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Gupta P, Hiller A, Chowdhury J, Lim D, Lim DY, Saeij JPJ, Babaian A, Rodriguez F, Pereira L, Morales-Tapia A. A parasite odyssey: An RNA virus concealed in Toxoplasma gondii. Virus Evol 2024; 10:veae040. [PMID: 38817668 PMCID: PMC11137675 DOI: 10.1093/ve/veae040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
We are entering a 'Platinum Age of Virus Discovery', an era marked by exponential growth in the discovery of virus biodiversity, and driven by advances in metagenomics and computational analysis. In the ecosystem of a human (or any animal) there are more species of viruses than simply those directly infecting the animal cells. Viruses can infect all organisms constituting the microbiome, including bacteria, fungi, and unicellular parasites. Thus the complexity of possible interactions between host, microbe, and viruses is unfathomable. To understand this interaction network we must employ computationally assisted virology as a means of analyzing and interpreting the millions of available samples to make inferences about the ways in which viruses may intersect human health. From a computational viral screen of human neuronal datasets, we identified a novel narnavirus Apocryptovirus odysseus (Ao) which likely infects the neurotropic parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Previously, several parasitic protozoan viruses (PPVs) have been mechanistically established as triggers of host innate responses, and here we present in silico evidence that Ao is a plausible pro-inflammatory factor in human and mouse cells infected by T. gondii. T. gondii infects billions of people worldwide, yet the prognosis of toxoplasmosis disease is highly variable, and PPVs like Ao could function as a hitherto undescribed hypervirulence factor. In a broader screen of over 7.6 million samples, we explored phylogenetically proximal viruses to Ao and discovered nineteen Apocryptovirus species, all found in libraries annotated as vertebrate transcriptome or metatranscriptomes. While samples containing this genus of narnaviruses are derived from sheep, goat, bat, rabbit, chicken, and pigeon samples, the presence of virus is strongly predictive of parasitic Apicomplexa nucleic acid co-occurrence, supporting the fact that Apocryptovirus is a genus of parasite-infecting viruses. This is a computational proof-of-concept study in which we rapidly analyze millions of datasets from which we distilled a mechanistically, ecologically, and phylogenetically refined hypothesis. We predict that this highly diverged Ao RNA virus is biologically a T. gondii infection, and that Ao, and other viruses like it, will modulate this disease which afflicts billions worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Purav Gupta
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd,Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- The Donnelly Centre for Cellular + Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E1, Canada
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
| | - Aiden Hiller
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- The Donnelly Centre for Cellular + Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E1, Canada
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
| | - Jawad Chowdhury
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- The Donnelly Centre for Cellular + Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E1, Canada
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
| | - Declan Lim
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- The Donnelly Centre for Cellular + Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E1, Canada
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
| | - Dillon Yee Lim
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Sherrington Building, Sherrington Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3PT, UK
| | - Jeroen P J Saeij
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Artem Babaian
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- The Donnelly Centre for Cellular + Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E1, Canada
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
| | - Felipe Rodriguez
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Luke Pereira
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- The Donnelly Centre for Cellular + Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E1, Canada
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
| | - Alejandro Morales-Tapia
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- The Donnelly Centre for Cellular + Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E1, Canada
- The Woodlands Secondary School, 3225 Erindale Station Rd, Mississauga, ON L5C 1Y5, Canada
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Koskuvi M, Malwade S, Gracias Lekander J, Hörbeck E, Bruno S, Holmen Larsson J, Pelanis A, Isgren A, Goulding A, Fatouros-Bergman H, Samudyata, Schalling M, Piehl F, Erhardt S, Landen M, Cervenka S, Orhan F, Sellgren CM. Lower complement C1q levels in first-episode psychosis and in schizophrenia. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 117:313-319. [PMID: 38301948 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.01.219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent evidence has implicated complement component (C) 4A in excessive elimination of synapses in schizophrenia. C4A is believed to contribute to physiological synapse removal through signaling within the C1q initiated classical activation axis of the complement system. So far, a potential involvement of C1q in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia remains unclear. In this study, we first utilized large-scale gene expression datasets (n = 586 patients with schizophrenia and n = 986 controls) to observe lower C1QA mRNA expression in prefrontal cortex tissue of individuals with schizophrenia (P = 4.8x10-05), while C1QA seeded co-expression networks displayed no enrichment for schizophrenia risk variants beyond C4A. We then used targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LS-MS) to measure cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of C1qA in 113 individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), among which 66 individuals was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, and 87 healthy controls. CSF concentrations of C1qA were lower in individuals diagnosed with FEP (P = 0.0001), also after removing subjects with a short-term prescription of an antipsychotic agent (P = 0.0005). We conclude that C1q mRNA and protein levels are lower in schizophrenia and that further experimental studies are needed to understand the functional implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marja Koskuvi
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Susmita Malwade
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Elin Hörbeck
- The Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Psychotic Disorders, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Sanna Bruno
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jessica Holmen Larsson
- The Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Aurimantas Pelanis
- Department of Anesthesiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Anniella Isgren
- The Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Psychotic Disorders, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Anneli Goulding
- Department of Psychotic Disorders, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden; Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Helena Fatouros-Bergman
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Samudyata
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Schalling
