Massively Parallel Reporter Assay for 3'-UTR Variants Associated with Neurological Disorders in brain tissue cell lines
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE253841 | GEO | 2026/06/15
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified loci associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder (AUD), they do not identify which variants are functional. To approach this, we evaluated the impact of variants in 3’ untranslated regions (3’-UTRs) of genes in loci associated with substance use and neurological disorders using a massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) in neuroblastoma and microglia cells. We identified genes whose 3’-UTR activities are associated with AUD and alcohol consumption by combining variant effects from MPRA with GWAS results. We examined their effects by evaluating gene expression after CRISPR inhibition of neuronal cells.
2026-06-15 | GSE253842 | GEO
Project description:Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has a profound public health impact and understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of AUD remain limited. Many genetic risk loci have been identified for AUD or alcohol consumption, though the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these loci remain largely unknown. DNA methylation (DNAm) differences between individuals with and without AUD can provide insight into the mechanisms that predispose to AUD and consequences of AUD itself. Here, we provide Illumina HumanMethylation EPIC array data generated in nucleus accumbens and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, both addiction relevant brain tissues, from 119 decedents of European ancestry: 61 controls and 58 cases. From these data we have conducted an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) and identified several CpG associations with AUD. A subset of the identified CpGs map to genes that were previoulsy identified as associated with substance use behaviors in genetic studies, but the other CpGs map to genes previoulsy unassociated with substance use behaviors and are novel.
2024-01-18 | GSE252501 | GEO
Project description:Alcohol use disorders (AUD) are complex, moderately heritable, psychiatric disorders associated with heightened morbidity and mortality. Genome-wide association studies of AUD and drinks per week (DPW) have identified multiple risk loci however few studies have examined the intersection between the loci and genes associated with AUD and DPW, especially with respect to their functional and regulatory significance. In this study we use a muti-omics systems approach to identify causal variants and genes associated with AUD and DPW.
2021-11-20 | GSE189139 | GEO
Project description:The most recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of cutaneous melanoma identified 54 risk-associated loci, but functional variants and their target genes for most have not been established. Here, we performed massively parallel reporter assays (MPRA) using malignant melanoma and normal melanocyte cells and further integrated multi-layer annotation to systematically prioritize functional variants and susceptibility genes from these GWAS loci. Of 1,992 risk-associated variants tested in MPRA, we identified 285 from 42 loci (78% of the known loci) displaying significant allelic transcriptional activities in either cell type (FDR < 1%). We further characterized MPRA-significant variants by motif prediction, epigenomic annotation, and statistical/functional fine-mapping to create integrative variant scores, which prioritized one to six plausible candidate variants per locus for the 42 loci and nominated a single variant for 43% of these loci. Overlaying the MPRA-significant variants with genome-wide significant expression or methylation quantitative trait loci (QTLs) from melanocytes or melanomas identified candidate susceptibility genes for 60% of variants (172 of 285 variants). CRISPRi of top-scoring variants validated their cis-regulatory effect on the eQTL target genes, MAFF (22q13.1) and GPRC5A (12p13.1). Finally, we identified 36 melanoma-specific and 45 melanocyte-specific MPRA-significant variants, a subset of which are linked to cell-type-specific target genes. Analyses of transcription factor availability in MPRA datasets and variant-transcription factor interaction in eQTL datasets highlighted the roles of transcription factors in cell-type-specific variant functionality. In conclusion, MPRA along with variant scoring effectively prioritized plausible candidates for most melanoma GWAS loci and highlighted cellular contexts where the susceptibility variants are functional.
2022-11-28 | GSE210354 | GEO
Project description:The most recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of cutaneous melanoma identified 54 risk-associated loci, but functional variants and their target genes for most have not been established. Here, we performed massively parallel reporter assays (MPRA) using malignant melanoma and normal melanocyte cells and further integrated multi-layer annotation to systematically prioritize functional variants and susceptibility genes from these GWAS loci. Of 1,992 risk-associated variants tested in MPRA, we identified 285 from 42 loci (78% of the known loci) displaying significant allelic transcriptional activities in either cell type (FDR < 1%). We further characterized MPRA-significant variants by motif prediction, epigenomic annotation, and statistical/functional fine-mapping to create integrative variant scores, which prioritized one to six plausible candidate variants per locus for the 42 loci and nominated a single variant for 43% of these loci. Overlaying the MPRA-significant variants with genome-wide significant expression or methylation quantitative trait loci (QTLs) from melanocytes or melanomas identified candidate susceptibility genes for 60% of variants (172 of 285 variants). CRISPRi of top-scoring variants validated their cis-regulatory effect on the eQTL target genes, MAFF (22q13.1) and GPRC5A (12p13.1). Finally, we identified 36 melanoma-specific and 45 melanocyte-specific MPRA-significant variants, a subset of which are linked to cell-type-specific target genes. Analyses of transcription factor availability in MPRA datasets and variant-transcription factor interaction in eQTL datasets highlighted the roles of transcription factors in cell-type-specific variant functionality. In conclusion, MPRA along with variant scoring effectively prioritized plausible candidates for most melanoma GWAS loci and highlighted cellular contexts where the susceptibility variants are functional.
