Yale Stem Cell Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn
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19
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Lai B, Qian S, Zhang H, Zhang S, Kozlova A, Duan J, Xu J, He X. Annotating functional effects of non-coding variants in neuropsychiatric cell types by deep transfer learning. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010011. [PMID: 35576194 PMCID: PMC9135341 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Genomewide association studies (GWAS) have identified a large number of loci associated with neuropsychiatric traits, however, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying these loci remains difficult. To help prioritize causal variants and interpret their functions, computational methods have been developed to predict regulatory effects of non-coding variants. An emerging approach to variant annotation is deep learning models that predict regulatory functions from DNA sequences alone. While such models have been trained on large publicly available dataset such as ENCODE, neuropsychiatric trait-related cell types are under-represented in these datasets, thus there is an urgent need of better tools and resources to annotate variant functions in such cellular contexts. To fill this gap, we collected a large collection of neurodevelopment-related cell/tissue types, and trained deep Convolutional Neural Networks (ResNet) using such data. Furthermore, our model, called MetaChrom, borrows information from public epigenomic consortium to improve the accuracy via transfer learning. We show that MetaChrom is substantially better in predicting experimentally determined chromatin accessibility variants than popular variant annotation tools such as CADD and delta-SVM. By combining GWAS data with MetaChrom predictions, we prioritized 31 SNPs for Schizophrenia, suggesting potential risk genes and the biological contexts where they act. In summary, MetaChrom provides functional annotations of any DNA variants in the neuro-development context and the general method of MetaChrom can also be extended to other disease-related cell or tissue types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boqiao Lai
- Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Sheng Qian
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Hanwei Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Siwei Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Alena Kozlova
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Jinbo Xu
- Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Xin He
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
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20
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Muhtaseb AW, Duan J. Modeling common and rare genetic risk factors of neuropsychiatric disorders in human induced pluripotent stem cells. Schizophr Res 2022:S0920-9964(22)00156-6. [PMID: 35459617 PMCID: PMC9735430 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and whole-exome sequencing of neuropsychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia, have identified a plethora of common and rare disease risk variants/genes. Translating the mounting human genetic discoveries into novel disease biology and more tailored clinical treatments is tied to our ability to causally connect genetic risk variants to molecular and cellular phenotypes. When combined with the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) nuclease-mediated genome editing system, human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neural cultures (both 2D and 3D organoids) provide a promising tractable cellular model for bridging the gap between genetic findings and disease biology. In this review, we first conceptualize the advances in understanding the disease polygenicity and convergence from the past decade of iPSC modeling of different types of genetic risk factors of neuropsychiatric disorders. We then discuss the major cell types and cellular phenotypes that are most relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders in iPSC modeling. Finally, we critically review the limitations of iPSC modeling of neuropsychiatric disorders and outline the need for implementing and developing novel methods to scale up the number of iPSC lines and disease risk variants in a systematic manner. Sufficiently scaled-up iPSC modeling and a better functional interpretation of genetic risk variants, in combination with cutting-edge CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and single-cell multi-omics methods, will enable the field to identify the specific and convergent molecular and cellular phenotypes in precision for neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdurrahman W Muhtaseb
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, United States of America; Department of Human Genetics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States of America.
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21
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Hurley MJ, Urra C, Garduno BM, Bruno A, Kimbell A, Wilkinson B, Marino-Buslje C, Ezquer M, Ezquer F, Aburto PF, Poulin E, Vasquez RA, Deacon R, Avila A, Altimiras F, Whitney Vanderklish P, Zampieri G, Angione C, Constantino G, Holmes TC, Coba MP, Xu X, Cogram P. Genome Sequencing Variations in the Octodon degus, an Unconventional Natural Model of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:894994. [PMID: 35860672 PMCID: PMC9291219 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.894994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The degu (Octodon degus) is a diurnal long-lived rodent that can spontaneously develop molecular and behavioral changes that mirror those seen in human aging. With age some degu, but not all individuals, develop cognitive decline and brain pathology like that observed in Alzheimer's disease including neuroinflammation, hyperphosphorylated tau and amyloid plaques, together with other co-morbidities associated with aging such as macular degeneration, cataracts, alterations in circadian rhythm, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Here we report the whole-genome sequencing and analysis of the degu genome, which revealed unique features and molecular adaptations consistent with aging and Alzheimer's disease. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes associated with Alzheimer's disease including a novel apolipoprotein E (Apoe) gene variant that correlated with an increase in amyloid plaques in brain and modified the in silico predicted degu APOE protein structure and functionality. The reported genome of an unconventional long-lived animal model of aging and Alzheimer's disease offers the opportunity for understanding molecular pathways involved in aging and should help advance biomedical research into treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Hurley
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Claudio Urra
- Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - B. Maximiliano Garduno
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Agostino Bruno
- Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Allison Kimbell
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Brent Wilkinson
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | | | - Marcelo Ezquer
- Centro de Medicina Regenerativa, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Fernando Ezquer
- Centro de Medicina Regenerativa, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Pedro F. Aburto
- Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Elie Poulin
- Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Rodrigo A. Vasquez
- Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Robert Deacon
- Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ariel Avila
- Biomedical Sciences Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Francisco Altimiras
- Faculty of Engineering and Business, Universidad de las Americas, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Guido Zampieri
- School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
| | - Claudio Angione
- School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
| | | | - Todd C. Holmes
- Department Physiology & Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Marcelo P. Coba
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Xiangmin Xu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Patricia Cogram
- Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Patricia Cogram
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22
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Räsänen N, Tiihonen J, Koskuvi M, Lehtonen Š, Koistinaho J. The iPSC perspective on schizophrenia. Trends Neurosci 2021; 45:8-26. [PMID: 34876311 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Over a decade of schizophrenia research using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neural models has provided substantial data describing neurobiological characteristics of the disorder in vitro. Simultaneously, translation of the results into general mechanistic concepts underlying schizophrenia pathophysiology has been trailing behind. Given that modeling brain function using cell cultures is challenging, the gap between the in vitro models and schizophrenia as a clinical disorder has remained wide. In this review, we highlight reproducible findings and emerging trends in recent schizophrenia-related iPSC studies. We illuminate the relevance of the results in the context of human brain development, with a focus on processes coinciding with critical developmental periods for schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noora Räsänen
- Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jari Tiihonen
- Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden; Center for Psychiatric Research, Stockholm City Council, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Marja Koskuvi
- Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Šárka Lehtonen
- Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Jari Koistinaho
- Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
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23
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Lee D, Seo J, Jeong HC, Lee H, Lee SB. The Perspectives of Early Diagnosis of Schizophrenia Through the Detection of Epigenomics-Based Biomarkers in iPSC-Derived Neurons. Front Mol Neurosci 2021; 14:756613. [PMID: 34867186 PMCID: PMC8633873 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.756613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The lack of early diagnostic biomarkers for schizophrenia greatly limits treatment options that deliver therapeutic agents to affected cells at a timely manner. While previous schizophrenia biomarker research has identified various biological signals that are correlated with certain diseases, their reliability and practicality as an early diagnostic tool remains unclear. In this article, we discuss the use of atypical epigenetic and/or consequent transcriptional alterations (ETAs) as biomarkers of early-stage schizophrenia. Furthermore, we review the viability of discovering and applying these biomarkers through the use of cutting-edge technologies such as human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons, brain models, and single-cell level analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davin Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Jinsoo Seo
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Hae Chan Jeong
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Hyosang Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Sung Bae Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
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24
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The non-coding genome in genetic brain disorders: new targets for therapy? Essays Biochem 2021; 65:671-683. [PMID: 34414418 PMCID: PMC8564736 DOI: 10.1042/ebc20200121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The non-coding genome, consisting of more than 98% of all genetic information in humans and once judged as ‘Junk DNA’, is increasingly moving into the spotlight in the field of human genetics. Non-coding regulatory elements (NCREs) are crucial to ensure correct spatio-temporal gene expression. Technological advancements have allowed to identify NCREs on a large scale, and mechanistic studies have helped to understand the biological mechanisms underlying their function. It is increasingly becoming clear that genetic alterations of NCREs can cause genetic disorders, including brain diseases. In this review, we concisely discuss mechanisms of gene regulation and how to investigate them, and give examples of non-coding alterations of NCREs that give rise to human brain disorders. The cross-talk between basic and clinical studies enhances the understanding of normal and pathological function of NCREs, allowing better interpretation of already existing and novel data. Improved functional annotation of NCREs will not only benefit diagnostics for patients, but might also lead to novel areas of investigations for targeted therapies, applicable to a wide panel of genetic disorders. The intrinsic complexity and precision of the gene regulation process can be turned to the advantage of highly specific treatments. We further discuss this exciting new field of ‘enhancer therapy’ based on recent examples.
