1
|
Byfield FJ, Eftekhari B, Kaymak-Loveless K, Mandal K, Li D, Wells RG, Chen W, Brujic J, Bergamaschi G, Wuite GJL, Patteson AE, Janmey PA. Metabolically intact nuclei are fluidized by the activity of the chromatin remodeling motor BRG1. bioRxiv 2024:2024.04.12.589275. [PMID: 38659735 PMCID: PMC11042217 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.12.589275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
The structure and dynamics of the cell nucleus regulate nearly every facet of the cell. Changes in nuclear shape limit cell motility and gene expression. Although the nucleus is generally seen as the stiffest organelle in the cell, cells can nevertheless deform the nucleus to large strains by small mechanical stresses. Here, we show that the mechanical response of the cell nucleus exhibits active fluidization that is driven by the BRG 1 motor of the SWI/SNF/BAF chromatin-remodeling complex. Atomic force microscopy measurements show that the nucleus alters stiffness in response to the cell substrate stiffness, which is retained after the nucleus is isolated and that the work of nuclear compression is mostly dissipated rather than elastically stored. Inhibiting BRG 1 stiffens the nucleus and eliminates dissipation and nuclear remodeling both in isolated nuclei and in intact cells. These findings demonstrate a novel link between nuclear motor activity and global nuclear mechanics.
Collapse
|
2
|
Ruiz LM, de Oliveira Braga KA, Nepomuceno NA, Correia AT, Ribeiro de Carvalho GH, Vilela VS, Dolhnikoff M, Pêgo-Fernandes PM. Effect of Hypertonic Saline Solution on the Ventilatory Mechanics of Lungs Donated After Brain Death. J Surg Res 2024; 298:109-118. [PMID: 38603941 DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2024.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Brain death (BD) compromises the viability of the lung for donation. Hypertonic saline solution (HSS) induces rapid intravascular volume expansion and immunomodulatory action. We investigated its role in ventilatory mechanics (VMs) and in the inflammatory activity of the lungs of rats subjected to BD. METHODS Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control, n = 10: intact rats subjected to extraction of the heart-lung block; BD, n = 8 (BD): rats treated with isotonic saline solution (4 mL/kg) immediately after BD; hypertonic saline 0 h, n = 9 (Hip.0'): rats treated with HSS (4 mL/kg) immediately after BD; and hypertonic saline 1 h, n = 9 (Hip.60'), rats treated with HSS (4 mL/kg) 60 min after BD. The hemodynamic characteristics, gas exchange, VMs, inflammatory mediators, and histopathological evaluation of the lung were evaluated over 240 min of BD. RESULTS In VMs, we observed increased airway resistance, tissue resistance, tissue elastance, and respiratory system compliance in the BD group (P < 0.037), while the treated groups showed no impairment over time (P > 0.05). In the histological analysis, the BD group showed a greater area of perivascular edema and a higher neutrophil count than the control group and the Hip.60' group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Treatment with HSS was effective in preventing changes in the elastic and resistive pulmonary components, keeping them at baseline levels. Late treatment reduced perivascular and neutrophilic edema in lung tissue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Liliane Moreira Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Instituto do Coração (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Karina Andrighetti de Oliveira Braga
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Instituto do Coração (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Natalia Aparecida Nepomuceno
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Instituto do Coração (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Aristides Tadeu Correia
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Instituto do Coração (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Vanessa Sana Vilela
- Doctoral Student, Laboratory of Thoracic Surgery Research, Heart Institute (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marisa Dolhnikoff
- Pathology Departament, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paulo Manuel Pêgo-Fernandes
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Instituto do Coração (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Höglund A, Henriksen R, Churcher AM, Guerrero-Bosagna CM, Martinez-Barrio A, Johnsson M, Jensen P, Wright D. The regulation of methylation on the Z chromosome and the identification of multiple novel Male Hyper-Methylated regions in the chicken. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1010719. [PMID: 38457441 PMCID: PMC10954189 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation is a key regulator of eukaryote genomes, and is of particular relevance in the regulation of gene expression on the sex chromosomes, with a key role in dosage compensation in mammalian XY systems. In the case of birds, dosage compensation is largely absent, with it being restricted to two small Male Hyper-Methylated (MHM) regions on the Z chromosome. To investigate how variation in DNA methylation is regulated on the Z chromosome we utilised a wild x domestic advanced intercross in the chicken, with both hypothalamic methylomes and transcriptomes assayed in 124 individuals. The relatively large numbers of individuals allowed us to identify additional genomic MHM regions on the Z chromosome that were significantly differentially methylated between the sexes. These regions appear to down-regulate local gene expression in males, but not remove it entirely (unlike the lncRNAs identified in the initial MHM regions). These MHM regions were further tested and the most balanced genes appear to show decreased expression in males, whilst methylation appeared to be far more correlated with gene expression in the less balanced, as compared to the most balanced genes. In addition, quantitative trait loci (QTL) that regulate variation in methylation on the Z chromosome, and those loci that regulate methylation on the autosomes that derive from the Z chromosome were mapped. Trans-effect hotspots were also identified that were based on the autosomes but affected the Z, and also one that was based on the Z chromosome but that affected both autosomal and sex chromosome DNA methylation regulation. We show that both cis and trans loci that originate from the Z chromosome never exhibit an interaction with sex, whereas trans loci originating from the autosomes but affecting the Z chromosome always display such an interaction. Our results highlight how additional MHM regions are actually present on the Z chromosome, and they appear to have smaller-scale effects on gene expression in males. Quantitative variation in methylation is also regulated both from the autosomes to the Z chromosome, and from the Z chromosome to the autosomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Höglund
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rie Henriksen
- AVIAN Behavioural Genomics and Physiology Group, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | | | - Carlos M. Guerrero-Bosagna
- Physiology and Environmental Toxicology Program, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Martin Johnsson
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Per Jensen
- AVIAN Behavioural Genomics and Physiology Group, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Dominic Wright
- AVIAN Behavioural Genomics and Physiology Group, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Justice MJ. Sex matters in preclinical research. Dis Model Mech 2024; 17:dmm050759. [PMID: 38450661 PMCID: PMC10941654 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
International Women's Day 2024 has a theme of inclusion. As publishers of preclinical research, we aim to show how inclusion of females in research advances scientific rigor and improves treatment reliability. Sexual reproduction is key to all life across the plant and animal kingdoms. Biological sex takes many forms that are morphologically differentiated during development: stamens versus pistils in plants; color and plumage in birds; fallopian tubes versus vas deferens in mammals; and differences in size, for instance, males are smaller in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Physical differences may be obvious, but many traits may be more obscure, including hormonal, physiological and metabolic factors. These traits have a big influence on disease and responses to treatment. Thus, we call for improved inclusion, analysis and reporting of sex as a biological variable in preclinical animal modeling research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monica J. Justice
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 0A4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Gattuso JJ, Wilson C, Hannan AJ, Renoir T. Acute administration of the NMDA receptor antagonists ketamine and MK-801 reveals dysregulation of glutamatergic signalling and sensorimotor gating in the Sapap3 knockout mouse model of compulsive-like behaviour. Neuropharmacology 2023; 239:109689. [PMID: 37597609 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterised by excessive intrusive thoughts that may cause an individual to engage in compulsive behaviours. Frontline pharmacological treatments (i.e., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)) leave approximately 40% of patients refractory to treatment. To investigate the possibility of novel pharmacological therapies for OCD, as well as the potential mechanisms underlying its pathology, we used the Sapap3 knockout (KO) mouse model of OCD, which exhibits increased anxiety and compulsive grooming behaviours. Firstly, we investigated whether administration of the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonist ketamine (30 mg/kg), would reduce anxiety and grooming behaviour in Sapap3 KO mice. Anxiety-like behaviour was measured via time spent in the light component of the light-dark box test. Grooming behaviour was recorded and scored in freely moving mice. In line with previous works conducted in older animals (i.e. typically between 6 and 9 months of age), we confirmed here that Sapap3 KO mice exhibit an anxious, compulsive grooming, hypolocomotive and reduced body weight phenotype even at a younger age (i.e., 2-3 months of age). However, we found that acute administration of ketamine did not cause a reduction in anxiety or grooming behaviour. We then investigated in vivo glutamatergic function via the administration of a different NMDAR antagonist, MK-801 (0.25 mg/kg), prior to locomotion and prepulse inhibition assays. We found evidence of altered functional NMDAR activity, as well as sexually dimorphic prepulse inhibition, a measure of sensorimotor gating, in Sapap3 KO mice. These results are suggestive of in vivo glutamatergic dysfunction and their functional consequences, enabling future research to further investigate novel treatments for OCD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James J Gattuso
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Carey Wilson
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
Sex differences in gene expression start at puberty and vary across species and organs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marie Sémon
- Laboratory of Biology and Modeling of the Cell, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS UMR5239, Inserm U1293, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Rich-Edwards JW, Maney DL. Best practices to promote rigor and reproducibility in the era of sex-inclusive research. eLife 2023; 12:e90623. [PMID: 37917121 PMCID: PMC10622144 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
To enhance inclusivity and rigor, many funding agencies and journals now mandate the inclusion of females as well as males in biomedical studies. These mandates have enhanced generalizability and created unprecedented opportunities to discover sex differences. However, education in sound methods to consider sex as a subgroup category has lagged behind, resulting in a problematic literature in which study designs, analyses, and interpretations of results are often flawed. Here, we outline best practices for complying with sex-inclusive mandates, both for studies in which sex differences are a primary focus and for those in which they are not. Our recommendations are organized within the "4 Cs of Studying Sex to Strengthen Science: Consideration, Collection, Characterization and Communication," a framework developed by the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health in the United States. Following these guidelines should help researchers include females and males in their studies while at the same time upholding high standards of rigor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janet W Rich-Edwards
- Division of Women’s Health, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard TH Chan School of Public HealthBostonUnited States
| | - Donna L Maney
- Department of Psychology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
- Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Sadie-Van Gijsen H, Kotzé-Hörstmann L. Rat models of diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysregulation: Current trends, shortcomings and considerations for future research. Obes Res Clin Pract 2023; 17:449-457. [PMID: 37788944 DOI: 10.1016/j.orcp.2023.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Rat diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysregulation (DIO/DIMD) is widely used as a pre-clinical model for human obesity and for testing weight-loss interventions. The aim of this review was to utilise a systematic literature survey of rat DIO/DIMD studies as a tool to document trends around study design and metabolic outcomes of these studies, and to consider ways in which the design of these studies may be improved to enhance the relevance thereof for human obesity research. In total, 110 comparisons between control and obesogenic dietary groups were included in the survey. Young male rats were found to be the model of choice, but fewer than 50% of studies provided comprehensive information about diet composition and energy intake. In addition, it was found that the majority of expected DIO/DIMD responses (hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, hypoadiponectinemia) occurred at < 80% frequency, drawing into question the concept of a "typical" or "appropriate" response. We discuss the impact of differences in diet composition and energy intake on metabolic outcomes against the context of large heterogeneity of obesogenic diets employed in rat DIO/DIMD studies, and provide recommendations for the improvement of reporting standards around diet composition and dietary intake. In addition, we highlight the lack of data from female and older rats and describe considerations around the inclusion of sex and age as a variable in rat DIO/DIMD studies, aiming towards improving the applicability of these studies as a model of human obesity, which is most prevalent in women and older individuals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hanél Sadie-Van Gijsen
- Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research in Africa (CARMA), Division of Medical Physiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University Tygerberg Campus, PO Box 241, Cape Town 8000, South Africa.