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden; Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital Solna, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Piehl
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sophie Erhardt
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mikael Landen
- The Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Simon Cervenka
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Medical Sciences, Psychiatry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Funda Orhan
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Carl M Sellgren
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Severance EG, Prandovszky E, Yang S, Leister F, Lea A, Wu CL, Tamouza R, Leboyer M, Dickerson F, Yolken RH. Prospects and Pitfalls of Plasma Complement C4 in Schizophrenia: Building a Better Biomarker. Dev Neurosci 2023; 45:349-360. [PMID: 37734326 DOI: 10.1159/000534185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Complex brain disorders like schizophrenia may have multifactorial origins related to mis-timed heritable and environmental factors interacting during neurodevelopment. Infections, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases are over-represented in schizophrenia leading to immune system-centered hypotheses. Complement component C4 is genetically and neurobiologically associated with schizophrenia, and its dual activity peripherally and in the brain makes it an exceptional target for biomarker development. Studies to evaluate the biomarker potential of plasma or serum C4 in schizophrenia do so to understand how peripheral C4 might reflect central nervous system-derived neuroinflammation, synapse pruning, and other mechanisms. This effort, however, has produced mostly conflicting results, with peripheral C4 sometimes elevated, reduced, or unchanged between comparison groups. We undertook a pilot biomarker development study to systematically identify sociodemographic, genetic, and immune-related variables (autoimmune, infection-related, gastrointestinal, inflammatory), which may be associated with plasma C4 levels in schizophrenia (SCH; n = 335) and/or in nonpsychiatric comparison subjects (NCs; n = 233). As with previously inconclusive studies, we detected no differences in plasma C4 levels between SCH and NCs. In contrast, levels of general inflammation, C-reactive protein (CRP), were significantly elevated in SCH compared to NCs (ANOVA, F = 20.74, p < 0.0001), suggestive that plasma C4 and CRP may reflect different sources or causes of inflammation. In multivariate regressions of C4 gene copy number variants, plasma C4 levels were correlated only for C4A (not C4B, C4L, C4S) and only in NCs (R Coeff = 0.39, CI = 0.01-0.77, R2 = 0.18, p < 0.01; not SCH). Other variables associated with plasma C4 levels only in NCs included sex, double-stranded DNA IgG, tissue-transglutaminase (TTG) IgG, and cytomegalovirus IgG. Toxoplasma gondii IgG was the only variable significantly correlated with plasma C4 in SCH but not in NCs. Many variables were associated with plasma C4 in both groups (body mass index, race, CRP, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) NR2 subunit IgG, TTG IgA, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), and soluble CD14 (sCD14). While the direction of most C4 associations was positive, autoimmune markers tended to be inverse, and associated with reduced plasma C4 levels. When NMDAR-NR2 autoantibody-positive individuals were removed, plasma C4 was elevated in SCH versus NCs (ANOVA, F = 5.16, p < 0.02). Our study was exploratory and confirmation of the many variables associated with peripheral C4 requires replication. Our preliminary results point toward autoimmune factors and exposure to the pathogen, T. gondii, as possibly significant contributors to variability of total C4 protein levels in plasma of individuals with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily G Severance
- Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Emese Prandovszky
- Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Shuojia Yang
- Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Flora Leister
- Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Ashley Lea
- Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Ching-Lien Wu
- Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC), INSERM, IMRB, Translational Neuropsychiatry, AP-HP, Hôpital Universitaire Henri Mondor, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire de Médecine de Précision en Psychiatrie, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Ryad Tamouza
- Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC), INSERM, IMRB, Translational Neuropsychiatry, AP-HP, Hôpital Universitaire Henri Mondor, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire de Médecine de Précision en Psychiatrie, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Marion Leboyer
- Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC), INSERM, IMRB, Translational Neuropsychiatry, AP-HP, Hôpital Universitaire Henri Mondor, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire de Médecine de Précision en Psychiatrie, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France
| | - Faith Dickerson
- Stanley Research Program, Sheppard Pratt, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Robert H Yolken
- Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Amos C, Fox MA, Su J. Collagen XIX is required for pheromone recognition and glutamatergic synapse formation in mouse accessory olfactory bulb. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1157577. [PMID: 37091919 PMCID: PMC10113670 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1157577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
In mammals, the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) receives input from vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSN) which detect pheromones, chemical cues released by animals to regulate the physiology or behaviors of other animals of the same species. Cytoarchitecturally, cells within the AOB are segregated into a glomerular layer (GL), mitral cell layer (MCL), and granule cell layer (GCL). While the cells and circuitry of these layers has been well studied, the molecular mechanism underlying the assembly of such circuitry in the mouse AOB remains unclear. With the goal of identifying synaptogenic mechanisms in AOB, our attention was drawn to Collagen XIX, a non-fibrillar collagen generated by neurons in the mammalian telencephalon that has previously been shown to regulate the assembly of synapses. Here, we used both a targeted mouse mutant that lacks Collagen XIX globally and a conditional allele allowing for cell-specific deletion of this collagen to test if the loss of Collagen XIX causes impaired synaptogenesis in the mouse AOB. These analyses not only revealed defects in excitatory synapse distribution in these Collagen XIX-deficient mutants, but also showed that these mutant mice exhibit altered behavioral responses to pheromones. Although this collagen has been demonstrated to play synaptogenic roles in the telencephalon, those roles are at perisomatic inhibitory synapses, results here are the first to demonstrate the function of this unconventional collagen in glutamatergic synapse formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase Amos
- Center for Neurobiology Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC), Roanoke, VA, United States
| | - Michael A. Fox
- Center for Neurobiology Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC), Roanoke, VA, United States
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, United States
| | - Jianmin Su
- Center for Neurobiology Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC), Roanoke, VA, United States
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
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