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25
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Nandakumar S, Shahani P, Datta I, Pal R. Interventional Strategies for Parkinson Disease: Can Neural Precursor Cells Forge a Path Ahead? ACS Chem Neurosci 2021; 12:3785-3794. [PMID: 34628850 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural precursor cells (NPCs), derived from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), with their unique ability to generate multiple neuronal and glial cell types are extremely useful for understanding biological mechanisms in normal and diseased states. However, generation of specific neuronal subtypes (mature) from NPCs in large numbers adequate for cell therapy is challenging due to lack of a thorough understanding of the cues that govern their differentiation. Interestingly, neural stem cells (NSCs) themselves are in consideration for therapy given their potency to form different neural cell types, release of trophic factors, and immunomodulatory effects that confer neuroprotection. With the recent COVID-19 outbreak and its accompanying neurological indications, the immunomodulatory role of NSCs may gain additional significance in the prevention of disease progression in vulnerable populations. In this regard, small-molecule mediated NPC generation from PSCs via NSC formation has become an important strategy that ensures consistency and robustness of the process. The development of the mammalian brain occurs along the rostro-caudal axis, and the establishment of anterior identity is an early event. Wnt signaling, along with fibroblast growth factor and retinoic acid, acts as a caudalization signal. Further, the increasing amount of epigenetic data available from human fetal brain development has enhanced both our understanding of and ability to experimentally manipulate these developmental regulatory programs in vitro. However, the impact on homing and engraftment after transplantation and subsequently on therapeutic efficacy of NPCs based on their derivation strategy is not yet clear. Another formidable challenge in cell replacement therapy for neurodegenerative disorders is the mode of delivery. In this Perspective, we discuss these core ideas with insights from our preliminary studies exploring the role of PSC-derived NPCs in rat models of MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease following intranasal injections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swapna Nandakumar
- Eyestem Research, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bengaluru 560065, Karnataka, India
| | - Pradnya Shahani
- Department of Biophysics, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru 560029, Karnataka, India
| | - Indrani Datta
- Department of Biophysics, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru 560029, Karnataka, India
| | - Rajarshi Pal
- Eyestem Research, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bengaluru 560065, Karnataka, India
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26
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Thomas KT, Zakharenko SS. MicroRNAs in the Onset of Schizophrenia. Cells 2021; 10:2679. [PMID: 34685659 PMCID: PMC8534348 DOI: 10.3390/cells10102679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Mounting evidence implicates microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathology of schizophrenia. These small noncoding RNAs bind to mRNAs containing complementary sequences and promote their degradation and/or inhibit protein synthesis. A single miRNA may have hundreds of targets, and miRNA targets are overrepresented among schizophrenia-risk genes. Although schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder, symptoms usually do not appear until adolescence, and most patients do not receive a schizophrenia diagnosis until late adolescence or early adulthood. However, few studies have examined miRNAs during this critical period. First, we examine evidence that the miRNA pathway is dynamic throughout adolescence and adulthood and that miRNAs regulate processes critical to late neurodevelopment that are aberrant in patients with schizophrenia. Next, we examine evidence implicating miRNAs in the conversion to psychosis, including a schizophrenia-associated single nucleotide polymorphism in MIR137HG that is among the strongest known predictors of age of onset in patients with schizophrenia. Finally, we examine how hemizygosity for DGCR8, which encodes an obligate component of the complex that synthesizes miRNA precursors, may contribute to the onset of psychosis in patients with 22q11.2 microdeletions and how animal models of this disorder can help us understand the many roles of miRNAs in the onset of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen T. Thomas
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Stanislav S. Zakharenko
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
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27
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Kozlova A, Butler RR, Zhang S, Ujas T, Zhang H, Steidl S, Sanders AR, Pang ZP, Vezina P, Duan J. Sex-specific nicotine sensitization and imprinting of self-administration in rats inform GWAS findings on human addiction phenotypes. Neuropsychopharmacology 2021; 46:1746-1756. [PMID: 34007041 PMCID: PMC8358005 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01027-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Repeated nicotine exposure leads to sensitization (SST) and enhances self-administration (SA) in rodents. However, the molecular basis of nicotine SST and SA and their biological relevance to the mounting genome-wide association study (GWAS) loci of human addictive behaviors are poorly understood. Considering a gateway drug role of nicotine, we modeled nicotine SST and SA in F1 progeny of inbred rats (F344/BN) and conducted integrative genomics analyses. We unexpectedly observed male-specific nicotine SST and a parental effect of SA only present in paternal F344 crosses. Transcriptional profiling in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) core and shell further revealed sex- and brain region-specific transcriptomic signatures of SST and SA. We found that genes associated with SST and SA were enriched for those related to synaptic processes, myelin sheath, and tobacco use disorder or chemdependency. Interestingly, SST-associated genes were often downregulated in male VTA but upregulated in female VTA, and strongly enriched for smoking GWAS risk variants, possibly explaining the male-specific SST. For SA, we found widespread region-specific allelic imbalance of expression (AIE), of which genes showing AIE bias toward paternal F344 alleles in NAc core were strongly enriched for SA-associated genes and for GWAS risk variants of smoking initiation, likely contributing to the parental effect of SA. Our study suggests a mechanistic link between transcriptional changes underlying the NIC SST and SA and human nicotine addiction, providing a resource for understanding the neurobiology basis of the GWAS findings on human smoking and other addictive phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alena Kozlova
- grid.240372.00000 0004 0400 4439Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL USA ,grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Robert R. Butler
- grid.240372.00000 0004 0400 4439Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL USA ,grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Siwei Zhang
- grid.240372.00000 0004 0400 4439Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL USA ,grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Thomas Ujas
- grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Hanwen Zhang
- grid.240372.00000 0004 0400 4439Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL USA
| | - Stephan Steidl
- grid.164971.c0000 0001 1089 6558Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Alan R. Sanders
- grid.240372.00000 0004 0400 4439Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL USA ,grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Zhiping P. Pang
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology and Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ USA
| | - Paul Vezina
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, USA. .,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
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28
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Dynamic landscape of chromatin accessibility and transcriptomic changes during differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into dopaminergic neurons. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16977. [PMID: 34417498 PMCID: PMC8379280 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96263-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Chromatin architecture influences transcription by modulating the physical access of regulatory factors to DNA, playing fundamental roles in cell identity. Studies on dopaminergic differentiation have identified coding genes, but the relationship with non-coding genes or chromatin accessibility remains elusive. Using RNA-Seq and ATAC-Seq we profiled differentially expressed transcripts and open chromatin regions during early dopaminergic neuron differentiation. Hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed genes, resulted in 6 groups with unique characteristics. Surprisingly, the abundance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) was high in the most downregulated transcripts, and depicted positive correlations with target mRNAs. We observed that open chromatin regions decrease upon differentiation. Enrichment analyses of accessibility depict an association between open chromatin regions and specific functional pathways and gene-sets. A bioinformatic search for motifs allowed us to identify transcription factors and structural nuclear proteins that potentially regulate dopaminergic differentiation. Interestingly, we also found changes in protein and mRNA abundance of the CCCTC-binding factor, CTCF, which participates in genome organization and gene expression. Furthermore, assays demonstrated co-localization of CTCF with Polycomb-repressed chromatin marked by H3K27me3 in pluripotent cells, progressively decreasing in neural precursor cells and differentiated neurons. Our work provides a unique resource of transcription factors and regulatory elements, potentially involved in the acquisition of human dopaminergic neuron cell identity.
