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Van der Donck S, Hendriks M, Vos S, Op de Beeck H, Boets B. Neural sensitivity to facial identity and facial expression discrimination in adults with autism. Autism Res 2023; 16:2110-2124. [PMID: 37823568 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3036] [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: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
The fluent processing of faces can be challenging for autistic individuals. Here, we assessed the neural sensitivity to rapid changes in subtle facial cues in 23 autistic men and 23 age and IQ matched non-autistic (NA) controls using frequency-tagging electroencephalography (EEG). In oddball paradigms examining the automatic and implicit discrimination of facial identity and facial expression, base rate images were presented at 6 Hz, periodically interleaved every fifth image with an oddball image (i.e. 1.2 Hz oddball frequency). These distinctive frequency tags for base rate and oddball stimuli allowed direct and objective quantification of the neural discrimination responses. We found no large differences in the neural sensitivity of participants in both groups, not for facial identity discrimination, nor for facial expression discrimination. Both groups also showed a clear face-inversion effect, with reduced brain responses for inverted versus upright faces. Furthermore, sad faces generally elicited significantly lower neural amplitudes than angry, fearful and happy faces. The only minor group difference is the larger involvement of high-level right-hemisphere visual areas in NA men for facial expression processing. These findings are discussed from a developmental perspective, as they strikingly contrast with robust face processing deficits observed in autistic children using identical EEG paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Van der Donck
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Michelle Hendriks
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Unit Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuve, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Silke Vos
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hans Op de Beeck
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Unit Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuve, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Devos M, Dias Nunes J, Donfack Jiatsa N, Demeestere I. Regulation of follicular activation signaling pathways by in vitro inhibition of YAP/TAZ activity in mouse ovaries. Sci Rep 2023; 13:15346. [PMID: 37714905 PMCID: PMC10504383 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41954-0] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The Hippo pathway plays a crucial role in the regulation of follicular activation, which constitutes the first step of the folliculogenesis process. Disruption of this pathway occurs in several non-physiological contexts, after fragmentation for ovarian tissue cryopreservation procedures or chemotherapy exposure, leading to massive follicular growth and depletion. This study aimed to investigate the effect of controlling the Hippo pathway using verteporfin (VERT) during in vitro ovarian culture and to evaluate its potential preventive effects on chemotherapy-induced follicle activation using a mouse model. After exposure of cut ovaries to different concentrations of VERT for 3 h, a dose-dependent effect of VERT was observed that reached significant inhibition of YAP activity at 3 µmol/L. To assess the potential effect of controlling chemotherapy-induced Hippo pathway disruption, whole mouse ovaries were exposed to VERT alone or as a co-treatment with 4-hydroperoxycylophosphamide (4HC). VERT co-treatment prevented chemotherapy-induced YAP activation but had a limited impact on downstream effector gene, Ccn2. Surprisingly, VERT co-treatment also prevented mTOR and survival signaling pathway alterations following chemotherapy exposure. These results suggest an interaction between the two main signaling pathways regulating follicle activation and a protective effect of VERT on 4HC-induced DNA damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melody Devos
- Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Erasme CP636, Route de Lennik 808, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Joana Dias Nunes
- Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Erasme CP636, Route de Lennik 808, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nathalie Donfack Jiatsa
- Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Erasme CP636, Route de Lennik 808, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Isabelle Demeestere
- Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Erasme CP636, Route de Lennik 808, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
- Fertility Clinic, HUB-Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Route de Lennik 808, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