| | - Liske Kotzé-Hörstmann
- Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research in Africa (CARMA), Division of Medical Physiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University Tygerberg Campus, PO Box 241, Cape Town 8000, South Africa; Institute for Sport and Exercise Medicine (ISEM), Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University Tygerberg Campus, PO Box 241, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Aloni E, Tibi M, Hochgerner H, Zeisel A. Sexual dimorphism in synaptic inputs to the mouse amygdala and orbital cortex. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1258284. [PMID: 37901417 PMCID: PMC10601666 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1258284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The medial amygdala (MeA) is a sexually dimorphic brain region that regulates fear responses, emotional memories, and social behaviors. It is known to be larger and contains more cells in males. The MeA integrates information through input connections from olfactory regions, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, ventral hippocampus, and thalamic and hypothalamic structures. We hypothesize that in addition to the size differences, there are differences in regional connectivity between the sexes. In this study, we utilized G-deleted rabies monosynaptic retrograde tracing to compare amygdala presynaptic cells in male and female whole mouse brains. We report differences in connection patterns to the amygdala, with higher overall connectivity (presynaptic per starter) in males and a larger fraction of inputs originating from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, lateral septum, and medial preoptic area. Furthermore, we examined input connections to the orbital cortex (ORB), a brain region shown to be larger in volume in females, and found the opposite trend, where females had more total inputs. Together, our findings extend the evidence for sexual dimorphism in the brain to the neuronal wiring pattern, with likely impacts on behavior and disease susceptibility.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Amit Zeisel
- Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Schell M, Wardelmann K, Hauffe R, Rath M, Chopra S, Kleinridders A. Lactobacillus rhamnosus Sex-Specifically Attenuates Depressive-like Behavior and Mitigates Metabolic Consequences in Obesity. Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci 2023; 3:651-662. [PMID: 37881580 PMCID: PMC10593880 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Patients with diabetes exhibit an increased prevalence for emotional disorders compared with healthy humans, partially due to a shared pathogenesis including hormone resistance and inflammation, which is also linked to intestinal dysbiosis. The preventive intake of probiotic lactobacilli has been shown to improve dysbiosis along with mood and metabolism. Yet, a potential role of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus 0030) (LR) in improving emotional behavior in established obesity and the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Methods Female and male C57BL/6N mice were fed a low-fat diet (10% kcal from fat) or high-fat diet (HFD) (45% kcal from fat) for 6 weeks, followed by daily oral gavage of vehicle or 1 × 108 colony-forming units of LR, and assessment of anxiety- and depressive-like behavior. Cecal microbiota composition was analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing, plasma and cerebrospinal fluid were collected for metabolomic analysis, and gene expression of different brain areas was assessed using reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results We observed that 12 weeks of HFD feeding induced hyperinsulinemia, which was attenuated by LR application only in female mice. On the contrary, HFD-fed male mice exhibited increased anxiety- and depressive-like behavior, where the latter was specifically attenuated by LR application, which was independent of metabolic changes. Furthermore, LR application restored the HFD-induced decrease of tyrosine hydroxylase, along with normalizing cholecystokinin gene expression in dopaminergic brain regions; both tyrosine hydroxylase and cholecystokinin are involved in signaling pathways impacting emotional disorders. Conclusions Our data show that LR attenuates depressive-like behavior after established obesity, with changes in the dopaminergic system in male mice, and mitigates hyperinsulinemia in obese female mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Schell
- German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany
- Molecular and Experimental Nutritional Medicine, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany
| | - Kristina Wardelmann
- German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany
- Molecular and Experimental Nutritional Medicine, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany
| | - Robert Hauffe
- German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany
- Molecular and Experimental Nutritional Medicine, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany
| | - Michaela Rath
- Molecular and Experimental Nutritional Medicine, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany
| | - Simran Chopra
- German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany
- Molecular and Experimental Nutritional Medicine, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany
| | - André Kleinridders
- German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany
- Molecular and Experimental Nutritional Medicine, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Powell G, Simon MM, Pulit S, Mallon AM, Lindgren CM. Genic constraint against nonsynonymous variation across the mouse genome. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:562. [PMID: 37736706 PMCID: PMC10514939 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09637-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Selective constraint, the depletion of variation due to negative selection, provides insights into the functional impact of variants and disease mechanisms. However, its characterization in mice, the most commonly used mammalian model, remains limited. This study aims to quantify mouse gene constraint using a new metric called the nonsynonymous observed expected ratio (NOER) and investigate its relationship with gene function. RESULTS NOER was calculated using whole-genome sequencing data from wild mouse populations (Mus musculus sp and Mus spretus). Positive correlations were observed between mouse gene constraint and the number of associated knockout phenotypes, indicating stronger constraint on pleiotropic genes. Furthermore, mouse gene constraint showed a positive correlation with the number of pathogenic variant sites in their human orthologues, supporting the relevance of mouse models in studying human disease variants. CONCLUSIONS NOER provides a resource for assessing the fitness consequences of genetic variants in mouse genes and understanding the relationship between gene constraint and function. The study's findings highlight the importance of pleiotropy in selective constraint and support the utility of mouse models in investigating human disease variants. Further research with larger sample sizes can refine constraint estimates in mice and enable more comprehensive comparisons of constraint between mouse and human orthologues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- George Powell
- Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK.
| | - Michelle M Simon
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Sara Pulit
- Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ann-Marie Mallon
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Cecilia M Lindgren
- Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Medical and Population Genetics Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Haselimashhadi H, Babalola K, Wilson R, Groza T, Muñoz-Fuentes V. A consensus score to combine inferences from multiple centres. Mamm Genome 2023; 34:379-388. [PMID: 37154937 PMCID: PMC10382396 DOI: 10.1007/s00335-023-09993-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Experiments in which data are collected by multiple independent resources, including multicentre data, different laboratories within the same centre or with different operators, are challenging in design, data collection and interpretation. Indeed, inconsistent results across the resources are possible. In this paper, we propose a statistical solution for the problem of multi-resource consensus inferences when statistical results from different resources show variation in magnitude, directionality, and significance. Our proposed method allows combining the corrected p-values, effect sizes and the total number of centres into a global consensus score. We apply this method to obtain a consensus score for data collected by the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) across 11 centres. We show the application of this method to detect sexual dimorphism in haematological data and discuss the suitability of the methodology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Haselimashhadi
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hinxton, UK.
| | - Kolawole Babalola
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hinxton, UK
| | - Robert Wilson
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hinxton, UK
| | - Tudor Groza
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hinxton, UK
| | - Violeta Muñoz-Fuentes
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hinxton, UK
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Zhang Y, Barupal DK, Fan S, Gao B, Zhu C, Flenniken AM, McKerlie C, Nutter LMJ, Lloyd KCK, Fiehn O. Sexual Dimorphism of the Mouse Plasma Metabolome Is Associated with Phenotypes of 30 Gene Knockout Lines. Metabolites 2023; 13:947. [PMID: 37623890 PMCID: PMC10456929 DOI: 10.3390/metabo13080947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Although metabolic alterations are observed in many monogenic and complex genetic disorders, the impact of most mammalian genes on cellular metabolism remains unknown. Understanding the effect of mouse gene dysfunction on metabolism can inform the functions of their human orthologues. We investigated the effect of loss-of-function mutations in 30 unique gene knockout (KO) lines on plasma metabolites, including genes coding for structural proteins (11 of 30), metabolic pathway enzymes (12 of 30) and protein kinases (7 of 30). Steroids, bile acids, oxylipins, primary metabolites, biogenic amines and complex lipids were analyzed with dedicated mass spectrometry platforms, yielding 827 identified metabolites in male and female KO mice and wildtype (WT) controls. Twenty-two percent of 23,698 KO versus WT comparison tests showed significant genotype effects on plasma metabolites. Fifty-six percent of identified metabolites were significantly different between the sexes in WT mice. Many of these metabolites were also found to have sexually dimorphic changes in KO lines. We used plasma metabolites to complement phenotype information exemplified for Dhfr, Idh1, Mfap4, Nek2, Npc2, Phyh and Sra1. The association of plasma metabolites with IMPC phenotypes showed dramatic sexual dimorphism in wildtype mice. We demonstrate how to link metabolomics to genotypes and (disease) phenotypes. Sex must be considered as critical factor in the biological interpretation of gene functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zhang
- West Coast Metabolomics Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Dinesh K. Barupal
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
| | - Sili Fan
- West Coast Metabolomics Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Bei Gao
- School of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
| | - Chao Zhu
- College of Medicine & Nursing, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China
| | - Ann M. Flenniken
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, Toronto, ON M5T 3H7, Canada; (A.M.F.); (C.M.); (L.M.J.N.)
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada
| | - Colin McKerlie
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, Toronto, ON M5T 3H7, Canada; (A.M.F.); (C.M.); (L.M.J.N.)
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Lauryl M. J. Nutter
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, Toronto, ON M5T 3H7, Canada; (A.M.F.); (C.M.); (L.M.J.N.)