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29
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Janowski M, Milewska M, Zare P, Pękowska A. Chromatin Alterations in Neurological Disorders and Strategies of (Epi)Genome Rescue. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:765. [PMID: 34451862 PMCID: PMC8399958 DOI: 10.3390/ph14080765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurological disorders (NDs) comprise a heterogeneous group of conditions that affect the function of the nervous system. Often incurable, NDs have profound and detrimental consequences on the affected individuals' lives. NDs have complex etiologies but commonly feature altered gene expression and dysfunctions of the essential chromatin-modifying factors. Hence, compounds that target DNA and histone modification pathways, the so-called epidrugs, constitute promising tools to treat NDs. Yet, targeting the entire epigenome might reveal insufficient to modify a chosen gene expression or even unnecessary and detrimental to the patients' health. New technologies hold a promise to expand the clinical toolkit in the fight against NDs. (Epi)genome engineering using designer nucleases, including CRISPR-Cas9 and TALENs, can potentially help restore the correct gene expression patterns by targeting a defined gene or pathway, both genetically and epigenetically, with minimal off-target activity. Here, we review the implication of epigenetic machinery in NDs. We outline syndromes caused by mutations in chromatin-modifying enzymes and discuss the functional consequences of mutations in regulatory DNA in NDs. We review the approaches that allow modifying the (epi)genome, including tools based on TALENs and CRISPR-Cas9 technologies, and we highlight how these new strategies could potentially change clinical practices in the treatment of NDs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Aleksandra Pękowska
- Dioscuri Centre for Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (M.J.); (M.M.); (P.Z.)
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30
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Canals I, Quist E, Ahlenius H. Transcription Factor-Based Strategies to Generate Neural Cell Types from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. Cell Reprogram 2021; 23:206-220. [PMID: 34388027 DOI: 10.1089/cell.2021.0045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last years, the use of pluripotent stem cells in studies of human biology has grown exponentially. These cells represent an infinite source for differentiation into several human cell types facilitating the investigation on biological processes, functionality of cells, or diseases mechanisms in relevant human models. In the neurobiology field, pluripotent stem cells have been extensively used to generate the main neuronal and glial cells of the brain. Traditionally, protocols following developmental cues have been applied to pluripotent stem cells to drive differentiation toward different cell lineages; however, these protocols give rise to populations with mixed identities. Interestingly, new protocols applying overexpression of lineage-specific transcription factors (TFs) have emerged and facilitated the generation of highly pure populations of specific subtypes of neurons and glial cells in an easy, reproducible, and rapid manner. In this study, we review protocols based on this strategy to generate excitatory, inhibitory, dopaminergic, and motor neurons as well as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia. In addition, we will discuss the main applications for cells generated with these protocols, including disease modeling, drug screening, and mechanistic studies. Finally, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of TF-based protocols and present our view of the future in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Canals
- Stem Cells, Aging and Neurodegeneration Group, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Division of Neurology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund, Sweden
| | - Ella Quist
- Stem Cells, Aging and Neurodegeneration Group, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Division of Neurology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund, Sweden
| | - Henrik Ahlenius
- Stem Cells, Aging and Neurodegeneration Group, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Division of Neurology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund, Sweden
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31
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Yao Y, Guo W, Zhang S, Yu H, Yan H, Zhang H, Sanders AR, Yue W, Duan J. Cell type-specific and cross-population polygenic risk score analyses of MIR137 gene pathway in schizophrenia. iScience 2021; 24:102785. [PMID: 34308291 PMCID: PMC8283158 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell type-specific pathway-based polygenic risk scores (PRSs) may better inform disease biology and improve the precision of PRS-based clinical prediction. For microRNA-137 (MIR137), a leading neuropsychiatric risk gene and a post-transcriptional master regulator, we conducted a cell type-specific gene set PRS analysis in both European and Han Chinese schizophrenia (SZ) samples. We found that the PRS of neuronal MIR137-target genes better explains SZ risk than PRS derived from MIR137-target genes in iPSC or from the reported gene sets showing MIR137-altered expression. Compared with the PRS derived from the whole genome or the target genes of TCF4, the PRS of neuronal MIR137-target genes explained a disproportionally larger (relative to SNP number) SZ risk in the European sample, but with a more modest advantage in the Han Chinese sample. Our study demonstrated a cell type-specific polygenic contribution of MIR137-target genes to SZ risk, highlighting the value of cell type-specific pathway-based PRS analysis for uncovering disease-relevant biological features. PRS of neural MIR137 target genes better explains schizophrenia (SZ) risk variance SZ risk and SNP heritability explained by MIR137 target genes is cell type-specific MIR137 target genes explain a disproportionally larger SZ risk than genomic control PRS of MIR137 target genes better explains SZ risk in Europeans than in Han Chinese
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Yao
- Department of Computational Biology, Life Science Institutes and School of Life Science and Human Phenomics Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Wei Guo
- Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Siwei Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Hao Yu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital (Institute of Mental Health), Beijing 100191, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing 100191, China.,Department of Psychiatry, Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong 272067, China.,Shandong Key Laboratory of Behavioral Medicine, Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong 272067, China
| | - Hao Yan
- Peking University Sixth Hospital (Institute of Mental Health), Beijing 100191, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing 100191, China
| | - Hanwen Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Alan R Sanders
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Weihua Yue
- Peking University Sixth Hospital (Institute of Mental Health), Beijing 100191, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing 100191, China.,PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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32
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Zhang H, Zhang S. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Precise SNP Editing in Human iPSC Lines. Bio Protoc 2021; 11:e4051. [PMID: 34262995 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have been extensively used in the fields of developmental biology and disease modeling. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in iPSC lines often has a low frequency, which hampers its application in precise allele editing of disease-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), especially those in the noncoding parts of the genome. Here, we present a unique workflow to engineer isogenic iPSC lines by SNP editing from heterozygous to homozygous for disease risk alleles or non-risk alleles using a transient and straightforward transfection-based protocol. This protocol enables us to simultaneously obtain pure and clonal isogenic lines of all three possible genotypes of a SNP site within about 4 to 5 weeks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanwen Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, Research Institute, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Siwei Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, Research Institute, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
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33