2022-11-28 | GSE210355 | GEO
Project description:Analysis of methylomic alternations related with alcohol use disorders (AUD). The hypothesis is that chronic alcohol consumption might alter genome-wide DNA methylation patterns. The results suggest that differential DNA methylation might be invovled in neuradaptations to alcohol. Genomic DNA was extraced from postmortem prefrontal cortex tissues of 23 AUD cases and 23 matched controls. Both AUD cases and matched controls are assessed with DSM-IV
2013-11-06 | E-GEOD-49393 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Genetic association studies have identified hundreds of largely non-coding loci associated with inter-individual differences in the structure of the human cortex, though the specific genetic variants that impact regulatory activity are unknown. We implemented a Massively Parallel Reporter Assay (MPRA) to measure the regulatory activity of 9,092 cortical structure associated DNA variants in human neural progenitor cells during Wnt stimulation and at baseline. We identified 918 variants with regulatory potential from 150 cortical structure associated loci (76% of loci studied), of which >50% showed allelic effects. Wnt stimulation modified regulatory activity at a subset of loci that functioned as condition-dependent enhancers. Regulatory activity in MPRA was largely induced by Alu elements that were hypothesized to contribute to cortical expansion. The regionally specific impact of genetic variants that disrupt motifs is likely mediated through the levels of transcription factor expression during development, further clarifying the molecular mechanisms altering cortical structure.
2026-04-09 | GSE289858 | GEO
Project description:Alcohol use disorder (AUD) induces complex transcriptional and regulatory changes across multiple brain regions including the caudate nucleus, which remains understudied. Using paired single-nucleus RNA-seq and ATAC-seq on caudate samples from 143 human postmortem brains, including 74 with AUD, we identified 17 distinct cell types. A significant portion of the alcohol-related differences in gene expression were accompanied by a corresponding difference in chromatin accessibility within the gene. We found novel transcriptional differences in medium spiny neurons that impact RNA metabolism and immune response pathways. A small cluster of D1/D2 hybrid neurons showed AUD-induced differences distinct from the D1 and D2 types, suggesting a unique role in AUD. Those with AUD had a higher proportion of microglia in an inflammatory state; astrocytes entered a reactive state partially regulated by JUND. Oligodendrocyte dysregulation was driven in part by OLIG2 activity and increased TGF-β1 signaling from microglia and astrocytes. We also observed increased microglia-astrocyte communication via the IL-1β pathway. These findings provide valuable insights into the genetic and cellular mechanisms in the caudate related to AUD. They also demonstrate the broader utility of large-scale multiomic studies in uncovering complex gene regulation across diverse cell types, which has implications beyond the substance use field.
2025-08-04 | GSE277313 | GEO
Project description:KCNJ6 variants associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD) in human induced neurons
| PRJNA805190 | ENA
Project description:Our lab and others have shown that chronic alcohol use leads to gene and miRNA expression changes across the mesocorticolimbic (MCL) system. Circular-RNA (circRNA) are noncoding RNA that form closed-looped structures and are reported to alter gene expression through miRNA sequestration, thus providing a potentially novel neurobiological mechanism for the development of alcohol dependence (AD). Genome-wide expression of circRNA was assessed in nucleus accumbens (NAc) from 32 AD matched cases/controls. Significant circRNA (unadj. p≤0.05) were identified via regression and clustered in circRNA networks via WGCNA. CircRNA interactions with previously generated mRNA and miRNA were detected via correlation and bioinformatic analyses. MatrixeQTL was used to identify eQTLs affecting circRNA expression. Genomic enrichment was used to detect overlap between eQTLs and recent GWAS of substance abuse. Significant circRNAs (N=542) clustered in 9 significant AD modules (FWER p≤0.05), within which we identified 137 circRNA hubs. We detected 23 significant circRNA:miRNA:mRNA interactions (FDR≤0.10). Among these, circRNA-406742 and miR-1200 significantly interact with the highest number of mRNA, including genes associated with neuronal functioning and alcohol addiction (HRAS, PRKCB, HOMER1, and PCLO). Finally, we identified 96 significant circRNA eQTLs (unadj. p≤0.002), showing significant enrichment within recent alcohol use disorder (AUD) and smoking GWAS. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the role of circRNA in the neuropathology of AD. We show that circRNA impact mRNA expression by interacting with miRNA in the NAc of AD subjects. We further identify genetic variants affecting circRNA expression impacting potential miRNA and mRNA interactions. More importantly, we provide indirect evidence for the clinical importance of circRNA in the development of AUD by detecting a significant enrichment of our circRNA eQTLs among GWAS of substance abuse.
2021-04-16 | GSE172166 | GEO