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Kevin C. Kent Lloyd
- Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, and Mouse Biology Program, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA;
| | - Oliver Fiehn
- West Coast Metabolomics Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Edwards TL, Greene CA, Piekos JA, Hellwege JN, Hampton G, Jasper EA, Velez Edwards DR. Challenges and Opportunities for Data Science in Women's Health. Annu Rev Biomed Data Sci 2023; 6:23-45. [PMID: 37040736 PMCID: PMC10877578 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biodatasci-020722-105958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
The intersection of women's health and data science is a field of research that has historically trailed other fields, but more recently it has gained momentum. This growth is being driven not only by new investigators who are moving into this area but also by the significant opportunities that have emerged in new methodologies, resources, and technologies in data science. Here, we describe some of the resources and methods being used by women's health researchers today to meet challenges in biomedical data science. We also describe the opportunities and limitations of applying these approaches to advance women's health outcomes and the future of the field, with emphasis on repurposing existing methodologies for women's health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Todd L Edwards
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA;
| | - Catherine A Greene
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA;
- Division of Quantitative Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jacqueline A Piekos
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA;
- Division of Quantitative Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jacklyn N Hellwege
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA;
- Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Gabrielle Hampton
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA;
| | - Elizabeth A Jasper
- Division of Quantitative Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Center for Precision Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Digna R Velez Edwards
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA;
- Division of Quantitative Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Saito R, Otsu M, Kiyosawa H, Kawai G. Expression analysis of box C/D snoRNAs with SNPs between C57BL/6 and MSM/Ms strains in male mouse. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0288362. [PMID: 37428787 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023] Open
Abstract
MSM/Ms mouse derived from the Japanese wild mouse has unique characteristics compared to the widely used C57BL/6 mouse. To examine the usefulness of the MSM/Ms mouse for the comparative genomic analysis, expression of small RNAs were analyzed by the large-scale sequence analysis for two strains of mouse, C57BL/6 and MSM/Ms. As a trial, expression of box C/D snoRNAs, which are the most abundant small RNAs in the cell, were analyzed. By the comparison of the read number for each fragment, 11 snoRNAs with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected. One of the snoRNAs, SNORD53, shows the expression only for MSM/Ms and this snoRNA has a mutation in the box sequence in C57BL/6. Thus, it was demonstrated that the proposed experimental system using SNPs can give new insight for the gene expression regulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rumiko Saito
- Department of Life Science, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
| | - Maina Otsu
- Department of Life Science, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
| | - Hidenori Kiyosawa
- Department of Life Science, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
- Department of Environmental Medicine, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Oko-cho, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan
| | - Gota Kawai
- Department of Life Science, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Wilson E, Ramage FJ, Wever KE, Sena ES, Macleod MR, Currie GL. Designing, conducting, and reporting reproducible animal experiments. J Endocrinol 2023; 258:e220330. [PMID: 37074416 PMCID: PMC10304908 DOI: 10.1530/joe-22-0330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023]
Abstract
In biomedicine and many other fields, there are growing concerns around the reproducibility of research findings, with many researchers being unable to replicate their own or others' results. This raises important questions as to the validity and usefulness of much published research. In this review, we aim to engage researchers in the issue of research reproducibility and equip them with the necessary tools to increase the reproducibility of their research. We first highlight the causes and potential impact of non-reproducible research and emphasise the benefits of working reproducibly for the researcher and broader research community. We address specific targets for improvement and steps that individual researchers can take to increase the reproducibility of their work. We next provide recommendations for improving the design and conduct of experiments, focusing on in vivo animal experiments. We describe common sources of poor internal validity of experiments and offer practical guidance for limiting these potential sources of bias at different experimental stages, as well as discussing other important considerations during experimental design. We provide a list of key resources available to researchers to improve experimental design, conduct, and reporting. We then discuss the importance of open research practices such as study preregistration and the use of preprints and describe recommendations around data management and sharing. Our review emphasises the importance of reproducible work and aims to empower every individual researcher to contribute to the reproducibility of research in their field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Wilson
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Fiona J Ramage
- Department of Systems Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Kimberley E Wever
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Emily S Sena
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Malcolm R Macleod
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Gillian L Currie
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Li Q, Zhang N. Sex differences in resting-state functional networks in awake rats. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:1411-1423. [PMID: 37261489 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02657-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Sex-related differences can be found in many brain disorders and psychophysiological traits, highlighting the importance to systematically understand the sex differences in brain function in humans and animal models. Despite emerging effort to address sex differences in behaviors and disease models in rodents, how brain-wide functional connectivity (FC) patterns differ between male and female rats remains largely unknown. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) to investigate regional and systems-level differences between female and male rats. Our data show that female rats display stronger hypothalamus connectivity, whereas male rats exhibit more prominent striatum-related connectivity. At the global scale, female rats demonstrate stronger segregation within the cortical and subcortical systems, while male rats display more prominent cortico-subcortical interactions, particularly between the cortex and striatum. Taken together, these data provide a comprehensive framework of sex differences in resting-state connectivity patterns in the awake rat brain, and offer a reference for studies aiming to reveal sex-related FC differences in different animal models of brain disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiong Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, USA
| | - Nanyin Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, USA.
- Center for Neurotechnology in Mental Health Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, 16802, USA.
- Center for Neural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, 16802, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Baghdadi M, Mesaros A, Purrio M, Partridge L. Sex-specific effects of Cre expression in Syn1Cre mice. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10037. [PMID: 37340054 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37029-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The Cre-loxP system has been used to generate cell-type specific mutations in mice, allowing researchers to investigate the underlying biological mechanisms of disease. However, the Cre-recombinase alone can induce phenotypes that confound comparisons among genotypes if the appropriate Cre control is not included. In this study, we characterised behavioural, morphological and metabolic phenotypes of the pan-neuronal Syn1Cre line. We found that these mice possess intact neuromuscular parameters but have reduced exploratory activity and a male-specific increase in anxiety-like behaviour. Moreover, we observed a male-specific deficit in learning and long-term memory of Syn1Cre mice that could be a result of decreased visual acuity. Furthermore, we found that over-expression of human growth hormone (hGH) from Syn1Cre results in a male-specific reduction in body weight and femur length, potentially through decreased hepatic Igf1 expression. However, metabolic characteristics of Syn1Cre mice such as glucose metabolism, energy expenditure and feeding were unaffected by the presence of Syn1Cre. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that Syn1Cre expression has effects on behavioural and morphological traits. This finding highlights the importance of including the Cre control in all comparisons, while the male-specific effects on some phenotypes highlight the importance of including both sexes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Mesaros
- Max-Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany
| | - Martin Purrio
- Max-Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany
| | - Linda Partridge
- Max-Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany.
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and GEE, UCL, London, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Lombrea A, Romanescu M, Jianu N, Andor M, Suciu M, Man DE, Danciu C, Dehelean CA, Buda V. Sex-Related Differences in the Pharmacological Response in SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Dyslipidemia, and Diabetes Mellitus: A Narrative Review. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:853. [PMID: 37375800 DOI: 10.3390/ph16060853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Pharmacological responses vary by sex in several illnesses. This narrative review summarizes sex variations in pharmaceutical response in SARS-CoV-2 infection, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is more severe and deadly in men than women. This may be attributed to immunological responses, genetics, and hormones. Some research shows that men may respond better to genomic vaccinations and females to antiviral medications such as remdesivir (Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech). In dyslipidemia, women tend to have greater HDL-C and lower LDL-C than men. Some studies show that females may need lower statin dosages than men to obtain equal LDL-C reductions. Ezetimibe co-administered with a statin significantly improved lipid profile indicators in men compared to women. Statins reduce dementia risk. Atorvastatin decreased dementia risk in males (adjusted HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.88-0.97), whereas lovastatin lowered dementia risk in women (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58-0.95). In diabetes mellitus, evidence suggests that females may have a higher risk of developing certain complications such as diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, despite having lower rates of cardiovascular disease than males. This could be the result of differences in hormonal influences and genetic factors. Some research shows females may respond better to oral hypoglycemic medications such as metformin. In conclusion, sex-related differences in pharmacological response have been observed in SARS-CoV-2 infection, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. Further research is needed to better understand these differences and to develop personalized treatment strategies for males and females with these conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adelina Lombrea
- Doctoral School, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Research Center for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Mirabela Romanescu
- Doctoral School, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Narcisa Jianu
- Doctoral School, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Minodora Andor
- Faculty of Medicine, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Multidisciplinary Heart Research Center, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 340001 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Maria Suciu
- Research Center for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Dana Emilia Man
- Faculty of Medicine, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Corina Danciu
- Research Center for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Cristina Adriana Dehelean
- Research Center for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Valentina Buda
- Research Center for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Street, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Ineu City Hospital, 2 Republicii Street, 315300 Ineu, Romania
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Vosberg DE, Pausova Z, Paus T. The genetics of a "femaleness/maleness" score in cardiometabolic traits in the UK biobank. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9109. [PMID: 37277458 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36132-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We recently devised continuous "sex-scores" that sum up multiple quantitative traits, weighted by their respective sex-difference effect sizes, as an approach to estimating polyphenotypic "maleness/femaleness" within each binary sex. To identify the genetic architecture underlying these sex-scores, we conducted sex-specific genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in the UK Biobank cohort (females: n = 161,906; males: n = 141,980). As a control, we also conducted GWASs of sex-specific "sum-scores", simply aggregating the same traits, without weighting by sex differences. Among GWAS-identified genes, while sum-score genes were enriched for genes differentially expressed in the liver in both sexes, sex-score genes were enriched for genes differentially expressed in the cervix and across brain tissues, particularly for females. We then considered single nucleotide polymorphisms with significantly different effects (sdSNPs) between the sexes for sex-scores and sum-scores, mapping to male-dominant and female-dominant genes. Here, we identified brain-related enrichment for sex-scores, especially for male-dominant genes; these findings were present but weaker for sum-scores. Genetic correlation analyses of sex-biased diseases indicated that both sex-scores and sum-scores were associated with cardiometabolic, immune, and psychiatric disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Vosberg
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Zdenka Pausova
- Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Departments of Physiology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Tomáš Paus