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Vanheer L, Fantuzzi F, To SK, Schiavo A, Van Haele M, Ostyn T, Haesen T, Yi X, Janiszewski A, Chappell J, Rihoux A, Sawatani T, Roskams T, Pattou F, Kerr-Conte J, Cnop M, Pasque V. Inferring regulators of cell identity in the human adult pancreas. NAR Genom Bioinform 2023; 5:lqad068. [PMID: 37435358 PMCID: PMC10331937 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqad068] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Cellular identity during development is under the control of transcription factors that form gene regulatory networks. However, the transcription factors and gene regulatory networks underlying cellular identity in the human adult pancreas remain largely unexplored. Here, we integrate multiple single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets of the human adult pancreas, totaling 7393 cells, and comprehensively reconstruct gene regulatory networks. We show that a network of 142 transcription factors forms distinct regulatory modules that characterize pancreatic cell types. We present evidence that our approach identifies regulators of cell identity and cell states in the human adult pancreas. We predict that HEYL, BHLHE41 and JUND are active in acinar, beta and alpha cells, respectively, and show that these proteins are present in the human adult pancreas as well as in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived islet cells. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we found that JUND represses beta cell genes in hiPSC-alpha cells. BHLHE41 depletion induced apoptosis in primary pancreatic islets. The comprehensive gene regulatory network atlas can be explored interactively online. We anticipate our analysis to be the starting point for a more sophisticated dissection of how transcription factors regulate cell identity and cell states in the human adult pancreas.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - San Kit To
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Andrea Schiavo
- ULB Center for Diabetes Research; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Route de Lennik 808, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Matthias Van Haele
- Department of Imaging and Pathology; Translational Cell and Tissue Research, KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven; Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tessa Ostyn
- Department of Imaging and Pathology; Translational Cell and Tissue Research, KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven; Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tine Haesen
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Xiaoyan Yi
- ULB Center for Diabetes Research; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Route de Lennik 808, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Adrian Janiszewski
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joel Chappell
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Adrien Rihoux
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Toshiaki Sawatani
- ULB Center for Diabetes Research; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Route de Lennik 808, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Tania Roskams
- Department of Imaging and Pathology; Translational Cell and Tissue Research, KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven; Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Francois Pattou
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institute Pasteur Lille, U1190-EGID, F-59000 Lille, France
- European Genomic Institute for Diabetes, F-59000 Lille, France
- University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Julie Kerr-Conte
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institute Pasteur Lille, U1190-EGID, F-59000 Lille, France
- European Genomic Institute for Diabetes, F-59000 Lille, France
- University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Miriam Cnop
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Miriam Cnop. Tel: +32 2 555 6305; Fax: +32 2 555 6239;
| | - Vincent Pasque
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +32 16 376283; Fax: +32 16 330827;
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Moerkerke M, Peeters M, de Vries L, Daniels N, Steyaert J, Alaerts K, Boets B. Endogenous Oxytocin Levels in Autism-A Meta-Analysis. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1545. [PMID: 34827545 PMCID: PMC8615844 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11111545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) circuitry plays a major role in the mediation of prosocial behavior. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication and have been suggested to display deficiencies in central OT mechanisms. The current preregistered meta-analysis evaluated potential group differences in endogenous OT levels between individuals with ASD and neurotypical (NT) controls. We included 18 studies comprising a total of 1422 participants. We found that endogenous OT levels are lower in children with ASD as compared to NT controls (n = 1123; g = -0.60; p = 0.006), but this effect seems to disappear in adolescent (n = 152; g = -0.20; p = 0.53) and adult populations (n = 147; g = 0.27; p = 0.45). Secondly, while no significant subgroup differences were found in regard to sex, the group difference in OT levels of individuals with versus without ASD seems to be only present in the studies with male participants (n = 814; g = -0.44; p = 0.08) and not female participants (n = 192; g = 0.11; p = 0.47). More research that employs more homogeneous methods is necessary to investigate potential developmental changes in endogenous OT levels, both in typical and atypical development, and to explore the possible use of OT level measurement as a diagnostic marker of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthijs Moerkerke
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
| | - Mathieu Peeters
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
| | - Lyssa de Vries
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
| | - Nicky Daniels
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
- Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jean Steyaert
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
| | - Kaat Alaerts
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
- Research Group for Neurorehabilitation, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (M.P.); (L.d.V.); (J.S.); (B.B.)
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (N.D.); (K.A.)
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