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Lewis EMA, Kaushik K, Sandoval LA, Antony I, Dietmann S, Kroll KL. Epigenetic regulation during human cortical development: Seq-ing answers from the brain to the organoid. Neurochem Int 2021; 147:105039. [PMID: 33915225 PMCID: PMC8387070 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2021.105039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Epigenetic regulation plays an important role in controlling gene expression during complex processes, such as development of the human brain. Mutations in genes encoding chromatin modifying proteins and in the non-protein coding sequences of the genome can potentially alter transcription factor binding or chromatin accessibility. Such mutations can frequently cause neurodevelopmental disorders, therefore understanding how epigenetic regulation shapes brain development is of particular interest. While epigenetic regulation of neural development has been extensively studied in murine models, significant species-specific differences in both the genome sequence and in brain development necessitate human models. However, access to human fetal material is limited and these tissues cannot be grown or experimentally manipulated ex vivo. Therefore, models that recapitulate particular aspects of human fetal brain development, such as the in vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), are instrumental for studying the epigenetic regulation of human neural development. Here, we examine recent studies that have defined changes in the epigenomic landscape during fetal brain development. We compare these studies with analogous data derived by in vitro differentiation of hPSCs into specific neuronal cell types or as three-dimensional cerebral organoids. Such comparisons can be informative regarding which aspects of fetal brain development are faithfully recapitulated by in vitro differentiation models and provide a foundation for using experimentally tractable in vitro models of human brain development to study neural gene regulation and the basis of its disruption to cause neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M A Lewis
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue St, Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Komal Kaushik
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue St, Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Luke A Sandoval
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue St, Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Irene Antony
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue St, Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Sabine Dietmann
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue St, Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Kristen L Kroll
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue St, Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
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34
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Dobrindt K, Hoagland DA, Seah C, Kassim B, O'Shea CP, Murphy A, Iskhakova M, Fernando MB, Powell SK, Deans PJM, Javidfar B, Peter C, Møller R, Uhl SA, Garcia MF, Kimura M, Iwasawa K, Crary JF, Kotton DN, Takebe T, Huckins LM, tenOever BR, Akbarian S, Brennand KJ. Common Genetic Variation in Humans Impacts In Vitro Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Stem Cell Reports 2021; 16:505-518. [PMID: 33636110 PMCID: PMC7881728 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2021.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The host response to SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrates significant interindividual variability. In addition to showing more disease in males, the elderly, and individuals with underlying comorbidities, SARS-CoV-2 can seemingly afflict healthy individuals with profound clinical complications. We hypothesize that, in addition to viral load and host antibody repertoire, host genetic variants influence vulnerability to infection. Here we apply human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-based models and CRISPR engineering to explore the host genetics of SARS-CoV-2. We demonstrate that a single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs4702), common in the population and located in the 3' UTR of the protease FURIN, influences alveolar and neuron infection by SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Thus, we provide a proof-of-principle finding that common genetic variation can have an impact on viral infection and thus contribute to clinical heterogeneity in COVID-19. Ongoing genetic studies will help to identify high-risk individuals, predict clinical complications, and facilitate the discovery of drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Dobrindt
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Daisy A Hoagland
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1603, New York, NY 10029, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Carina Seah
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Bibi Kassim
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Callan P O'Shea
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Aleta Murphy
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Marina Iskhakova
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Michael B Fernando
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Samuel K Powell
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - P J Michael Deans
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Ben Javidfar
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Cyril Peter
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Rasmus Møller
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1603, New York, NY 10029, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Skyler A Uhl
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1603, New York, NY 10029, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Meilin Fernandez Garcia
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Masaki Kimura
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Kentaro Iwasawa
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - John F Crary
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Darrell N Kotton
- Center for Regenerative Medicine of Boston University and Boston Medical Center, Pulmonary Center and Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Takanori Takebe
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Institute of Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Laura M Huckins
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers, James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10468, USA
| | - Benjamin R tenOever
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1603, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Schahram Akbarian
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
| | - Kristen J Brennand
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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35
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Yin J, Luo X, Peng Q, Xiong S, Lv D, Dai Z, Fu J, Wang Y, Wei Y, Liang C, Xu X, Zhang D, Wang L, Zhu D, Wen X, Ye X, Lin Z, Lin J, Li Y, Wang J, Ma G, Li K, Wang Y. Sex-Specific Associations of MIR137 Polymorphisms With Schizophrenia in a Han Chinese Cohort. Front Genet 2021; 12:627874. [PMID: 33708240 PMCID: PMC7942225 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.627874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the effects of microRNA-137 (MIR137) polymorphisms (rs1198588 and rs2660304) on the risk of schizophrenia in a Han Chinese population. Methods: Schizophrenia was diagnosed according to the DSM-5. Clinical symptoms and cognitive functions were assessed with the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) and Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), respectively. The polymorphisms were genotyped by improved multiplex ligation detection reaction (iMLDR) technology in 1,116 patients with schizophrenia and 1,039 healthy controls. Results: Significant associations were found between schizophrenia and MIR137 in the distributions of genotypes (p = 0.037 for rs1198588; p = 0.037 for rs2660304, FDR corrected) and alleles (p = 0.043 for rs1198588; p = 0.043 for rs2660304, FDR corrected) of two SNPs. When the population was stratified by sex, we found female-specific associations between MIR137 and schizophrenia in terms of genotype and allele distributions of rs1198588 (χ 2 = 4.41, p = 0.036 and χ 2 = 4.86, p = 0.029, respectively, FDR corrected) and rs2660304 (χ 2 = 4.74, p=0.036 and χ 2 = 4.80, p = 0.029, respectively, FDR corrected). Analysis of the MIR137 haplotype rs1198588-rs2660304 showed a significant association with schizophrenia in haplotype T-T [χ 2 = 4.60, p = 0.032, OR = 1.32, 95% CI (1.02-1.70)]. Then, significant female-specific associations were found with the haplotypes T-T and G-A [χ 2 = 4.92, p = 0.027, OR = 1.62, 95% CI (1.05-2.50); χ 2 = 4.42, p = 0.035, OR = 0.62, 95% CI (0.39-0.97), respectively]. When the TT genotype of rs1198588 was compared to the GT+GG genotype, a clinical characteristics analysis also showed a female-specific association in category instances (t = 2.76, p = 0.042, FDR corrected). Conclusion: The polymorphisms within the MIR137 gene are associated with susceptibility to schizophrenia, and a female-specific association of MIR137 with schizophrenia was reported in a Han Chinese population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingwen Yin
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
- Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Taipa, China
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, China
- Institute of Neurology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Xudong Luo
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Qian Peng
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Susu Xiong
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Dong Lv
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Zhun Dai
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Jiawu Fu
- Stem Cell Research and Cellular Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yaxue Wei
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Chunmei Liang
- Stem Cell Research and Cellular Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Xusan Xu
- Stem Cell Research and Cellular Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Dandan Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Lulu Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Dongjian Zhu
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Xia Wen
- Stem Cell Research and Cellular Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Xiaoqing Ye