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- ECOGENE-21, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Oestereicher MA, Wotton JM, Ayabe S, Bou About G, Cheng TK, Choi JH, Clary D, Dew EM, Elfertak L, Guimond A, Haseli Mashhadi H, Heaney JD, Kelsey L, Keskivali-Bond P, Lopez Gomez F, Marschall S, McFarland M, Meziane H, Munoz Fuentes V, Nam KH, Nichtová Z, Pimm D, Bower L, Prochazka J, Rozman J, Santos L, Stewart M, Tanaka N, Ward CS, Willett AME, Wilson R, Braun RE, Dickinson ME, Flenniken AM, Herault Y, Lloyd KCK, Mallon AM, McKerlie C, Murray SA, Nutter LMJ, Sedlacek R, Seong JK, Sorg T, Tamura M, Wells S, Schneltzer E, Fuchs H, Gailus-Durner V, Hrabe de Angelis M, White JK, Spielmann N. Comprehensive ECG reference intervals in C57BL/6N substrains provide a generalizable guide for cardiac electrophysiology studies in mice. Mamm Genome 2023; 34:180-199. [PMID: 37294348 PMCID: PMC10290602 DOI: 10.1007/s00335-023-09995-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Reference ranges provide a powerful tool for diagnostic decision-making in clinical medicine and are enormously valuable for understanding normality in pre-clinical scientific research that uses in vivo models. As yet, there are no published reference ranges for electrocardiography (ECG) in the laboratory mouse. The first mouse-specific reference ranges for the assessment of electrical conduction are reported herein generated from an ECG dataset of unprecedented scale. International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium data from over 26,000 conscious or anesthetized C57BL/6N wildtype control mice were stratified by sex and age to develop robust ECG reference ranges. Interesting findings include that heart rate and key elements from the ECG waveform (RR-, PR-, ST-, QT-interval, QT corrected, and QRS complex) demonstrate minimal sexual dimorphism. As expected, anesthesia induces a decrease in heart rate and was shown for both inhalation (isoflurane) and injectable (tribromoethanol) anesthesia. In the absence of pharmacological, environmental, or genetic challenges, we did not observe major age-related ECG changes in C57BL/6N-inbred mice as the differences in the reference ranges of 12-week-old compared to 62-week-old mice were negligible. The generalizability of the C57BL/6N substrain reference ranges was demonstrated by comparison with ECG data from a wide range of non-IMPC studies. The close overlap in data from a wide range of mouse strains suggests that the C57BL/6N-based reference ranges can be used as a robust and comprehensive indicator of normality. We report a unique ECG reference resource of fundamental importance for any experimental study of cardiac function in mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manuela A Oestereicher
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Janine M Wotton
- The Jackson Laboratory, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA
| | - Shinya Ayabe
- Experimental Animal Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Ghina Bou About
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de La Clinique de La Souris, PHENOMIN, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404, Illkirch, France
| | - Tsz Kwan Cheng
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Jae-Hoon Choi
- Department of Life Science, College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, Republic of Korea
| | - Dave Clary
- Mouse Biology Program, University of California, 2795 Second Street Suite 400, Davis, CA, 95618, USA
| | - Emily M Dew
- The Jackson Laboratory, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA
| | - Lahcen Elfertak
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de La Clinique de La Souris, PHENOMIN, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404, Illkirch, France
| | - Alain Guimond
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de La Clinique de La Souris, PHENOMIN, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404, Illkirch, France
| | - Hamed Haseli Mashhadi
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Jason D Heaney
- Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Lois Kelsey
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, M5T 3H7, Canada
| | - Piia Keskivali-Bond
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Federico Lopez Gomez
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Susan Marschall
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | | | - Hamid Meziane
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de La Clinique de La Souris, PHENOMIN, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404, Illkirch, France
| | - Violeta Munoz Fuentes
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Ki-Hoan Nam
- Korea Mouse Phenotyping Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Zuzana Nichtová
- Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Dale Pimm
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Lynette Bower
- Mouse Biology Program, University of California, 2795 Second Street Suite 400, Davis, CA, 95618, USA
| | - Jan Prochazka
- Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Rozman
- Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Luis Santos
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Michelle Stewart
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Nobuhiko Tanaka
- Integrated Bioresource Information Division, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Christopher S Ward
- Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | | | - Robert Wilson
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Robert E Braun
- The Jackson Laboratory, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA
| | - Mary E Dickinson
- Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Ann M Flenniken
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, M5T 3H7, Canada
| | - Yann Herault
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de La Clinique de La Souris, PHENOMIN, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404, Illkirch, France
| | - K C Kent Lloyd
- Mouse Biology Program, University of California, 2795 Second Street Suite 400, Davis, CA, 95618, USA
| | - Ann-Marie Mallon
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Colin McKerlie
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5T 3H7, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Stephen A Murray
- The Jackson Laboratory, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA
| | - Lauryl M J Nutter
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5T 3H7, Canada
| | - Radislav Sedlacek
- Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Je Kyung Seong
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology and Genomics, College of Veterinary Medicine, and Interdisciplinary Program for Bioinformatics, Korea Mouse Phenotyping CenterBK21 Plus Program for Advanced Veterinary Science, Research Institute for Veterinary ScienceSeoul National University, 599 Gwanak-Ro, Gwanak-Gu, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Tania Sorg
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de La Clinique de La Souris, PHENOMIN, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, 67404, Illkirch, France
| | - Masaru Tamura
- Technology and Development Team for Mouse Phenotype Analysis, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, 3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0074, Japan
| | - Sara Wells
- The Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Elida Schneltzer
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Helmut Fuchs
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Valerie Gailus-Durner
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Martin Hrabe de Angelis
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
- Chair of Experimental Genetics, School of Life Science Weihenstephan, Technische 83 Universität München, Alte Akademie 8, 85354, Freising, Germany.
- German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
| | | | - Nadine Spielmann
- Institute of Experimental Genetics and German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Phillips B, Haschler TN, Karp NA. Statistical simulations show that scientists need not increase overall sample size by default when including both sexes in in vivo studies. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002129. [PMID: 37289836 PMCID: PMC10284409 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a strong drive to improve the inclusion of animals of both sexes in the design of in vivo research studies, driven by a need to increase sex representation in fundamental biology and drug development. This has resulted in inclusion mandates by funding bodies and journals, alongside numerous published manuscripts highlighting the issue and providing guidance to scientists. However, progress is slow and barriers to the routine use of both sexes remain. A frequent, major concern is the perceived need for a higher overall sample size to achieve an equivalent level of statistical power, which would result in an increased ethical and resource burden. This perception arises from either the belief that sex inclusion will increase variability in the data (either through a baseline difference or a treatment effect that depends on sex), thus reducing the sensitivity of statistical tests, or from misapprehensions about the correct way to analyse the data, including disaggregation or pooling by sex. Here, we conduct an in-depth examination of the consequences of including both sexes on statistical power. We performed simulations by constructing artificial datasets that encompass a range of outcomes that may occur in studies studying a treatment effect in the context of both sexes. This includes both baseline sex differences and situations in which the size of the treatment effect depends on sex in both the same and opposite directions. The data were then analysed using either a factorial analysis approach, which is appropriate for the design, or a t test approach following pooling or disaggregation of the data, which are common but erroneous strategies. The results demonstrate that there is no loss of power to detect treatment effects when splitting the sample size across sexes in most scenarios, providing that the data are analysed using an appropriate factorial analysis method (e.g., two-way ANOVA). In the rare situations where power is lost, the benefit of understanding the role of sex outweighs the power considerations. Additionally, use of the inappropriate analysis pipelines results in a loss of statistical power. Therefore, we recommend analysing data collected from both sexes using factorial analysis and splitting the sample size across male and female mice as a standard strategy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Phillips
- Data Sciences & Quantitative Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Timo N. Haschler
- Bioscience Renal, Research and Early Development Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, Biopharmaceutical R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Natasha A. Karp
- Data Sciences & Quantitative Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Allegra S, Chiara F, Di Grazia D, Gaspari M, De Francia S. Evaluation of Sex Differences in Preclinical Pharmacology Research: How Far Is Left to Go? Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:786. [PMID: 37375734 DOI: 10.3390/ph16060786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Until the last quarter of the 20th century, sex was not recognized as a variable in health research, nor was it believed to be a factor that could affect health and illness. Researchers preferred studying male models for a variety of reasons, such as simplicity, lower costs, hormone confounding effects, and fear of liability from perinatal exposure in case of pregnancy. Equitable representation is imperative for determining the safety, effectiveness, and tolerance of therapeutic agents for all consumers. Decades of female models' underrepresentation in preclinical studies has resulted in inequality in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of disease between the sexes. Sex bias has been highlighted as one of the contributing factors to the poor translation and replicability of preclinical research. There have been multiple calls for action, and the inclusion of sex as a biological variable is increasingly supported. However, although there has been substantial progress in the efforts to include more female models in preclinical studies, disparities today remain. In the present review, we consider the current standard practice of the preclinical research setting, why the sex bias exists, why there is the need to include female models, and what risks may arise from continuing this exclusion from experimental design.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Allegra
- Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10043 Orbassano, Italy
| | - Francesco Chiara
- Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10043 Orbassano, Italy
| | - Daniela Di Grazia
- Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10043 Orbassano, Italy
| | - Marco Gaspari
- Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10043 Orbassano, Italy
| | - Silvia De Francia
- Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10043 Orbassano, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Zhu C, Ming MJ, Cole JM, Edge MD, Kirkpatrick M, Harpak A. Amplification is the primary mode of gene-by-sex interaction in complex human traits. Cell Genom 2023; 3:100297. [PMID: 37228747 PMCID: PMC10203050 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Sex differences in complex traits are suspected to be in part due to widespread gene-by-sex interactions (GxSex), but empirical evidence has been elusive. Here, we infer the mixture of ways in which polygenic effects on physiological traits covary between males and females. We find that GxSex is pervasive but acts primarily through systematic sex differences in the magnitude of many genetic effects ("amplification") rather than in the identity of causal variants. Amplification patterns account for sex differences in trait variance. In some cases, testosterone may mediate amplification. Finally, we develop a population-genetic test linking GxSex to contemporary natural selection and find evidence of sexually antagonistic selection on variants affecting testosterone levels. Our results suggest that amplification of polygenic effects is a common mode of GxSex that may contribute to sex differences and fuel their evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carrie Zhu
- Department of Population Health, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Matthew J. Ming
- Department of Population Health, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jared M. Cole
- Department of Population Health, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Michael D. Edge
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Mark Kirkpatrick
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Arbel Harpak
- Department of Population Health, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Price PD, Parkus SM, Wright AE. Recent progress in understanding the genomic architecture of sexual conflict. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2023; 80:102047. [PMID: 37163877 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2023.102047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Genomic conflict between the sexes over shared traits is widely assumed to be resolved through the evolution of sex-biased expression and the subsequent emergence of sexually dimorphic phenotypes. However, while there is support for a broad relationship between genome-wide patterns of expression level and sexual conflict, recent studies suggest that sex differences in the nature and strength of interactions between loci are instead key to conflict resolution. Furthermore, the advent of new technologies for measuring and perturbing expression means we now have much more power to detect genomic signatures of sexual conflict. Here, we review our current understanding of the genomic architecture of sexual conflict in the light of these new studies and highlight the potential for novel approaches to address outstanding knowledge gaps.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter D Price
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. https://twitter.com/@PeterDPrice
| | - Sylvie M Parkus
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Alison E Wright
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Romanowska J, Nustad HE, Page CM, Denault WRP, Lee Y, Magnus MC, Haftorn KL, Gjerdevik M, Novakovic B, Saffery R, Gjessing HK, Lyle R, Magnus P, Håberg SE, Jugessur A. The X-factor in ART: does the use of assisted reproductive technologies influence DNA methylation on the X chromosome? Hum Genomics 2023; 17:35. [PMID: 37085889 PMCID: PMC10122315 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-023-00484-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) may perturb DNA methylation (DNAm) in early embryonic development. Although a handful of epigenome-wide association studies of ART have been published, none have investigated CpGs on the X chromosome. To bridge this knowledge gap, we leveraged one of the largest collections of mother-father-newborn trios of ART and non-ART (natural) conceptions to date to investigate sex-specific DNAm differences on the X chromosome. The discovery cohort consisted of 982 ART and 963 non-ART trios from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). To verify our results from the MoBa cohort, we used an external cohort of 149 ART and 58 non-ART neonates from the Australian 'Clinical review of the Health of adults conceived following Assisted Reproductive Technologies' (CHART) study. The Illumina EPIC array was used to measure DNAm in both datasets. In the MoBa cohort, we performed a set of X-chromosome-wide association studies ('XWASs' hereafter) to search for sex-specific DNAm differences between ART and non-ART newborns. We tested several models to investigate the influence of various confounders, including parental DNAm. We also searched for differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and regions of co-methylation flanking the most significant CpGs. Additionally, we ran an analogous model to our main model on the external CHART dataset. RESULTS In the MoBa cohort, we found more differentially methylated CpGs and DMRs in girls than boys. Most of the associations persisted after controlling for parental DNAm and other confounders. Many of the significant CpGs and DMRs were in gene-promoter regions, and several of the genes linked to these CpGs are expressed in tissues relevant for both ART and sex (testis, placenta, and fallopian tube). We found no support for parental DNAm-dependent features as an explanation for the observed associations in the newborns. The most significant CpG in the boys-only analysis was in UBE2DNL, which is expressed in testes but with unknown function. The most significant CpGs in the girls-only analysis were in EIF2S3 and AMOT. These three loci also displayed differential DNAm in the CHART cohort. CONCLUSIONS Genes that co-localized with the significant CpGs and DMRs associated with ART are implicated in several key biological processes (e.g., neurodevelopment) and disorders (e.g., intellectual disability and autism). These connections are particularly compelling in light of previous findings indicating that neurodevelopmental outcomes differ in ART-conceived children compared to those naturally conceived.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Romanowska
