scholarly journals Mind the translational gap: using iPS cell models to bridge from genetic discoveries to perturbed pathways and therapeutic targets

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Pintacuda ◽  
Jacqueline M. Martín ◽  
Kevin C. Eggan
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Ips Cell ◽  
Rare Genetic Variants ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

AbstractAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) comprises a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impaired social interactions as well as the presentation of restrictive and repetitive behaviors. ASD is highly heritable but genetically heterogenous with both common and rare genetic variants collaborating to predispose individuals to the disorder. In this review, we synthesize recent efforts to develop human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived models of ASD-related phenotypes. We firstly address concerns regarding the relevance and validity of available neuronal iPSC-derived models. We then critically evaluate the robustness of various differentiation and cell culture protocols used for producing cell types of relevance to ASD. By exploring iPSC models of ASD reported thus far, we examine to what extent cellular and neuronal phenotypes with potential relevance to ASD can be linked to genetic variants found to underlie it. Lastly, we outline promising strategies by which iPSC technology can both enhance the power of genetic studies to identify ASD risk factors and nominate pathways that are disrupted across groups of ASD patients that might serve as common points for therapeutic intervention.

scholarly journals Functional brain defects in a mouse model of a chromosomal t(1;11) translocation that disrupts DISC1 and confers increased risk of psychiatric illness

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Bonneau ◽  
Shane T. O’ Sullivan ◽  
Miguel A. Gonzalez-Lozano ◽  
Paul Baxter ◽  
Phillippe Gautier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Mutant Mouse ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Translocation Carrier ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

AbstractA balanced t(1;11) translocation that directly disrupts DISC1 is linked to schizophrenia and affective disorders. We previously showed that a mutant mouse, named Der1, recapitulates the effect of the translocation upon DISC1 expression. Here, RNAseq analysis of Der1 mouse brain tissue found enrichment for dysregulation of the same genes and molecular pathways as in neuron cultures generated previously from human t(1;11) translocation carriers via the induced pluripotent stem cell route. DISC1 disruption therefore apparently accounts for a substantial proportion of the effects of the t(1;11) translocation. RNAseq and pathway analysis of the mutant mouse predicts multiple Der1-induced alterations converging upon synapse function and plasticity. Synaptosome proteomics confirmed that the Der1 mutation impacts synapse composition, and electrophysiology found reduced AMPA:NMDA ratio in hippocampal neurons, indicating changed excitatory signalling. Moreover, hippocampal parvalbumin-positive interneuron density is increased, suggesting that the Der1 mutation affects inhibitory control of neuronal circuits. These phenotypes predict that neurotransmission is impacted at many levels by DISC1 disruption in human t(1;11) translocation carriers. Notably, genes implicated in schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder by large-scale genetic studies are enriched among the Der1-dysregulated genes, just as we previously observed for the t(1;11) translocation carrier-derived neurons. Furthermore, RNAseq analysis predicts that the Der1 mutation primarily targets a subset of cell types, pyramidal neurons and interneurons, previously shown to be vulnerable to the effects of common schizophrenia-associated genetic variants. In conclusion, DISC1 disruption by the t(1;11) translocation may contribute to the psychiatric disorders of translocation carriers through commonly affected pathways and processes in neurotransmission.

scholarly journals Population-scale single-cell RNA-seq profiling across dopaminergic neuron differentiation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Jerber ◽  
DD Seaton ◽  
ASE Cuomo ◽  
N Kumasaka ◽  
J Haldane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Cell ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Neuronal Development ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Ips Cell ◽  
Common Genetic Variants ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

AbstractCommon genetic variants can have profound effects on cellular function, but studying these effects in primary human tissue samples and during development is challenging. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology holds great promise for assessing these effects across different differentiation contexts. Here, we use an efficient pooling strategy to differentiate 215 iPS cell lines towards a midbrain neural fate, including dopaminergic neurons, and profile over 1 million cells sampled across three differentiation timepoints using single cell RNA sequencing. We find that the proportion of neuronal cells produced by each cell line is highly reproducible over different experimental batches, and identify robust molecular markers in pluripotent cells that predict line-to-line differences in cell fate. We identify expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) that manifest at different stages of neuronal development, and in response to oxidative stress, by exposing cells to rotenone. We find over one thousand eQTL that colocalise with a known risk locus for a neurological trait, nearly half of which are not found in GTEx. Our study illustrates how coupling single cell transcriptomics with long-term iPSC differentiation can profile mechanistic effects of human trait-associated genetic variants in otherwise inaccessible cell states.

scholarly journals Machine Learning Approach to Automated Quality Identification of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Colony Images

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Joutsijoki ◽  
Markus Haponen ◽  
Jyrki Rasku ◽  
Katriina Aalto-Setälä ◽  
Martti Juhola
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Ips Cell ◽  
Cell Technology ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

The focus of this research is on automated identification of the quality of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) colony images. iPS cell technology is a contemporary method by which the patient’s cells are reprogrammed back to stem cells and are differentiated to any cell type wanted. iPS cell technology will be used in future to patient specific drug screening, disease modeling, and tissue repairing, for instance. However, there are technical challenges before iPS cell technology can be used in practice and one of them is quality control of growing iPSC colonies which is currently done manually but is unfeasible solution in large-scale cultures. The monitoring problem returns to image analysis and classification problem. In this paper, we tackle this problem using machine learning methods such as multiclass Support Vector Machines and several baseline methods together with Scaled Invariant Feature Transformation based features. We perform over 80 test arrangements and do a thorough parameter value search. The best accuracy (62.4%) for classification was obtained by using ak-NN classifier showing improved accuracy compared to earlier studies.

scholarly journals Establishment of a Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neuromuscular Co-Culture Under Optogenetic Control