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Zhixiong Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Juda Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - You Li
- Stem Cell Research and Cellular Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Jiafeng Wang
- Maternal and Children’s Health Research Institute, Shunde Maternal and Children’s Hospital, Guangdong Medical University, Foshan, China
| | - Guoda Ma
- Stem Cell Research and Cellular Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Keshen Li
- Stem Cell Research and Cellular Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yajun Wang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Age-Related Cardiac and Cerebral Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China
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Dobrindt K, Zhang H, Das D, Abdollahi S, Prorok T, Ghosh S, Weintraub S, Genovese G, Powell SK, Lund A, Akbarian S, Eggan K, McCarroll S, Duan J, Avramopoulos D, Brennand KJ. Publicly Available hiPSC Lines with Extreme Polygenic Risk Scores for Modeling Schizophrenia. Complex Psychiatry 2021; 6:68-82. [PMID: 34883504 PMCID: PMC7923934 DOI: 10.1159/000512716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a common and debilitating psychiatric disorder with limited effective treatment options. Although highly heritable, risk for this polygenic disorder depends on the complex interplay of hundreds of common and rare variants. Translating the growing list of genetic loci significantly associated with disease into medically actionable information remains an important challenge. Thus, establishing platforms with which to validate the impact of risk variants in cell-type-specific and donor-dependent contexts is critical. Towards this, we selected and characterized a collection of 12 human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines derived from control donors with extremely low and high SZ polygenic risk scores (PRS). These hiPSC lines are publicly available at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The suitability of these extreme PRS hiPSCs for CRISPR-based isogenic comparisons of neurons and glia was evaluated across 3 independent laboratories, identifying 9 out of 12 meeting our criteria. We report a standardized resource of publicly available hiPSCs on which we hope to perform genome engineering and generate diverse kinds of functional data, with comparisons across studies facilitated by the use of a common set of genetic backgrounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Dobrindt
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Hanwen Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Debamitra Das
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Sara Abdollahi
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Tim Prorok
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Sulagna Ghosh
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sarah Weintraub
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Giulio Genovese
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Samuel K. Powell
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Anina Lund
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Schahram Akbarian
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kevin Eggan
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Steven McCarroll
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Dimitrios Avramopoulos
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kristen J. Brennand
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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Chang H, Cai X, Li HJ, Liu WP, Zhao LJ, Zhang CY, Wang JY, Liu JW, Ma XL, Wang L, Yao YG, Luo XJ, Li M, Xiao X. Functional Genomics Identify a Regulatory Risk Variation rs4420550 in the 16p11.2 Schizophrenia-Associated Locus. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:246-255. [PMID: 33246552 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have reported hundreds of genomic loci associated with schizophrenia, yet identifying the functional risk variations is a key step in elucidating the underlying mechanisms. METHODS We applied multiple bioinformatics and molecular approaches, including expression quantitative trait loci analyses, epigenome signature identification, luciferase reporter assay, chromatin conformation capture, homology-directed genome editing by CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9), RNA sequencing, and ATAC-Seq (assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing). RESULTS We found that the schizophrenia GWAS risk variations at 16p11.2 were significantly associated with messenger RNA levels of multiple genes in human brain, and one of the leading expression quantitative trait loci genes, MAPK3, is located ∼200 kb away from these risk variations in the genome. Further analyses based on the epigenome marks in human brain and cell lines suggested that a noncoding single nucleotide polymorphism, rs4420550 (p = 2.36 × 10-9 in schizophrenia GWAS), was within a DNA enhancer region, which was validated via in vitro luciferase reporter assays. The chromatin conformation capture experiment showed that the rs4420550 region physically interacted with the MAPK3 promoter and TAOK2 promoter. Precise CRISPR/Cas9 editing of a single base pair in cells followed by RNA sequencing further confirmed the regulatory effects of rs4420550 on the transcription of 16p11.2 genes, and ATAC-Seq demonstrated that rs4420550 affected chromatin accessibility at the 16p11.2 region. The rs4420550-[A/A] cells showed significantly higher proliferation rates compared with rs4420550-[G/G] cells. CONCLUSIONS These results together suggest that rs4420550 is a functional risk variation, and this study illustrates an example of comprehensive functional characterization of schizophrenia GWAS risk loci.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Chang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Xin Cai
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui-Juan Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei-Peng Liu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Li-Juan Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Chu-Yi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun-Yang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Jie-Wei Liu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Lei Ma
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Lu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Yong-Gang Yao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiong-Jian Luo
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Shanghai, China
| | - Ming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
| | - Xiao Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
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Zhang C, Xiao X, Li T, Li M. Translational genomics and beyond in bipolar disorder. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:186-202. [PMID: 32424235 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-0782-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed multiple genomic loci conferring risk of bipolar disorder (BD), providing hints for its underlying pathobiology. However, there are still remaining questions to answer. For example, discordance exists between BD heritability estimated with earlier epidemiological evidence and that calculated based on common GWAS variations. Where is the "missing heritability"? How can we explain the biology of the disease based on genetic findings? In this review, we summarize the accomplishments and limitations of current BD GWAS, and discuss potential reasons for the "missing heritability." In addition, progresses of research for the biological mechanisms underlying BD genetic risk using brain tissues, reprogrammed cells, and model animals are reviewed. While our knowledge of BD genetic basis is significantly promoted by these efforts, the complexities of gene regulation in the genome, the spatial-temporal heterogeneity during brain development, and the limitations of different experimental models should always be considered. Notably, several genes have been widely studied given their relatively well-characterized involvement in BD (e.g., CACAN1C and ANK3), and findings of these genes are summarized to both outline possible biological mechanisms of BD and describe examples of translating GWAS discoveries into the pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Zhang
- Division of Mood Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Tao Li
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. .,West China Brain Research Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
| | - Ming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
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39
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Canals I, Ahlenius H. CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Engineering in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells for Modeling of Neurological Disorders. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2352:237-251. [PMID: 34324191 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1601-7_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Recent advances in genome editing have brought new hopes for personalized and precision medicine but have also dramatically facilitated disease modeling studies. Combined with reprogramming approaches, stem cells and differentiation toward neural lineages, genome engineering holds great potential for regenerative approaches and to model neurological disorders. The use of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells combined with neural differentiation allows studying the effect of specific mutations in different brain cells. New genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 represent a step further by facilitating the introduction or correction of specific mutations within the same cell line, thus eliminating variability due to differences in the genetic background. Here, we present a step-by-step protocol from design to generation of human pluripotent stem cell lines with specific mutations introduced or corrected with CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing that can be used in combination with transcription factor-based protocols to dissect underlying mechanisms of neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Canals