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
- Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
| | - Haakon E Nustad
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- DeepInsight, 0154, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christian M Page
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - William R P Denault
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Yunsung Lee
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Maria C Magnus
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Kristine L Haftorn
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Miriam Gjerdevik
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
| | - Boris Novakovic
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Richard Saffery
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Håkon K Gjessing
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Robert Lyle
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Medical Genetics, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Per Magnus
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Siri E Håberg
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Astanand Jugessur
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Guaita-Cespedes M, Grillo-Risco R, Hidalgo MR, Fernández-Veledo S, Burks DJ, de la Iglesia-Vayá M, Galán A, Garcia-Garcia F. Deciphering the sex bias in housekeeping gene expression in adipose tissue: a comprehensive meta-analysis of transcriptomic studies. Biol Sex Differ 2023; 14:20. [PMID: 37072826 PMCID: PMC10114345 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-023-00506-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As the housekeeping genes (HKG) generally involved in maintaining essential cell functions are typically assumed to exhibit constant expression levels across cell types, they are commonly employed as internal controls in gene expression studies. Nevertheless, HKG may vary gene expression profile according to different variables introducing systematic errors into experimental results. Sex bias can indeed affect expression display, however, up to date, sex has not been typically considered as a biological variable. METHODS In this study, we evaluate the expression profiles of six classical housekeeping genes (four metabolic: GAPDH, HPRT, PPIA, and UBC, and two ribosomal: 18S and RPL19) to determine expression stability in adipose tissues (AT) of Homo sapiens and Mus musculus and check sex bias and their overall suitability as internal controls. We also assess the expression stability of all genes included in distinct whole-transcriptome microarrays available from the Gene Expression Omnibus database to identify sex-unbiased housekeeping genes (suHKG) suitable for use as internal controls. We perform a novel computational strategy based on meta-analysis techniques to identify any sexual dimorphisms in mRNA expression stability in AT and to properly validate potential candidates. RESULTS Just above half of the considered studies informed properly about the sex of the human samples, however, not enough female mouse samples were found to be included in this analysis. We found differences in the HKG expression stability in humans between female and male samples, with females presenting greater instability. We propose a suHKG signature including experimentally validated classical HKG like PPIA and RPL19 and novel potential markers for human AT and discarding others like the extensively used 18S gene due to a sex-based variability display in adipose tissue. Orthologs have also been assayed and proposed for mouse WAT suHKG signature. All results generated during this study are readily available by accessing an open web resource ( https://bioinfo.cipf.es/metafun-HKG ) for consultation and reuse in further studies. CONCLUSIONS This sex-based research proves that certain classical housekeeping genes fail to function adequately as controls when analyzing human adipose tissue considering sex as a variable. We confirm RPL19 and PPIA suitability as sex-unbiased human and mouse housekeeping genes derived from sex-specific expression profiles, and propose new ones such as RPS8 and UBB.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Guaita-Cespedes
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Unit, Principe Felipe Research Center (CIPF), C/ Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain
- Hematology Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS La Fe), 46026, Valencia, Spain
| | - Rubén Grillo-Risco
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Unit, Principe Felipe Research Center (CIPF), C/ Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain
| | - Marta R Hidalgo
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Unit, Principe Felipe Research Center (CIPF), C/ Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain
| | - Sonia Fernández-Veledo
- Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition and Research Unit, University Hospital of Tarragona Joan XXIII, Institut d'Investigaciò Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), Tarragona, Spain
- CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Deborah Jane Burks
- CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Molecular Neuroendocrinology Laboratory, Principe Felipe Research Center (CIPF), C/ Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain
| | - María de la Iglesia-Vayá
- Imaging Unit FISABIO-CIPF, Fundación Para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunidad Valenciana, 46012, Valencia, Spain
| | - Amparo Galán
- CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
- Molecular Neuroendocrinology Laboratory, Principe Felipe Research Center (CIPF), C/ Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Francisco Garcia-Garcia
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Unit, Principe Felipe Research Center (CIPF), C/ Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 3, 46012, Valencia, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Castro-Aldrete L, Moser MV, Putignano G, Ferretti MT, Schumacher Dimech A, Santuccione Chadha A. Sex and gender considerations in Alzheimer’s disease: The Women’s Brain Project contribution. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1105620. [PMID: 37065460 PMCID: PMC10097993 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1105620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The global population is expected to have about 131.5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias by 2050, posing a severe health crisis. Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that gradually impairs physical and cognitive functions. Dementia has a variety of causes, symptoms, and heterogeneity concerning the influence of sex on prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes. The proportion of male-to-female prevalence varies based on the type of dementia. Despite some types of dementia being more common in men, women have a greater lifetime risk of developing dementia. AD is the most common form of dementia in which approximately two-thirds of the affected persons are women. Profound sex and gender differences in physiology and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions have increasingly been identified. As a result, new approaches to dementia diagnosis, care, and patient journeys should be considered. In the heart of a rapidly aging worldwide population, the Women’s Brain Project (WBP) was born from the necessity to address the sex and gender gap in AD. WBP is now a well-established international non-profit organization with a global multidisciplinary team of experts studying sex and gender determinants in the brain and mental health. WBP works with different stakeholders worldwide to help change perceptions and reduce sex biases in clinical and preclinical research and policy frameworks. With its strong female leadership, WBP is an example of the importance of female professionals’ work in the field of dementia research. WBP-led peer-reviewed papers, articles, books, lectures, and various initiatives in the policy and advocacy space have profoundly impacted the community and driven global discussion. WBP is now in the initial phases of establishing the world’s first Sex and Gender Precision Medicine Institute. This review highlights the contributions of the WBP team to the field of AD. This review aims to increase awareness of potentially important aspects of basic science, clinical outcomes, digital health, policy framework and provide the research community with potential challenges and research suggestions to leverage sex and gender differences. Finally, at the end of the review, we briefly touch upon our progress and contribution toward sex and gender inclusion beyond Alzheimer’s disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Castro-Aldrete
- Women’s Brain Project, Guntershausen bei Aadorf, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Laura Castro-Aldrete,
| | | | - Guido Putignano
- Women’s Brain Project, Guntershausen bei Aadorf, Switzerland
| | | | - Annemarie Schumacher Dimech
- Women’s Brain Project, Guntershausen bei Aadorf, Switzerland
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | | |
Collapse
|
29
|
Li Q, Zhang N. Sex differences in resting-state functional networks in awake rats. Res Sq 2023:rs.3.rs-2684325. [PMID: 36993730 PMCID: PMC10055639 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2684325/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Sex-related differences can be found in many brain disorders and psychophysiological traits, highlighting the importance to systematically understand the sex differences in brain function in humans and animal models. Despite emerging effort to address sex differences in behaviors and disease models in rodents, how brain-wide functional connectivity (FC) patterns differ between male and female rats remains largely unknown. Here we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) to investigate regional and systems-level differences between female and male rats. Our data show that female rats display stronger hypothalamus connectivity, whereas male rats exhibit more prominent striatum-related connectivity. At the global scale, female rats demonstrate stronger segregation within the cortical and subcortical systems, while male rats display more prominent cortico-subcortical interactions, particularly between the cortex and striatum. Taken together, these data provide a comprehensive framework of sex differences in resting-state connectivity patterns in the awake rat brain, and offer a reference for studies aiming to reveal sex-related FC differences in different animal models of brain disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiong Li
- The Pennsylvania State University
| | | |
Collapse
|
30
|
Agellon LB. Importance of fatty acid binding proteins in cellular function and organismal metabolism. J Cell Mol Med 2023; 28:e17703. [PMID: 36876733 PMCID: PMC10902576 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.17703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Fatty acid binding proteins (Fabps) are small soluble proteins that are abundant in the cytosol. These proteins are known to bind a myriad of small hydrophobic molecules and have been postulated to serve a variety of roles, yet their precise functions have remained an enigma over half a century of study. Here, we consider recent findings, along with the cumulative findings contributed by many laboratories working on Fabps over the last half century, to synthesize a new outlook for what functions Fabps serve in cells and organisms. Collectively, the findings illustrate that Fabps function as versatile multi-purpose devices serving as sensors, conveyors and modulators to enable cells to detect and handle a specific class of metabolites, and to adjust their metabolic capacity and efficiency.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luis B Agellon
- School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Wright PSR, Smith GF, Briggs KA, Thomas R, Maglennon G, Mikulskis P, Chapman M, Greene N, Phillips BU, Bender A. Retrospective analysis of the potential use of virtual control groups in preclinical toxicity assessment using the eTOX database. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2023; 138:105309. [PMID: 36481280 DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2022.105309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Virtual Control Groups (VCGs) based on Historical Control Data (HCD) in preclinical toxicity testing have the potential to reduce animal usage. As a case study we retrospectively analyzed the impact of replacing Concurrent Control Groups (CCGs) with VCGs on the treatment-relatedness of 28 selected histopathological findings reported in either rat or dog in the eTOX database. We developed a novel methodology whereby statistical predictions of treatment-relatedness using either CCGs or VCGs of varying covariate similarity to CCGs were compared to designations from original toxicologist reports; and changes in agreement were used to quantify changes in study outcomes. Generally, the best agreement was achieved when CCGs were replaced with VCGs with the highest level of similarity; the same species, strain, sex, administration route, and vehicle. For example, balanced accuracies for rat findings were 0.704 (predictions based on CCGs) vs. 0.702 (predictions based on VCGs). Moreover, we identified covariates which resulted in poorer identification of treatment-relatedness. This was related to an increasing incidence rate divergence in HCD relative to CCGs. Future databases which collect data at the individual animal level including study details such as animal age and testing facility are required to build adequate VCGs to accurately identify treatment-related effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Graham F Smith
- AstraZeneca, Data Science and AI, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Gareth Maglennon
- AstraZeneca, Oncology Pathology, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, Melbourn, United Kingdom
| | - Paulius Mikulskis
- AstraZeneca, Imaging and Data Analytics, Clinical Pharmacology & Safety Sciences, R&D, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Melissa Chapman
- AstraZeneca, Toxicology, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, Melbourn, United Kingdom
| | - Nigel Greene
- AstraZeneca, Imaging and Data Analytics, Clinical Pharmacology & Safety Sciences, R&D, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Benjamin U Phillips
- AstraZeneca, Data Sciences and Quantitative Biology, Discovery Sciences, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Bender
- University of Cambridge, Chemistry, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Groza T, Gomez FL, Mashhadi HH, Muñoz-Fuentes V, Gunes O, Wilson R, Cacheiro P, Frost A, Keskivali-Bond P, Vardal B, McCoy A, Cheng TK, Santos L, Wells S, Smedley D, Mallon AM, Parkinson H. The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium: comprehensive knockout phenotyping underpinning the study of human disease. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:D1038-D1045. [PMID: 36305825 PMCID: PMC9825559 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 90.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC; https://www.mousephenotype.org/) web portal makes available curated, integrated and analysed knockout mouse phenotyping data generated by the IMPC project consisting of 85M data points and over 95,000 statistically significant phenotype hits mapped to human diseases. The IMPC portal delivers a substantial reference dataset that supports the enrichment of various domain-specific projects and databases, as well as the wider research and clinical community, where the IMPC genotype-phenotype knowledge contributes to the molecular diagnosis of patients affected by rare disorders. Data from 9,000 mouse lines and 750 000 images provides vital resources enabling the interpretation of the ignorome, and advancing our knowledge on mammalian gene function and the mechanisms underlying phenotypes associated with human diseases. The resource is widely integrated and the lines have been used in over 4,600 publications indicating the value of the data and the materials.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tudor Groza
