A meta-analysis of two high-risk prospective studies reveals autism-specific transcriptional changes to chromatin, autoimmune, and environmental response genes in umbilical cord blood
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PROVIDER: PRJNA508213 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
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Project description:Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects more than 1% of children in the USA. ASD risk is thought to arise from both genetic and environmental factors, with the perinatal period as a critical window. Understanding early transcriptional changes in ASD would assist in clarifying disease pathogenesis and identifying biomarkers. However, little is known about umbilical cord blood gene expression profiles in babies later diagnosed with ASD compared to non-typically developing and non-ASD (Non-TD) or typically developing (TD) children. Genome-wide transcript levels were measured by Affymetrix Human Gene 2.0 array in RNA from cord blood samples from both the Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs (MARBLES) and the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI) high-risk pregnancy cohorts that enroll younger siblings of a child previously diagnosed with ASD. Younger siblings were diagnosed based on assessments at 36 months, and 59 ASD, 92 Non-TD, and 120 TD subjects were included. Using both differential expression analysis and weighted gene correlation network analysis, gene expression between ASD and TD, and between Non-TD and TD, was compared within each study and via meta-analysis. While cord blood gene expression differences comparing either ASD or Non-TD to TD did not reach genome- wide significance, 172 genes were nominally differentially expressed between ASD and TD cord blood (log2(fold change) > 0.1, p < 0.01). These genes were significantly enriched for functions in xenobiotic metabolism, chromatin regulation, and systemic lupus erythematosus (FDR q < 0.05). In contrast, 66 genes were nominally differentially expressed between Non-TD and TD, including 8 genes that were also differentially expressed in ASD. Gene coexpression modules were significantly correlated with demographic factors and cell type proportions. ASD-associated gene expression differences identified in this study are subtle, as cord blood is not the main affected tissue, it is composed of many cell types, and ASD is a heterogeneous disorder. This is the first study to identify gene expression differences in cord blood specific to ASD through a meta- analysis across two prospective pregnancy cohorts. The enriched gene pathways support involvement of environmental, immune, and epigenetic mechanisms in ASD etiology.
2019-10-25 | GSE123302 | GEO
Project description:BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects more than 1% of children in the USA. ASD risk is thought to arise from both genetic and environmental factors, with the perinatal period as a critical window. Understanding early transcriptional changes in ASD would assist in clarifying disease pathogenesis and identifying biomarkers. However, little is known about umbilical cord blood gene expression profiles in babies later diagnosed with ASD compared to non-typically developing and non-ASD (Non-TD) or typically developing (TD) children.MethodsGenome-wide transcript levels were measured by Affymetrix Human Gene 2.0 array in RNA from cord blood samples from both the Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs (MARBLES) and the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI) high-risk pregnancy cohorts that enroll younger siblings of a child previously diagnosed with ASD. Younger siblings were diagnosed based on assessments at 36 months, and 59 ASD, 92 Non-TD, and 120 TD subjects were included. Using both differential expression analysis and weighted gene correlation network analysis, gene expression between ASD and TD, and between Non-TD and TD, was compared within each study and via meta-analysis.ResultsWhile cord blood gene expression differences comparing either ASD or Non-TD to TD did not reach genome-wide significance, 172 genes were nominally differentially expressed between ASD and TD cord blood (log2(fold change) > 0.1, p < 0.01). These genes were significantly enriched for functions in xenobiotic metabolism, chromatin regulation, and systemic lupus erythematosus (FDR q < 0.05). In contrast, 66 genes were nominally differentially expressed between Non-TD and TD, including 8 genes that were also differentially expressed in ASD. Gene coexpression modules were significantly correlated with demographic factors and cell type proportions.LimitationsASD-associated gene expression differences identified in this study are subtle, as cord blood is not the main affected tissue, it is composed of many cell types, and ASD is a heterogeneous disorder.ConclusionsThis is the first study to identify gene expression differences in cord blood specific to ASD through a meta-analysis across two prospective pregnancy cohorts. The enriched gene pathways support involvement of environmental, immune, and epigenetic mechanisms in ASD etiology.
| S-EPMC6814108 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been shown to exert therapeutic effects on various autoimmune diseases. However, such therapeutic effect is not always achieved. Among many reasons, MSC culture methodologies may account for the these differences. It is known that oxygen concentration could profoundly affect the properties of MSCs. Therefore, we compared human umbilical cord derived MSCs cultured under hypoxic and normoxic conditions. We used microarrays to profile the gene expression of human umbilical cord derived MSCs under 10% oxygen and normoxia conditions.
2018-09-23 | GSE97773 | GEO
Project description:Diversity clinical phenotypes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), caused by heterogeneity of genetic and environmental factors, hampered the investigation in uncovering pathological mechanisms. Here we generated ASD patient-cerebral organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that reprogramed from the early-onset ASD individuals at around 2 years old with common clinical diagnosis in a prospective birth cohort, which was excluded typical autistic mutations and environmental exposures.
2025-01-22 | GSE203201 | GEO
Project description:During development, the human brain orchestrates the generation of hundreds of diverse cell types, and recent transcriptomic atlases of the developing human cortex provide new opportunities to identify novel regulators of cell fate specification. We have conducted an integrated meta-analysis of seven recently published single-cell transcriptomic profiles of the developing human cortex, generating a meta-atlas of 225 meta-modules. By tracking the activity of these meta-modules throughout development and comparing this to datasets from the adult human as well as the developing and adult mouse, we identified modules with potential roles in the transition from neurogenesis to gliogenesis and neuronal subtype maturation. The cell type and developmental state at which these modules exist was validated in primary samples from the developing human brain. Of particular interest, we identified and validated a module associated with both developing human deep layer neurons and human adult deep layer neuronal subtypes expressing the terminal differentiation marker FEZF2. Though FEZF2 is neither a member of nor co-expressed with our deep layer-associated gene module, almost half of module genes are putative FEZF2 targets, including TSHZ3, a transcription factor associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Knockdown experiments in human cortical organoid models confirm that both FEZF2 and TSHZ3 are necessary for deep layer neuron specification. Importantly, we observe that subtle manipulations of these transcription factors result in slight changes in module activity, but together yield strong differences in cell fate. Our analyses therefore reveal a gene network that required to generate deep layer neuronal subtypes, demonstrating the ability of our meta-atlas to engender further mechanistic analyses of cortical fate specification. We anticipate this resource being useful for the study of co-expression programs across diverse biological questions related to the developing neocortex.
2023-09-12 | GSE242779 | GEO