- Stem Cells, Aging and Neurodegeneration group, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Neurology, Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Henrik Ahlenius
- Stem Cells, Aging and Neurodegeneration group, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Neurology, Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
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40
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Choi WY, Hwang JH, Cho AN, Lee AJ, Jung I, Cho SW, Kim LK, Kim YJ. NEUROD1 Intrinsically Initiates Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells into Neural Progenitor Cells. Mol Cells 2020; 43:1011-1022. [PMID: 33293480 PMCID: PMC7772509 DOI: 10.14348/molcells.2020.0207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell type specification is a delicate biological event in which every step is under tight regulation. From a molecular point of view, cell fate commitment begins with chromatin alteration, which kickstarts lineage-determining factors to initiate a series of genes required for cell specification. Several important neuronal differentiation factors have been identified from ectopic over-expression studies. However, there is scarce information on which DNA regions are modified during induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) to neuronal progenitor cell (NPC) differentiation, the cis regulatory factors that attach to these accessible regions, or the genes that are initially expressed. In this study, we identified the DNA accessible regions of iPSCs and NPCs via the Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin sequencing (ATACseq). We identified which chromatin regions were modified after neuronal differentiation and found that the enhancer regions had more active histone modification changes than the promoters. Through motif enrichment analysis, we found that NEUROD1 controls iPSC differentiation to NPC by binding to the accessible regions of enhancers in cooperation with other factors such as the Hox proteins. Finally, by using Hi-C data, we categorized the genes that directly interacted with the enhancers under the control of NEUROD1 during iPSC to NPC differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won-Young Choi
- Interdisciplinary Program of Integrated OMICS for Biomedical Science, The Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
| | - Ji-Hyun Hwang
- Interdisciplinary Program of Integrated OMICS for Biomedical Science, The Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
| | - Ann-Na Cho
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
| | - Andrew J. Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Inkyung Jung
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Seung-Woo Cho
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
| | - Lark Kyun Kim
- Severance Biomedical Science Institute and BK21 PLUS Project for Medical Sciences, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 06273, Korea
| | - Young-Joon Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
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41
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Goetjen A, Watson M, Lieberman R, Clinton K, Kranzler HR, Covault J. Induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming-associated methylation at the GABRA2 promoter and chr4p12 GABA A subunit gene expression in the context of alcohol use disorder. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2020; 183:464-474. [PMID: 33029895 PMCID: PMC8022112 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Twin studies indicate that there is a significant genetic contribution to the risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD). With the exception of coding variants in ADH1B and ALDH2, little is known about the molecular effects of AUD-associated loci. We previously reported that the AUD-associated synonymous polymorphism rs279858 within the GABAA α2 receptor subunit gene, GABRA2, was associated with gene expression of the chr4p12 GABAA subunit gene cluster in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neural cultures. Based on this and other studies that showed changes in GABRA2 DNA methylation associated with schizophrenia and aging, we examined methylation in GABRA2. Specifically, using 69 iPSC lines and neural cultures derived from 47 of them, we examined whether GABRA2 rs279858 genotype predicted methylation levels and whether methylation was related to GABAA receptor subunit gene expression. We found that the GABRA2 CpG island undergoes random stochastic methylation during reprogramming and that methylation is associated with decreased GABRA2 gene expression, an effect that extends to the GABRB1 gene over 600 kb distal to GABRA2. Further, we identified additive effects of GABRA2 CpG methylation and GABRA2 rs279858 genotype on expression of the GABRB1 subunit gene in iPSC-derived neural cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Goetjen
- Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
- Genetics and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Maegan Watson
- Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Richard Lieberman
- Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Kaitlin Clinton
- Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Henry R. Kranzler
- Center for Studies of Addiction, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- VISN 4 MIRECC, Crescenz VAMC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Jonathan Covault
- Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
- Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
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42
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Naujock M, Speidel A, Fischer S, Kizner V, Dorner-Ciossek C, Gillardon F. Neuronal Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Schizophrenia Patients in Two-Dimensional and in Three-Dimensional Cultures Reveals Increased Expression of the Kv4.2 Subunit DPP6 That Contributes to Decreased Neuronal Activity. Stem Cells Dev 2020; 29:1577-1587. [PMID: 33143549 DOI: 10.1089/scd.2020.0082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the molecular underpinnings of schizophrenia (SZ) are still incompletely understood, deficits in synaptic activity and neuronal connectivity have been identified as core pathomechanisms of SZ and other neuropsychiatric disorders. In this study, we generated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from skin fibroblasts from healthy donors and patients diagnosed with idiopathic SZ. We differentiated the human iPSC into cortical neurons both as adherent monolayers and as three-dimensional spheroids. RNA sequencing revealed little overlap in differentially expressed genes between 2D and 3D neuron cultures from SZ iPSC compared with controls. Notably, mRNA transcripts encoding dipeptidyl peptidase-like protein 6 (DPP6), an accessory subunit of Kv4.2 voltage-gated potassium channels, were massively increased in cortical neurons from SZ iPSC in the 2D and 3D model. Consistently, multielectrode array recordings and calcium imaging showed significantly decreased neuronal activity both in 2D and in 3D cultures from SZ neurons. To show a causal relationship, we treated iPSC-derived neurons in 2D cultures with lentiviral DPP6 shRNA vectors and the Kv4.2 channel blocker AmmTx3, respectively. Both treatments successfully reversed neuronal hypoexcitability and hypoactivity in cortical neurons from SZ iPSC. Our data highlight a contribution of DPP6 and Kv4.2 to the deficit in neurotransmission in an iPSC model for SZ, which may be of therapeutic relevance for a subset of SZ patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Naujock
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Anna Speidel
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Sandra Fischer
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Valeria Kizner
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Cornelia Dorner-Ciossek
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Frank Gillardon
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, CNS Diseases Research, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
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Integrative analyses prioritize GNL3 as a risk gene for bipolar disorder. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25:2672-2684. [PMID: 32826963 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-00866-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with bipolar disorder (BD), but what the causal variants are and how they contribute to BD is largely unknown. In this study, we used FUMA, a GWAS annotation tool, to pinpoint potential causal variants and genes from the latest BD GWAS findings, and performed integrative analyses, including brain expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), gene coexpression network, differential gene expression, protein-protein interaction, and brain intermediate phenotype association analysis to identify the functions of a prioritized gene and its connection to BD. Convergent lines of evidence prioritized protein-coding gene G Protein Nucleolar 3 (GNL3) as a BD risk gene, with integrative analyses revealing GNL3's roles in cell proliferation, neuronal functions, and brain phenotypes. We experimentally revealed that BD-related eQTL SNPs rs10865973, rs12635140, and rs4687644 regulate GNL3 expression using dual luciferase reporter assay and CRISPR interference experiment in human neural progenitor cells. We further identified that GNL3 knockdown and overexpression led to aberrant neuronal proliferation and differentiation, using two-dimensional human neural cell cultures and three-dimensional forebrain organoid model. This study gathers evidence that BD-related genetic variants regulate GNL3 expression which subsequently affects neuronal proliferation and differentiation.