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Federico Lopez Gomez
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Hamed Haseli Mashhadi
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Violeta Muñoz-Fuentes
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Osman Gunes
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Robert Wilson
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Pilar Cacheiro
- William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Anthony Frost
- Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus OX11 7UE, UK
| | | | - Bora Vardal
- Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus OX11 7UE, UK
| | - Aaron McCoy
- Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus OX11 7UE, UK
| | - Tsz Kwan Cheng
- Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus OX11 7UE, UK
| | - Luis Santos
- Research Data Team, The Turing Institute, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB, UK
| | - Sara Wells
- Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus OX11 7UE, UK
| | - Damian Smedley
- William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Ann-Marie Mallon
- Research Data Team, The Turing Institute, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB, UK
| | - Helen Parkinson
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Lintott LG, Nutter LMJ. Genetic and Molecular Quality Control of Genetically Engineered Mice. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2631:53-101. [PMID: 36995664 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2990-1_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Genetically engineered mice are used as avatars to understand mammalian gene function and develop therapies for human disease. During genetic modification, unintended changes can occur, and these changes may result in misassigned gene-phenotype relationships leading to incorrect or incomplete experimental interpretations. The types of unintended changes that may occur depend on the allele type being made and the genetic engineering approach used. Here we broadly categorize allele types as deletions, insertions, base changes, and transgenes derived from engineered embryonic stem (ES) cells or edited mouse embryos. However, the methods we describe can be adapted to other allele types and engineering strategies. We describe the sources and consequ ences of common unintended changes and best practices for detecting both intended and unintended changes by screening and genetic and molecular quality control (QC) of chimeras, founders, and their progeny. Employing these practices, along with careful allele design and good colony management, will increase the chance that investigations using genetically engineered mice will produce high-quality reproducible results, to enable a robust understanding of gene function, human disease etiology, and therapeutic development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauri G Lintott
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, Toronto, ON, Canada
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lauryl M J Nutter
- The Centre for Phenogenomics, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Sharma A, Michels LV, Pitsillides AA, Greeves J, Plotkin LI, Cardo V, Sims NA, Clarkin CE. Sexing Bones: Improving Transparency of Sex Reporting to Address Bias Within Preclinical Studies. J Bone Miner Res 2023; 38:5-13. [PMID: 36301601 PMCID: PMC10099537 DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.4729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Despite knowledge that sexually dimorphic mechanisms regulate bone homeostasis, sex often remains unreported and unconsidered in preclinical experimental design. Failure to report sex could lead to inappropriate generalizations of research findings and less effective translation into clinical practice. Preclinical sex bias (preferential selection of one sex) is present across other fields, including neuroscience and immunology, but remains uninvestigated in skeletal research. For context, we first summarized key literature describing sexually dimorphic bone phenotypes in mice. We then investigated sex reporting practices in skeletal research, specifically how customary it is for murine sex to be included in journal article titles or abstracts and then determined whether any bias in sex reporting exists. Because sex hormones are important regulators of bone health (gonadectomy procedures, ie, ovariectomy [OVX] and orchidectomy [ORX], are common yet typically not reported with sex), we incorporated reporting of OVX and ORX terms, representing female and male mice, respectively, into our investigations around sex bias. Between 1999 and 2020, inclusion of sex in titles or abstracts was low in murine skeletal studies (2.6%-4.06%). Reporting of OVX and ORX terms was low (1.44%-2.64%) and reporting of OVX and ORX with sex uncommon (0.4%-0.3%). When studies were combined to include both sexes and OVX (representing female) and ORX terms (representing male), a bias toward reporting of female mice was evident. However, when the terms OVX and ORX were removed, a bias toward the use of male mice was identified. Thus, studies focusing on sex hormones are biased toward female reporting with all other studies biased in reporting of male mice. We now call upon journal editors to introduce consistent guidance for transparent and accessible reporting of murine sex in skeletal research to better monitor preclinical sex bias, to diversify development of treatments for bone health, and to enable global skeletal health equity. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aikta Sharma
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Lysanne V Michels
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Andrew A Pitsillides
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
| | - Julie Greeves
- Army Health and Performance Research, Ministry of Defence, Andover, UK
| | - Lillian I Plotkin
- Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Valentina Cardo
- Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, Winchester, UK
| | - Natalie A Sims
- Department of Medicine at St. Vincent's Hospital, St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research and The University of Melbourne, Fitzroy, Australia
| | - Claire E Clarkin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Wilson LAB, Zajitschek SRK, Lagisz M, Mason J, Haselimashhadi H, Nakagawa S. Sex differences in allometry for phenotypic traits in mice indicate that females are not scaled males. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7502. [PMID: 36509767 PMCID: PMC9744842 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35266-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in the lifetime risk and expression of disease are well-known. Preclinical research targeted at improving treatment, increasing health span, and reducing the financial burden of health care, has mostly been conducted on male animals and cells. The extent to which sex differences in phenotypic traits are explained by sex differences in body weight remains unclear. We quantify sex differences in the allometric relationship between trait value and body weight for 363 phenotypic traits in male and female mice, recorded in >2 million measurements from the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium. We find sex differences in allometric parameters (slope, intercept, residual SD) are common (73% traits). Body weight differences do not explain all sex differences in trait values but scaling by weight may be useful for some traits. Our results show sex differences in phenotypic traits are trait-specific, promoting case-specific approaches to drug dosage scaled by body weight in mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura A. B. Wilson
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, UNSW Data Science Hub, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia ,grid.1001.00000 0001 2180 7477School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600 Australia
| | - Susanne R. K. Zajitschek
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, UNSW Data Science Hub, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia ,grid.4425.70000 0004 0368 0654School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF UK
| | - Malgorzata Lagisz
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, UNSW Data Science Hub, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Jeremy Mason
- Melio Healthcare Ltd., City Tower, 40 Basinghall Street, London, EC2V 5DE UK ,European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SD UK
| | - Hamed Haselimashhadi
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SD UK
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, UNSW Data Science Hub, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
McCombe PA, Greer JM. Effects of biological sex and pregnancy in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: It's complicated. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1059833. [PMID: 36518769 PMCID: PMC9742606 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1059833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) can be induced in many animal strains by inoculation with central nervous system antigens and adjuvant or by the passive transfer of lymphocytes reactive with these antigens and is widely used as an animal model for multiple sclerosis (MS). There are reports that female sex and pregnancy affect EAE. Here we review the effects of biological sex and the effects of pregnancy on the clinical features (including disease susceptibility) and pathophysiology of EAE. We also review reports of the possible mechanisms underlying these differences. These include sex-related differences in the immune system and in the central nervous system, the effects of hormones and the sex chromosomes and molecules unique to pregnancy. We also review sex differences in the response to factors that can modify the course of EAE. Our conclusion is that the effects of biological sex in EAE vary amongst animal models and should not be widely extrapolated. In EAE, it is therefore essential that studies looking at the effects of biological sex or pregnancy give full information about the model that is used (i.e. animal strain, sex, the inducing antigen, timing of EAE induction in relation to pregnancy, etc.). In addition, it would be preferable if more than one EAE model were used, to show if any observed effects are generalizable. This is clearly a field that requires further work. However, understanding of the mechanisms of sex differences could lead to greater understanding of EAE, and suggest possible therapies for MS.
Collapse
|
37
|
Cox‐Flaherty K, Baird GL, Braza J, Guarino BD, Princiotto A, Ventetuolo CE, Harrington EO. Commercial human pulmonary artery endothelial cells have in-vitro behavior that varies by sex. Pulm Circ 2022; 12:e12165. [PMID: 36484057 PMCID: PMC9723258 DOI: 10.1002/pul2.12165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
It is unknown whether biological sex influences phenotypes of commercially available human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAECs). Ten lots of commercial HPAECs were used (Lonza Biologics; PromoCell). Five (50%) were confirmed to be genotypically male (SRY+) and five (50%) were confirmed to be female (SRY-). Experiments were conducted between passages five and eight. HPAEC phenotype was confirmed with a panel of cell expression markers. Standard assays for proliferation, migration and tube formation were performed in triplicate with technical replicates, under three treatment conditions (EndoGRO; Sigma-Aldrich). Apoptosis was assessed by exposing cells treated with complete media or low serum media to hypoxic (1% oxygen) or normoxic (20% oxygen) conditions. Laboratory staff was blinded. The median (range) age of male and female donors from whom the HPAECs were derived was 58 (48-60) and 56 (33-67), respectively. Our results suggest decreased proliferation in genotypically female cells compared with male cells (p = 0.09). With increasing donor age, female cells were less proliferative and male cells were more proliferative (p = 0.001). Female cells were significantly more apoptotic than male cells by condition (p = 0.001). Female cells were significantly more migratory than male cells in complete media but less migratory than male cells under vascular endothelial growth factor enriched conditions (p = 0.001). There are subtle sex-based differences in the behavior of HPAECs that depend on donor sex and, less so, age. These differences may undermine rigor and reproducibility. Future studies should define whether biological sex is an important regulator of HPAEC function in health and disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Cox‐Flaherty
- Departments of Medicine and Health ServicesPolicy and Practice, Brown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
- Vascular Research Laboratory, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical CenterProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | | | - Julie Braza
- Vascular Research Laboratory, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical CenterProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Brianna D. Guarino
- Departments of Medicine and Health ServicesPolicy and Practice, Brown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
- Vascular Research Laboratory, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical CenterProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Amy Princiotto
- Vascular Research Laboratory, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical CenterProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Corey E. Ventetuolo
- Departments of Medicine and Health ServicesPolicy and Practice, Brown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
- Health Services, Policy and PracticeBrown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| | - Elizabeth O. Harrington
- Departments of Medicine and Health ServicesPolicy and Practice, Brown UniversityProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
- Vascular Research Laboratory, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical CenterProvidenceRhode IslandUSA
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Nicholson G, Morgan H, Ganjgahi H, Brown SDM, Mallon AM, Holmes C. Multivariate phenotype analysis enables genome-wide inference of mammalian gene function. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001723. [PMID: 35944064 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The function of the majority of genes in the human and mouse genomes is unknown. Investigating and illuminating this dark genome is a major challenge for the biomedical sciences. The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) is addressing this through the generation and broad-based phenotyping of a knockout (KO) mouse line for every protein-coding gene, producing a multidimensional data set that underlies a genome-wide annotation map from genes to phenotypes. Here, we develop a multivariate (MV) statistical approach and apply it to IMPC data comprising 148 phenotypes measured across 4,548 KO lines. There are 4,256 (1.4% of 302,997 observed data measurements) hits called by the univariate (UV) model analysing each phenotype separately, compared to 31,843 (10.5%) hits in the observed data results of the MV model, corresponding to an estimated 7.5-fold increase in power of the MV model relative to the UV model. One key property of the data set is its 55.0% rate of missingness, resulting from quality control filters and incomplete measurement of some KO lines. This raises the question of whether it is possible to infer perturbations at phenotype-gene pairs at which data are not available, i.e., to infer some in vivo effects using statistical analysis rather than experimentation. We demonstrate that, even at missing phenotypes, the MV model can detect perturbations with power comparable to the single-phenotype analysis, thereby filling in the complete gene-phenotype map with good sensitivity. A factor analysis of the MV model's fitted covariance structure identifies 20 clusters of phenotypes, with each cluster tending to be perturbed collectively. These factors cumulatively explain 75% of the KO-induced variation in the data and facilitate biological interpretation of perturbations. We also demonstrate that the MV approach strengthens the correspondence between IMPC phenotypes and existing gene annotation databases. Analysis of a subset of KO lines measured in replicate across multiple laboratories confirms that the MV model increases power with high replicability.