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot W. Swartz ◽  
Greg Shintani ◽  
Jijun Wan ◽  
Joseph S. Maffei ◽  
Sarah H. Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Calcium Flux ◽  
Electrode Arrays ◽  
Spinal Motor Neurons ◽  
Culture Model ◽  
Skeletal Myotubes ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

SummaryThe failure of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a key component of degenerative neuromuscular disease, yet how NMJs degenerate in disease is unclear. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) offer the ability to model disease via differentiation toward affected cell types, however, the re-creation of an in vitro neuromuscular system has proven challenging. Here we present a scalable, all-hiPSC-derived co-culture system composed of independently derived spinal motor neurons (MNs) and skeletal myotubes (sKM). In a model of C9orf72-associated disease, co-cultures form functional NMJs that can be manipulated through optical stimulation, eliciting muscle contraction and measurable calcium flux in innervated sKM. Furthermore, co-cultures grown on multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) permit the pharmacological interrogation of neuromuscular physiology. Utilization of this co-culture model as a tunable, patient-derived system may offer significant insights into NMJ formation, maturation, repair, or pathogenic mechanisms that underlie NMJ dysfunction in disease.

scholarly journals CellMap: Characterizing the types and composition of iPSC-derived cells from RNA-seq data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengyu Ouyang ◽  
Nathanael Bourgeois ◽  
Eugenia Lyashenko ◽  
Paige Cundiff ◽  
Patrick F Cullen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Cell ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Single Nucleus ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived cell types are increasingly employed as in vitro model systems for drug discovery. For these studies to be meaningful, it is important to understand the reproducibility of the iPSC-derived cultures and their similarity to equivalent endogenous cell types. Single-cell and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) are useful to gain such understanding, but they are expensive and time consuming, while bulk RNA-seq data can be generated quicker and at lower cost. In silico cell type decomposition is an efficient, inexpensive, and convenient alternative that can leverage bulk RNA-seq to derive more fine-grained information about these cultures. We developed CellMap, a computational tool that derives cell type profiles from publicly available single-cell and single-nucleus datasets to infer cell types in bulk RNA-seq data from iPSC-derived cell lines.

scholarly journals Rare genetic variants in the gene encoding histone lysine demethylase 4C (KDM4C) and their contributions to susceptibility to schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidekazu Kato ◽  
Itaru Kushima ◽  
Daisuke Mori ◽  
Akira Yoshimi ◽  
Branko Aleksic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Histone Methylation ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Rare Genetic Variants ◽  
Lysine Demethylase ◽  
Methylation Patterns ◽  
Sample Set

AbstractDysregulation of epigenetic processes involving histone methylation induces neurodevelopmental impairments and has been implicated in schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Variants in the gene encoding lysine demethylase 4C (KDM4C) have been suggested to confer a risk for such disorders. However, rare genetic variants in KDM4C have not been fully evaluated, and the functional impact of the variants has not been studied using patient-derived cells. In this study, we conducted copy number variant (CNV) analysis in a Japanese sample set (2605 SCZ and 1141 ASD cases, and 2310 controls). We found evidence for significant associations between CNVs in KDM4C and SCZ (p = 0.003) and ASD (p = 0.04). We also observed a significant association between deletions in KDM4C and SCZ (corrected p = 0.04). Next, to explore the contribution of single nucleotide variants in KDM4C, we sequenced the coding exons in a second sample set (370 SCZ and 192 ASD cases) and detected 18 rare missense variants, including p.D160N within the JmjC domain of KDM4C. We, then, performed association analysis for p.D160N in a third sample set (1751 SCZ and 377 ASD cases, and 2276 controls), but did not find a statistical association with these disorders. Immunoblotting analysis using lymphoblastoid cell lines from a case with KDM4C deletion revealed reduced KDM4C protein expression and altered histone methylation patterns. In conclusion, this study strengthens the evidence for associations between KDM4C CNVs and these two disorders and for their potential functional effect on histone methylation patterns.

scholarly journals Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line from a patient with autism spectrum disorder and SCN2A haploinsufficiency

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 101488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Louise de Almeida Sampaio ◽  
Gabriele Louise Soares Martins ◽  
Bruno Diaz Paredes ◽  
Carolina Kymie Vasques Nonaka ◽  
Katia Nunes da Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Stem Cell Line ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

scholarly journals Does microglial dysfunction play a role in autism and Rett syndrome?

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izumi Maezawa ◽  
Marco Calafiore ◽  
Heike Wulff ◽  
Lee-Way Jin
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Rett Syndrome ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Environmental Toxins ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
Brain Circuitry ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) including classic autism is a group of complex developmental disabilities with core deficits of impaired social interactions, communication difficulties and repetitive behaviors. Although the neurobiology of ASDs has attracted much attention in the last two decades, the role of microglia has been ignored. Existing data are focused on their recognized role in neuroinflammation, which only covers a small part of the pathological repertoire of microglia. This review highlights recent findings on the broader roles of microglia, including their active surveillance of brain microenvironments and regulation of synaptic connectivity, maturation of brain circuitry and neurogenesis. Emerging evidence suggests that microglia respond to pre- and postnatal environmental stimuli through epigenetic interface to change gene expression, thus acting as effectors of experience-dependent synaptic plasticity. Impairments of these microglial functions could substantially contribute to several major etiological factors of autism, such as environmental toxins and cortical underconnectivity. Our recent study on Rett syndrome, a syndromic autistic disorder, provides an example that intrinsic microglial dysfunction due to genetic and epigenetic aberrations could detrimentally affect the developmental trajectory without evoking neuroinflammation. We propose that ASDs provide excellent opportunities to study the influence of microglia on neurodevelopment, and this knowledge could lead to novel therapies.

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