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5-hydroxymethylcytosine alterations in the human postmortem brains of autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a group of disorders characterized by impaired language, social, and communication skills, in addition to restrictive behaviors or stereotypies. However, with a prevalence of 1.5% in developed countries and relatively high comorbidity rates, no clear underlying mechanism that unifies the heterogeneous phenotypes of ASD is known. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) has been reported highly enriched in brain, and is now recognized as an important epigenetic mark in developmental and neurological disorders. To explore the role of 5hmC in ASD, we utilized the genomic DNA isolated from the postmortem cerebellum of both ASD patients and age-matched controls to profile genome-wide distribution of 5hmC. We identified 797 age-dependent differential hydroxymethylated regions (DhMRs) (q-value < 0.05, FDR adjusted) in young group (age ≤ 18), while no significant DhMR was identified in the groups over 18-year-old. Pathway and disease association analyses indicated that the intragenic DhMRs were located in the genes that involved in cell-cell communication and neurological disorders. By comparing the 5hmC counts (ASD vs. Control) in each psychiatric gene (±10kb), we observed significant 5hmC changes in larger fraction of psychiatric genes than in reference genes. Interestingly, we found that the predicted cis functions of non-coding intergenic DhMRs strikingly associated with ASD and intellectual disorders. A significant fraction of intergenic DhMRs were overlapped with topologically associating domains (TAD). These results together suggest that 5hmC dynamic alteration is associated with ASD, particularly in the early development stage, and could contribute to the pathogenesis of ASD.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE107012 | GEO | 2018/05/26

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by delayed/abnormal language development, deficits in social interaction, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. The heterogeneity in clinical presentation of ASD, likely due to different etiologies, complicates genetic/biological analyses of these disorders. DNA microarray analyses were conducted on 116 lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) from individuals with idiopathic autism who are divided into 3 phenotypic subgroups according to severity scores from the commonly used Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised questionnaire and age-matched, nonautistic controls. Statistical analyses of gene expression data from control LCL against that of LCL from ASD probands identify genes for which expression levels are either quantitatively or qualitatively associated with phenotypic severity. Comparison of the significant differentially expressed genes from each subgroup relative to the control group reveals differentially expressed genes unique to each subgroup as well as genes in common across subgroups. Among the findings unique to the most severely affected ASD group are genes that regulate circadian rhythm, which has been shown to have multiple effects on neurological as well as metabolic functions commonly dysregulated in autism. Among the genes common to all 3 subgroups of ASD are 5 novel genes which appear to associate with androgen sensitivity, which may underlie the strong 4:1 bias towards affected males. Gene expression profiling of 116 LCL from autistic (87) and nonautistic (29) individuals were obtained using a custom-printed DNA microarray containing 39,936 elements (TIGR 40K Human array, GPL3427) and a reference design in which each sample was compared to the Stratagene Universal Human RNA standard. The 87 autistic samples were divided into phenotypic subgroups (language, mild, savant) on the basis of cluster analyses of scores from an autism diagnostic questionnaire, the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised instrument. Differentially expressed genes were determined for all autistic vs. control groups, as well as for each of 3 phenotypic ASD groups and controls.

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5-hydroxymethylcytosine alterations in the human postmortem brains of autism spectrum disorder

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