Collapse
|
39
|
Correia AT, de Almeida FM, Augusto-Cottet MC, Nolasco P, Bento ASA, Hirano HKM, de Souza MCR, Dos Santos ES, de Castro JHR, Matsuda M, Pêgo-Fernandes PM, Pazetti R. Basiliximab Does Not Impair Airway Mucociliary Clearance of Rats. Inflammation 2022; 45:2243-2255. [PMID: 35715590 DOI: 10.1007/s10753-022-01687-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that immunosuppressive drugs impair the airway mucociliary clearance of rats. However, considering the high specificity of basiliximab (BSX) and the absence of studies reporting its side effects, our aim was to investigate whether BSX, associated or not with triple therapy, impairs the mucociliary system. Forty rats were divided into 4 groups: Control, BSX, Triple, and BSX + Triple. After 15 days of treatment, animals were euthanized and the ciliary beating frequency (CBF), mucociliary transport velocity (MCTV), neutral and acid mucin production, Muc5ac and Muc5b gene expression, inflammatory cell number, and interleukin (IL)-6 concentration were analyzed. CBF and MCTV were lower in Triple and BSX + Triple groups (p < 0.05). Neutral mucin percentage was higher in Triple group (p < 0.05), and acid mucin percentage was higher in Triple and BSX + Triple groups (p < 0.05). The Muc5ac and Muc5b gene expression was higher in Triple and BSX + Triple groups (p < 0.05). Animals from Triple and BSX + Triple groups presented fewer mononuclear cells (p < 0.05). The number of polymorphonuclear cells was higher in the Triple group (p < 0.05). In the analysis of inflammatory cells in the blood, there was a decrease in lymphocytes and an increase in neutrophils in the Triple and BSX + Triple groups (p < 0.05). The concentration of IL-6 significantly increased in the animals of the Triple and BSX + Triple groups (p < 0.05). BSX did not change the mucociliary apparatus of rats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aristides Tadeu Correia
- Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Cirurgia Toracica e Cardiovascular, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, sala 1220, Sao Paulo, SP, 01246-903, Brazil
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Francine Maria de Almeida
- Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Cirurgia Toracica e Cardiovascular, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, sala 1220, Sao Paulo, SP, 01246-903, Brazil
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Marcia Cristina Augusto-Cottet
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Patrícia Nolasco
- Laborario de Biologia Vascular, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Afonso Silva Alves Bento
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Hugo Kenji Matsushima Hirano
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Maria Cecília Ribeiro de Souza
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Elizabete Silva Dos Santos
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Júlia Helena Rodrigues de Castro
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Monique Matsuda
- Laboratorio de Investigação em Oftalmologia, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Paulo Manuel Pêgo-Fernandes
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Rogerio Pazetti
- Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Abstract
Sex chromosomes in plants have often been contrasted with those in animals with the goal of identifying key differences that can be used to elucidate fundamental evolutionary properties. For example, the often homomorphic sex chromosomes in plants have been compared to the highly divergent systems in some animal model systems, such as birds, Drosophila and therian mammals, with many hypotheses offered to explain the apparent dissimilarities, including the younger age of plant sex chromosomes, the lesser prevalence of sexual dimorphism, or the greater extent of haploid selection. Furthermore, many plant sex chromosomes lack complete sex chromosome dosage compensation observed in some animals, including therian mammals, Drosophila, some poeciliids, and Anolis, and plant dosage compensation, where it exists, appears to be incomplete. Even the canonical theoretical models of sex chromosome formation differ somewhat between plants and animals. However, the highly divergent sex chromosomes observed in some animal groups are actually the exception, not the norm, and many animal clades are far more similar to plants in their sex chromosome patterns. This begs the question of how different are plant and animal sex chromosomes, and which of the many unique properties of plants would be expected to affect sex chromosome evolution differently than animals? In fact, plant and animal sex chromosomes exhibit more similarities than differences, and it is not at all clear that they differ in terms of sexual conflict, dosage compensation, or even degree of divergence. Overall, the largest difference between these two groups is the greater potential for haploid selection in plants compared to animals. This may act to accelerate the expansion of the non-recombining region at the same time that it maintains gene function within it. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Alberdi A, Andersen SB, Limborg MT, Dunn RR, Gilbert MTP. Disentangling host-microbiota complexity through hologenomics. Nat Rev Genet 2022; 23:281-297. [PMID: 34675394 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-021-00421-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Research on animal-microbiota interactions has become a central topic in biological sciences because of its relevance to basic eco-evolutionary processes and applied questions in agriculture and health. However, animal hosts and their associated microbial communities are still seldom studied in a systemic fashion. Hologenomics, the integrated study of the genetic features of a eukaryotic host alongside that of its associated microbes, is becoming a feasible - yet still underexploited - approach that overcomes this limitation. Acknowledging the biological and genetic properties of both hosts and microbes, along with the advantages and disadvantages of implemented techniques, is essential for designing optimal studies that enable some of the major questions in biology to be addressed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antton Alberdi
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Sandra B Andersen
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Morten T Limborg
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Robert R Dunn
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - M Thomas P Gilbert
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Colettis NC, Habif M, Oberholzer MV, Filippin F, Jerusalinsky DA. Differences in learning and memory between middle-aged female and male rats. Learn Mem 2022; 29:120-125. [PMID: 35428728 PMCID: PMC9053109 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053578.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
We observed differences in cognitive functions between middle-aged female and male Wistar rats. Both (like youngsters) discriminated new versus familiar objects, showing similar short- and long-term memory (STM and LTM, respectively). Only females show robust LTM for new location of an object. Both successfully form LTM of inhibitory avoidance, though males appeared to be amnesic for memory persistence. Habituation, locomotion, horizontal exploration, "stereotypies," fear, and anxiety-like behavior were similar for both, while vertical exploration was significantly higher in middle-aged and younger females. Therefore, sex-dependent differences in some cognitive functions and behaviors must be considered when designing and interpreting learning and memory studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Claudia Colettis
- Laboratorio de Neuroplasticidad y Neurotoxinas (LaN&N), Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia (IBCN) "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (Universidad de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.,Instituto de Química y Fisicoquímica Biológicas Prof. Dr. Alejandro C. Paladini, (Universidad de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Buenos Aires C1113AAD, Argentina
| | - Martín Habif
- Laboratorio de Neuroplasticidad y Neurotoxinas (LaN&N), Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia (IBCN) "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (Universidad de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina
| | - María Victoria Oberholzer
- Laboratorio de Neuroplasticidad y Neurotoxinas (LaN&N), Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia (IBCN) "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (Universidad de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina
| | - Federico Filippin
- Laboratorio de Neuroplasticidad y Neurotoxinas (LaN&N), Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia (IBCN) "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (Universidad de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina
| | - Diana Alicia Jerusalinsky
- Laboratorio de Neuroplasticidad y Neurotoxinas (LaN&N), Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia (IBCN) "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (Universidad de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Sandovici I, Fernandez-Twinn DS, Hufnagel A, Constância M, Ozanne SE. Sex differences in the intergenerational inheritance of metabolic traits. Nat Metab 2022; 4:507-523. [PMID: 35637347 DOI: 10.1038/s42255-022-00570-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Strong evidence suggests that early-life exposures to suboptimal environmental factors, including those in utero, influence our long-term metabolic health. This has been termed developmental programming. Mounting evidence suggests that the growth and metabolism of male and female fetuses differ. Therefore, sexual dimorphism in response to pre-conception or early-life exposures could contribute to known sex differences in susceptibility to poor metabolic health in adulthood. However, until recently, many studies, especially those in animal models, focused on a single sex, or, often in the case of studies performed during intrauterine development, did not report the sex of the animal at all. In this review, we (a) summarize the evidence that male and females respond differently to a suboptimal pre-conceptional or in utero environment, (b) explore the potential biological mechanisms that underlie these differences and (c) review the consequences of these differences for long-term metabolic health, including that of subsequent generations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ionel Sandovici
- Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Denise S Fernandez-Twinn
- Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Antonia Hufnagel
- Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Miguel Constância
- Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK.
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Susan E Ozanne
- Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Abstract
For many years, the laboratory mouse has been the favored model organism to study mammalian development, biology and disease. Among its advantages for these studies are its close concordance with human biology, the syntenic relationship between the mouse and other mammalian genomes, the existence of many inbred strains, its short gestation period, its relatively low cost for housing and husbandry, and the wide array of tools for genome modification, mutagenesis, and for cryopreserving embryos, sperm and eggs. The advent of CRISPR genome modification techniques has considerably broadened the landscape of model organisms available for study, including other mammalian species. However, the mouse remains the most popular and utilized system to model human development, biology, and disease processes. In this review, we will briefly summarize the long history of mice as a preferred mammalian genetic and model system, and review current large-scale mutagenesis efforts using genome modification to produce improved models for mammalian development and disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Gridley
- Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Scarborough, ME, United States.
| | | |
Collapse
|
45
|
Abstract
The generation of a comprehensive catalog of null alleles covering all protein-coding genes is the goal of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium. Over the past 20 years, significant progress has been made towards achieving this goal through the combined efforts of many large-scale programs that built an embryonic stem cell resource to generate knockout mice and more recently employed CRISPR/Cas9-based mutagenesis to delete critical regions predicted to result in frameshift mutations, thus, ablating gene function. The IMPC initiative builds on prior and ongoing work by individual research groups creating gene knockouts in the mouse. Here, we analyze the collective efforts focusing on the combined null allele resource resulting from strains developed by the research community and large-scale production programs. Based upon this pooled analysis, we examine the remaining fraction of protein-coding genes focusing on clearly defined mouse-human orthologs as the highest priority for completing the mutant mouse null resource. In summary, we find that there are less than 3400 mouse-human orthologs remaining in the genome without a targeted null allele that can be further prioritized to achieve our overall goal of the complete functional annotation of the protein-coding portion of a mammalian genome.
