Project description:Neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus contributes to learning and memory in the healthy brain and is dysregulated in metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, but the molecular relationships between neural stem cells activity, adult neurogenesis and global metabolism are largely unknown. We applied unbiased systems genetics to reveal genetic correlations between adult neurogenesis and metabolism of peripheral tissues in a genetic reference population of 30 HXB/BXH recombinant inbred (RI) strains, derived from a cross between spontaneously hypertensive (SHR/OlaIpcv) and Brown Norway (BN-Lx/Cub) rats. We measured the rates of precursor cell proliferation, survival of new neurons, and gene expression profiles in the hippocampi of RI and parental strains and combined them with published metabolic phenotypes to reveal a “neuro-metabolic” quantitative trait locus (QTL) for serum glucose and neuronal survival, which was further narrowed down to the Tti2 (Telo2 interacting protein 2) gene, which is a regulator of activity and stability of PIKK kinases. To validate Tti2 as a causal QTL gene, we generated a targeted frameshift mutation on the SHR/OlaIpcv background. Heterozygous SHR-Tti2+/- rats showed decreased hippocampal neurogenesis and hallmarks of dysglycemia when compared to wild-type littermates. Here we present gene expression profiling of hippocampus, liver, soleus muscle and peritoneal fat in SHR-Tti2 heterozygous rats and wild-type SHR control littermates. Our findings suggest that Tti2 may represent a direct molecular link between glucose metabolism and structural brain plasticity. Overall design: Gene expression profiling (RNA-Seq) of multiple tissues (peritoneal fat, hippocampus, liver, soleus muscle) extracted from six wild type and six heterozygous Tti2 knock-out rats on the spontaneously hypertensive rat genetic background (SHR/OlaIpcv-Tti2+/+ and SHR/OlaIpcv-Tti2+/- respectively). For each tissue, five samples with the best RNA quality (the highest rin number) were sequenced.
Project description:BACKGROUND:With the advent of next generation sequencing it has become possible to detect genomic variation on a large scale. However, predicting which genomic variants are damaging to gene function remains a challenge, as knowledge of the effects of genomic variation on gene expression is still limited. Recombinant inbred panels are powerful tools to study the cis and trans effects of genetic variation on molecular phenotypes such as gene expression. RESULTS:We generated a comprehensive inventory of genomic differences between the two founder strains of the rat HXB/BXH recombinant inbred panel: SHR/OlaIpcv and BN-Lx/Cub. We identified 3.2 million single nucleotide variants, 425,924 small insertions and deletions, 907 copy number changes and 1,094 large structural genetic variants. RNA-sequencing analyses on liver tissue of the two strains identified 532 differentially expressed genes and 40 alterations in transcript structure. We identified both coding and non-coding variants that correlate with differential expression and alternative splicing. Furthermore, structural variants, in particular gene duplications, show a strong correlation with transcriptome alterations. CONCLUSIONS:We show that the panel is a good model for assessing the genetic basis of phenotypic heterogeneity and for providing insights into possible underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results reveal a high diversity and complexity underlying quantitative and qualitative transcriptional differences.
Project description:The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is the most widely studied animal model of hypertension. Scores of SHR quantitative loci (QTLs) have been mapped for hypertension and other phenotypes. We have sequenced the SHR/OlaIpcv genome at 10.7-fold coverage by paired-end sequencing on the Illumina platform. We identified 3.6 million high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between the SHR/OlaIpcv and Brown Norway (BN) reference genome, with a high rate of validation (sensitivity 96.3%-98.0% and specificity 99%-100%). We also identified 343,243 short indels between the SHR/OlaIpcv and reference genomes. These SNPs and indels resulted in 161 gain or loss of stop codons and 629 frameshifts compared with the BN reference sequence. We also identified 13,438 larger deletions that result in complete or partial absence of 107 genes in the SHR/OlaIpcv genome compared with the BN reference and 588 copy number variants (CNVs) that overlap with the gene regions of 688 genes. Genomic regions containing genes whose expression had been previously mapped as cis-regulated expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) were significantly enriched with SNPs, short indels, and larger deletions, suggesting that some of these variants have functional effects on gene expression. Genes that were affected by major alterations in their coding sequence were highly enriched for genes related to ion transport, transport, and plasma membrane localization, providing insights into the likely molecular and cellular basis of hypertension and other phenotypes specific to the SHR strain. This near complete catalog of genomic differences between two extensively studied rat strains provides the starting point for complete elucidation, at the molecular level, of the physiological and pathophysiological phenotypic differences between individuals from these strains.
Project description:The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is the most widely studied animal model of essential hypertension. Despite > 30 yr of research, the primary genetic lesions responsible for hypertension in the SHR remain undefined. In this report, we describe the construction and hemodynamic characterization of a congenic strain of SHR (SHR-Lx) that carries a defined segment of chromosome 8 from a normotensive strain of Brown-Norway rats (BN-Lx strain). Transfer of this segment of chromosome 8 from the BN-Lx strain onto the SHR background resulted in substantial reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and cardiac mass. Linkage and comparative mapping studies indicate that the transferred chromosome segment contains a number of candidate genes for hypertension, including genes encoding a brain dopamine receptor and a renal epithelial potassium channel. These findings demonstrate that BP regulatory gene(s) exist within the differential chromosome segment trapped in the SHR-Lx congenic strain and that this region of chromosome 8 plays a major role in the hypertension of SHR vs. BN-Lx rats.