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iPSC-derived homogeneous populations of developing schizophrenia cortical interneurons have compromised mitochondrial function. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25:2873-2888. [PMID: 31019265 PMCID: PMC6813882 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0423-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2018] [Revised: 03/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Thus, studying pathogenetic mechanisms underlying SCZ requires studying the development of brain cells. Cortical interneurons (cINs) are consistently observed to be abnormal in SCZ postmortem brains. These abnormalities may explain altered gamma oscillation and cognitive function in patients with SCZ. Of note, currently used antipsychotic drugs ameliorate psychosis, but they are not very effective in reversing cognitive deficits. Characterizing mechanisms of SCZ pathogenesis, especially related to cognitive deficits, may lead to improved treatments. We generated homogeneous populations of developing cINs from 15 healthy control (HC) iPSC lines and 15 SCZ iPSC lines. SCZ cINs, but not SCZ glutamatergic neurons, show dysregulated Oxidative Phosphorylation (OxPhos) related gene expression, accompanied by compromised mitochondrial function. The OxPhos deficit in cINs could be reversed by Alpha Lipoic Acid/Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALA/ALC) but not by other chemicals previously identified as increasing mitochondrial function. The restoration of mitochondrial function by ALA/ALC was accompanied by a reversal of arborization deficits in SCZ cINs. OxPhos abnormality, even in the absence of any circuit environment with other neuronal subtypes, appears to be an intrinsic deficit in SCZ cINs.
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45
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Dobrindt K, Hoagland DA, Seah C, Kassim B, O’Shea CP, Iskhakova M, Fernando MB, Deans PM, Powell SK, Javidfar B, Murphy A, Peter C, Møeller R, Garcia MF, Kimura M, Iwasawa K, Crary J, Kotton DN, Takebe T, Huckins LM, tenOever BR, Akbarian S, Brennand KJ. Common genetic variation in humans impacts in vitro susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.09.20.300574. [PMID: 32995783 PMCID: PMC7523109 DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.20.300574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The host response to SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrates significant inter-individual variability. In addition to showing more disease in males, the elderly, and individuals with underlying comorbidities, SARS-CoV-2 can seemingly render healthy individuals with profound clinical complications. We hypothesize that, in addition to viral load and host antibody repertoire, host genetic variants also impact vulnerability to infection. Here we apply human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-based models and CRISPR-engineering to explore the host genetics of SARS-CoV-2. We demonstrate that a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs4702), common in the population at large, and located in the 3'UTR of the protease FURIN, impacts alveolar and neuron infection by SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Thus, we provide a proof-of-principle finding that common genetic variation can impact viral infection, and thus contribute to clinical heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2. Ongoing genetic studies will help to better identify high-risk individuals, predict clinical complications, and facilitate the discovery of drugs that might treat disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Dobrindt
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Daisy A. Hoagland
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1603, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Carina Seah
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Bibi Kassim
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Callan P. O’Shea
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Marina Iskhakova
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Michael B. Fernando
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - P.J. Michael Deans
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Samuel K. Powell
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Ben Javidfar
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Aleta Murphy
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Cyril Peter
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Rasmus Møeller
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1603, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Meilin Fernandez Garcia
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Masaki Kimura
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM); Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Institute of Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kentaro Iwasawa
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM); Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Institute of Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - John Crary
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Darrell N. Kotton
- Center for Regenerative Medicine of Boston University and Boston Medical Center, Pulmonary Center and Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
| | - Takanori Takebe
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM); Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Institute of Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Laura M. Huckins
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers, James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10468, USA
| | - Benjamin R. tenOever
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1603, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Schahram Akbarian
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Kristen J. Brennand
- Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Department of Genetics and Genomics, Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
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46
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Fischer S, Schlotthauer I, Kizner V, Macartney T, Dorner-Ciossek C, Gillardon F. Loss-of-function Mutations of CUL3, a High Confidence Gene for Psychiatric Disorders, Lead to Aberrant Neurodevelopment In Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Neuroscience 2020; 448:234-254. [PMID: 32890664 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 07/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Both rare, high risk, loss-of-function mutations and common, low risk, genetic variants in the CUL3 gene are strongly associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Network analyses of neuropsychiatric risk genes have shown high CUL3 expression in the prenatal human brain and an enrichment in neural precursor cells (NPCs) and cortical neurons. The role of CUL3 in human neurodevelopment however, is poorly understood. In the present study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 nickase to knockout CUL3 in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). iPSCs were subsequently differentiated into cortical glutamatergic neurons using two different protocols and tested for structural/functional alterations. Immunocytochemical analysis and transcriptomic profiling revealed that pluripotency of heterozygous CUL3 knockout (KO) iPSCs remained unchanged compared to isogenic control iPSCs. Following small molecule-mediated differentiation into cortical glutamatergic neurons however, we detected a significant delay in transition from proliferating radial glia cells/NPCs to postmitotic neurons in CUL3 KO cultures. Notably, direct neural conversion of CUL3 KO iPSCs by lentiviral expression of Neurogenin-2 massively attenuated the neurodevelopmental delay. However, both optogenetic and electrical stimulation of induced neurons revealed decreased excitability in Cullin-3 deficient cultures, while basal synaptic transmission remained unchanged. Analysis of target gene expression pointed to alterations in FGF signaling in CUL3 KO NPCs, which is required for NPC proliferation and self-renewal, while RhoA and Notch signaling appeared unaffected. Our data provide first evidence for a major role of Cullin-3 in neuronal differentiation, and for neurodevelopmental deficits underlying neuropsychiatric disorders associated with CUL3 mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Fischer
- CNS Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Ines Schlotthauer
- CNS Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Valeria Kizner
- CNS Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Thomas Macartney
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, Sir James Black Centre, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Cornelia Dorner-Ciossek
- CNS Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Frank Gillardon
- CNS Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany.