Collapse
|
46
|
Nigri M, Åhlgren J, Wolfer DP, Voikar V. Role of Environment and Experimenter in Reproducibility of Behavioral Studies With Laboratory Mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:835444. [PMID: 35250504 PMCID: PMC8895324 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.835444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral phenotyping of mice has received a great deal of attention during the past three decades. However, there is still a pressing need to understand the variability caused by environmental and biological factors, human interference, and poorly standardized experimental protocols. The inconsistency of results is often attributed to the inter-individual difference between the experimenters and environmental conditions. The present work aims to dissect the combined influence of the experimenter and the environment on the detection of behavioral traits in two inbred strains most commonly used in behavioral genetics due to their contrasting phenotypes, the C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. To this purpose, the elevated O-maze, the open field with object, the accelerating rotarod and the Barnes maze tests were performed by two experimenters in two diverse laboratory environments. Our findings confirm the well-characterized behavioral differences between these strains in exploratory behavior, motor performance, learning and memory. Moreover, the results demonstrate how the experimenter and the environment influence the behavioral tests with a variable-dependent effect, often with mutually exclusive contributions. In this context, our study highlights how both the experimenter and the environment can have an impact on the strain effect size without altering the direction of the conclusions. Importantly, the general agreement on the results is reached by converging evidence from multiple measures addressing the same trait. In conclusion, the present work elucidates the contribution of both the experimenter and the laboratory environment in the intricate field of reproducibility in mouse behavioral phenotyping.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martina Nigri
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Martina Nigri,
| | - Johanna Åhlgren
- Laboratory Animal Center, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - David P. Wolfer
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Vootele Voikar
- Laboratory Animal Center, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Neuroscience Center, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Vootele Voikar,
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Spitschan M, Santhi N, Ahluwalia A, Fischer D, Hunt L, Karp N, Lévi F, Pineda-Torra I, Vidafar P, White R. Science Forum: Sex differences and sex bias in human circadian and sleep physiology research. eLife 2022; 11:65419. [PMID: 35179486 PMCID: PMC8963875 DOI: 10.7554/elife.65419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence shows that sex differences impact many facets of human biology. Here we review and discuss the impact of sex on human circadian and sleep physiology, and we uncover a data gap in the field investigating the non-visual effects of light in humans. A virtual workshop on the biomedical implications of sex differences in sleep and circadian physiology then led to the following imperatives for future research: (1) design research to be inclusive and accessible, (2) implement recruitment strategies that lead to a sex-balanced sample, (3) use data visualization to grasp the effect of sex, (4) implement statistical analyses that include sex as a factor and/or perform group analyses by sex, where possible, (5) make participant-level data open and available to facilitate future meta-analytic efforts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Nayantara Santhi
- Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle, United Kingdom
| | - Amrita Ahluwalia
- William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dorothee Fischer
- Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center, Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Natasha Karp
- Data Sciences and Quantitative Biology, AstraZeneca, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Francis Lévi
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Warwick, United Kingdom
| | - Ines Pineda-Torra
- Centre for Cardiometabolic and Vascular Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Parisa Vidafar
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
| | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Pollak RM, Purcell RH, Rutkowski TP, Malone T, Pachura KJ, Bassell GJ, Epstein MP, Dawson PA, Smith MR, Jones DP, Zwick ME, Warren ST, Caspary T, Weinshenker D, Mulle JG. Metabolic effects of the schizophrenia-associated 3q29 deletion. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:66. [PMID: 35177588 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01824-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The 1.6 Mb 3q29 deletion is associated with developmental and psychiatric phenotypes, including a 40-fold increased risk for schizophrenia. Reduced birth weight and a high prevalence of feeding disorders in patients suggest underlying metabolic dysregulation. We investigated 3q29 deletion-induced metabolic changes using our previously generated heterozygous B6.Del16+/Bdh1-Tfrc mouse model. Animals were provided either standard chow (STD) or high-fat diet (HFD). Growth curves were performed on HFD mice to assess weight change (n = 30-50/group). Indirect calorimetry and untargeted metabolomics were performed on STD and HFD mice to evaluate metabolic phenotypes (n = 8-14/group). A behavioral battery was performed on STD and HFD mice to assess behavior change after the HFD challenge (n = 5-13/group). We found that B6.Del16+/Bdh1-Tfrc animals preferentially use dietary lipids as an energy source. Untargeted metabolomics of liver tissue showed a strong sex-dependent effect of the 3q29 deletion on fat metabolism. A HFD partially rescued the 3q29 deletion-associated weight deficit in females, but not males. Untargeted metabolomics of liver tissue after HFD revealed persistent fat metabolism alterations in females. The HFD did not affect B6.Del16+/Bdh1-Tfrc behavioral phenotypes, suggesting that 3q29 deletion-associated metabolic and behavioral outcomes are uncoupled. Our data suggest that dietary interventions to improve weight phenotypes in 3q29 deletion syndrome patients are unlikely to exacerbate behavioral manifestations. Our study also highlights the importance of assessing sex in metabolic studies and suggests that mechanisms underlying 3q29 deletion-associated metabolic phenotypes are sex-specific.
Collapse
|
49
|
Hibino E, Ichiyama Y, Tsukamura A, Senju Y, Morimune T, Ohji M, Maruo Y, Nishimura M, Mori M. Bex1 is essential for ciliogenesis and harbours biomolecular condensate-forming capacity. BMC Biol 2022; 20:42. [PMID: 35144600 PMCID: PMC8830175 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01246-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Primary cilia are sensory organelles crucial for organ development. The pivotal structure of the primary cilia is a microtubule that is generated via tubulin polymerization reaction that occurs in the basal body. It remains to be elucidated how molecules with distinct physicochemical properties contribute to the formation of the primary cilia. RESULTS Here we show that brain expressed X-linked 1 (Bex1) plays an essential role in tubulin polymerization and primary cilia formation. The Bex1 protein shows the physicochemical property of being an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP). Bex1 shows cell density-dependent accumulation as a condensate either in nucleoli at a low cell density or at the apical cell surface at a high cell density. The apical Bex1 localizes to the basal body. Bex1 knockout mice present ciliopathy phenotypes and exhibit ciliary defects in the retina and striatum. Bex1 recombinant protein shows binding capacity to guanosine triphosphate (GTP) and forms the condensate that facilitates tubulin polymerization in the reconstituted system. CONCLUSIONS Our data reveals that Bex1 plays an essential role for the primary cilia formation through providing the reaction field for the tubulin polymerization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emi Hibino
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre (MNRC), Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan.,Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Yusuke Ichiyama
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan
| | - Atsushi Tsukamura
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre (MNRC), Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan.,Department of Paediatrics, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan.,Department of Vascular Physiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre Research Institute, 6-1 Kishibe-Shimmachi, Suita, Osaka, 564-8565, Japan
| | - Yosuke Senju
- Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan
| | - Takao Morimune
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre (MNRC), Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan.,Department of Paediatrics, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan.,Department of Vascular Physiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre Research Institute, 6-1 Kishibe-Shimmachi, Suita, Osaka, 564-8565, Japan
| | - Masahito Ohji
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Maruo
- Department of Paediatrics, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan
| | - Masaki Nishimura
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre (MNRC), Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan
| | - Masaki Mori
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre (MNRC), Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2192, Japan. .,Department of Vascular Physiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre Research Institute, 6-1 Kishibe-Shimmachi, Suita, Osaka, 564-8565, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Hirata T, Kobayashi A, Furuse T, Yamada I, Tamura M, Tomita H, Tokoro Y, Ninomiya A, Fujihara Y, Ikawa M, Maeda Y, Murakami Y, Kizuka Y, Kinoshita T. Loss of the N-acetylgalactosamine side chain of the GPI-anchor impairs bone formation and brain functions and accelerates the prion disease pathology. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:101720. [PMID: 35151686 PMCID: PMC8913354 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) is a posttranslational glycolipid modification of proteins that anchors proteins in lipid rafts on the cell surface. Although some GPI-anchored proteins (GPI-APs), including the prion protein PrPC, have a glycan side chain composed of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)−galactose−sialic acid on the core structure of GPI glycolipid, in vivo functions of this GPI-GalNAc side chain are largely unresolved. Here, we investigated the physiological and pathological roles of the GPI-GalNAc side chain in vivo by knocking out its initiation enzyme, PGAP4, in mice. We show that Pgap4 mRNA is highly expressed in the brain, particularly in neurons, and mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the loss of the GalNAc side chain in PrPC GPI in PGAP4-KO mouse brains. Furthermore, PGAP4-KO mice exhibited various phenotypes, including an elevated blood alkaline phosphatase level, impaired bone formation, decreased locomotor activity, and impaired memory, despite normal expression levels and lipid raft association of various GPI-APs. Thus, we conclude that the GPI-GalNAc side chain is required for in vivo functions of GPI-APs in mammals, especially in bone and the brain. Moreover, PGAP4-KO mice were more vulnerable to prion diseases and died earlier after intracerebral inoculation of the pathogenic prion strains than wildtype mice, highlighting the protective roles of the GalNAc side chain against prion diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuya Hirata
- Institute for Glyco-core Research (iGCORE), Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
| | - Atsushi Kobayashi
- Laboratory of Comparative Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Tamio Furuse
- Technology and Development Team for Mouse Phenotype Analysis, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Ikuko Yamada
- Technology and Development Team for Mouse Phenotype Analysis, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Masaru Tamura
- Technology and Development Team for Mouse Phenotype Analysis, RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Tomita
- Department of Tumor Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
| | - Yuko Tokoro
- Institute for Glyco-core Research (iGCORE), Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
| | - Akinori Ninomiya
- Core Instrumentation Facility, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yoshitaka Fujihara
- Department of Experimental Genome Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Masahito Ikawa
- Department of Experimental Genome Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yusuke Maeda
- Yabumoto Department of Intractable Disease Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan; WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yoshiko Murakami
- Yabumoto Department of Intractable Disease Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan; WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yasuhiko Kizuka
- Institute for Glyco-core Research (iGCORE), Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
| | - Taroh Kinoshita
- Yabumoto Department of Intractable Disease Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan; WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|