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47
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Matos MR, Ho SM, Schrode N, Brennand KJ. Integration of CRISPR-engineering and hiPSC-based models of psychiatric genomics. Mol Cell Neurosci 2020; 107:103532. [PMID: 32712198 PMCID: PMC7484226 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2020.103532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disorders are highly heritable polygenic disorders arising from the complex interplay of highly penetrant rare variants and common variants of small effect. There is a large index of comorbidity and shared genetic risk between disorders, reflecting the pleiotropy of individual variants as well as predicted downstream pathway-level convergence. Importantly, the mechanism(s) through which psychiatric disease-associated variants interact to contribute to disease risk remains unknown. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-based models are increasingly useful for the systematic study of the complex genetics associated with brain diseases, particularly when combined with CRISPR-mediated genomic engineering, which together facilitate isogenic comparisons of defined neuronal cell types. In this review, we discuss the latest CRISPR technologies and consider how they can be successfully applied to the functional characterization of the growing list genetic variants linked to psychiatric disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marliette R Matos
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America
| | - Seok-Man Ho
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America; Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America
| | - Nadine Schrode
- Department of Genetics and Genomics, Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America; Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America.
| | - Kristen J Brennand
- Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America; Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America; Department of Genetics and Genomics, Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America; Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America; Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States of America.
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48
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Integrating CRISPR Engineering and hiPSC-Derived 2D Disease Modeling Systems. J Neurosci 2020; 40:1176-1185. [PMID: 32024766 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0518-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have revolutionized research on human diseases, particularly neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, making it possible to study mechanisms of disease risk and initiation in otherwise inaccessible patient-specific cells. Today, the integration of CRISPR engineering approaches with hiPSC-based models permits precise isogenic comparisons of human neurons and glia. This review is intended as a guideline for neuroscientists and clinicians interested in translating their research to hiPSC-based studies. It offers state-of-the-art approaches to tackling the challenges that are unique to human in vitro disease models, particularly interdonor and intradonor variability, and limitations in neuronal maturity and circuit complexity. Finally, we provide a detailed overview of the immense possibilities the field has to offer, highlighting efficient neural differentiation and induction strategies for the major brain cell types and providing perspective into integrating CRISPR-based methods into study design. The combination of hiPSC-based disease modeling, CRISPR technology, and high-throughput approaches promises to advance our scientific knowledge and accelerate progress in drug discovery.Dual Perspectives Companion Paper: Studying Human Neurodevelopment and Diseases Using 3D Brain Organoids, by Ai Tian, Julien Muffat, and Yun Li.
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49
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Zhang S, Zhang H, Zhou Y, Qiao M, Zhao S, Kozlova A, Shi J, Sanders AR, Wang G, Luo K, Sengupta S, West S, Qian S, Streit M, Avramopoulos D, Cowan CA, Chen M, Pang ZP, Gejman PV, He X, Duan J. Allele-specific open chromatin in human iPSC neurons elucidates functional disease variants. Science 2020; 369:561-565. [PMID: 32732423 PMCID: PMC7773145 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay3983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Most neuropsychiatric disease risk variants are in noncoding sequences and lack functional interpretation. Because regulatory sequences often reside in open chromatin, we reasoned that neuropsychiatric disease risk variants may affect chromatin accessibility during neurodevelopment. Using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons that model developing brains, we identified thousands of genetic variants exhibiting allele-specific open chromatin (ASoC). These neuronal ASoCs were partially driven by altered transcription factor binding, overrepresented in brain gene enhancers and expression quantitative trait loci, and frequently associated with distal genes through chromatin contacts. ASoCs were enriched for genetic variants associated with brain disorders, enabling identification of functional schizophrenia risk variants and their cis-target genes. This study highlights ASoC as a functional mechanism of noncoding neuropsychiatric risk variants, providing a powerful framework for identifying disease causal variants and genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siwei Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Hanwen Zhang
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Yifan Zhou
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- The Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Min Qiao
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Siming Zhao
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Alena Kozlova
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Jianxin Shi
- Biostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Alan R Sanders
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Gao Wang
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Kaixuan Luo
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Subhajit Sengupta
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Siobhan West
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Sheng Qian
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Michael Streit
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Dimitrios Avramopoulos
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Chad A Cowan
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Mengjie Chen
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Zhiping P Pang
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Pablo V Gejman
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Xin He
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
- Grossman Institute for Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Jubao Duan
- Center for Psychiatric Genetics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 60201, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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50
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Cai X, Yang ZH, Li HJ, Xiao X, Li M, Chang H. A Human-Specific Schizophrenia Risk Tandem Repeat Affects Alternative Splicing of a Human-Unique Isoform AS3MTd2d3 and Mushroom Dendritic Spine Density. Schizophr Bull 2020; 47:219-227. [PMID: 32662510 PMCID: PMC7825093 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in functional genomics have facilitated the identification of multiple genes and isoforms associated with the genetic risk of schizophrenia, yet the causal variations remain largely unclear. A previous study reported that the schizophrenia risk single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs7085104 at 10q24.32 was in high linkage disequilibrium (LD) with a human-specific variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR), and both were significantly associated with the brain mRNA expression of a human-unique AS3MTd2d3 isoform in Europeans and African Americans. In this study, we have shown the direct regulation of the AS3MTd2d3 mRNA expression by this VNTR through an in vitro minigene splicing assay, suggesting that it is likely a causative functional variation. Intriguingly, we have further confirmed that the VNTR and rs7085104 are significantly associated with AS3MTd2d3 mRNA expression in brains of Han Chinese donors, and rs7085104 is also associated with risk of schizophrenia in East Asians. Finally, the overexpression of AS3MTd2d3 in cultured primary hippocampal neurons results in significantly reduced densities of mushroom dendritic spines, implicating its potential functional impact. Considering the crucial roles of dendritic spines in neuroplasticity, these results reveal the potential regulatory impact of the schizophrenia risk VNTR on AS3MTd2d3 and provide insights into the underlying biological mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Cai
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Zhi-Hui Yang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hui-Juan Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiao Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Ming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China,KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, NO 32 Jiao-Chang Donglu, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China; tel: +86-871-65190612, fax: +86-871-65190612, e-mail:
| | - Hong Chang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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