Mature miR-99a Upregulation in the Amniotic Fluid Samples from Female Fetus Down Syndrome Pregnancies: A Pilot Study

Background and Objective: Although Down syndrome is the most frequent aneuploidy, its pathogenic molecular mechanisms are not yet fully understood. The aim of our study is to quantify—by qRT-PCR—the expression levels of both the mature forms and the pri-miRNAs of the microRNAs resident on chromosome 21 (miR(21)) in the amniotic fluid samples from Down syndrome singleton pregnancies and to estimate the impact of the differentially expressed microRNAs on Down syndrome fetal heart and amniocytes transcriptomes. Materials and methods: We collected amniotic fluid samples harvested by trained obstetricians as part of the second trimester screening/diagnostic procedure for aneuploidies to assess the trisomy 21 status by QF-PCR and karyotyping. Next, we evaluated—by Taqman qRT-PCR—the expression levels of both the mature forms and the pri-miRNA precursors of the microRNAs resident on chromosome 21 in amniotic fluid samples from singleton Down syndrome and euploid pregnancies. Further, we combined miRWalk 3.0 microRNA target prediction with GEO DataSets analysis to estimate the impact of hsa-miR-99a abnormal expression on Down syndrome heart and amniocytes transcriptome. Results: We found a statistically significant up-regulation of the mature form of miR-99a, but not pri-miR-99a, in the amniotic fluid samples from Down syndrome pregnancies with female fetuses. GATHER functional enrichment analysis of miRWalk3.0-predicted targets from Down syndrome amniocytes and fetal hearts transcriptome GEODataSets outlined both focal adhesion and cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction signaling as novel signaling pathways impacted by miR-99a and associated with cardiac defects in female Down syndrome patients. Conclusions: The significant overexpression of miR-99a, but not pri-miR-99a, points towards an alteration of the post-transcriptional mechanisms of hsa-miR-99a maturation and/or stability in the female trisomic milieu, with a potential impact on signaling pathways important for proper development of the heart.

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Meta-analysis of transcriptomic data reveals clusters of consistently deregulated gene and disease ontologies in Down syndrome

PLoS Computational Biology ◽

10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009317 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (9) ◽

pp. e1009317

Author(s):

Ilario De Toma ◽

Cesar Sierra ◽

Mara Dierssen

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Differential Expression ◽

Web Application ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Chromosome 21 ◽

Complex Disorders ◽

Transcriptomic Data ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome ◽

The Impact

Trisomy of human chromosome 21 (HSA21) causes Down syndrome (DS). The trisomy does not simply result in the upregulation of HSA21--encoded genes but also leads to a genome-wide transcriptomic deregulation, which affect differently each tissue and cell type as a result of epigenetic mechanisms and protein-protein interactions. We performed a meta-analysis integrating the differential expression (DE) analyses of all publicly available transcriptomic datasets, both in human and mouse, comparing trisomic and euploid transcriptomes from different sources. We integrated all these data in a “DS network”. We found that genome wide deregulation as a consequence of trisomy 21 is not arbitrary, but involves deregulation of specific molecular cascades in which both HSA21 genes and HSA21 interactors are more consistently deregulated compared to other genes. In fact, gene deregulation happens in “clusters”, so that groups from 2 to 13 genes are found consistently deregulated. Most of these events of “co-deregulation” involve genes belonging to the same GO category, and genes associated with the same disease class. The most consistent changes are enriched in interferon related categories and neutrophil activation, reinforcing the concept that DS is an inflammatory disease. Our results also suggest that the impact of the trisomy might diverge in each tissue due to the different gene set deregulation, even though the triplicated genes are the same. Our original method to integrate transcriptomic data confirmed not only the importance of known genes, such as SOD1, but also detected new ones that could be extremely useful for generating or confirming hypotheses and supporting new putative therapeutic candidates. We created “metaDEA” an R package that uses our method to integrate every kind of transcriptomic data and therefore could be used with other complex disorders, such as cancer. We also created a user-friendly web application to query Ensembl gene IDs and retrieve all the information of their differential expression across the datasets.

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Type I Interferon Signaling Drives Microglial Dysfunction and Senescence in Human iPSC Models of Down Syndrome and Alzheimers Disease

10.1101/2021.12.22.473858 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mengmeng Jin ◽

Ranji Xu ◽

Mahabub Maraj Alam ◽

Ziyuan Ma ◽

Sining Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Brain Development ◽

Type I Interferon ◽

Chromosome 21 ◽

Type I ◽

Chimeric Mouse ◽

Interferon Signaling ◽

Alzheimers Disease ◽

Human Microglia ◽

The Impact

Microglia are critical for brain development and play a central role in Alzheimers disease (AD) etiology. Down syndrome (DS), also known as trisomy 21, is the most common genetic origin of intellectual disability and the most common risk factor for AD. Surprisingly, little information is available on the impact of trisomy of human chromosome 21 (Hsa21) on microglia in DS brain development and AD in DS (DSAD). Using our new induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based human microglia-containing cerebral organoid and chimeric mouse brain models, here we report that DS microglia exhibit enhanced synaptic pruning function during brain development. Consequently, electrophysiological recordings demonstrate that DS microglial mouse chimeras show impaired synaptic neurotransmission, as compared to control microglial chimeras. Upon being exposed to human brain tissue-derived soluble pathological tau, DS microglia display dystrophic phenotypes in chimeric mouse brains, recapitulating microglial responses seen in human AD and DSAD brain tissues. Further flow cytometry, single-cell RNA-sequencing, and immunohistological analyses of chimeric mouse brains demonstrate that DS microglia undergo cellular senescence and exhibit elevated type I interferon signaling after being challenged by pathological tau. Mechanistically, we find that shRNA-mediated knockdown of Hsa21encoded type I interferon receptor genes, IFNARs, rescues the defective DS microglial phenotypes both during brain development and in response to pathological tau. Our findings provide first in vivo evidence supporting a paradigm shifting theory that human microglia respond to pathological tau by exhibiting accelerated senescence and dystrophic phenotypes. Our results further suggest that targeting IFNARs may improve microglial functions during DS brain development and prevent human microglial senescence in DS individuals with AD.

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Potassium channel regulators are differentially expressed in hippocampi of Ts65Dn and Tc1 Down syndrome mouse models

10.1101/467522 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Shani Stern ◽

Rinat Keren ◽

Yongsung Kim ◽

Elisha Moses

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Mouse Model ◽

Potassium Channel ◽

Mouse Models ◽

Chromosome 21 ◽

Neuronal Cultures ◽

Rna Expression ◽

Genetic Changes ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Whole Cell Patch Clamp

AbstractBackground:Down syndrome remains the main genetic cause of intellectual disability, with an incidence rate of about 1 in 700 live births. The Ts65Dn mouse strain, with an extra murine chromosome that includes genes from chromosomes 10, 16 and 17 of the mouse and the Tc1 strain with an extra human chromosome 21, are currently accepted as informative and well-studied models for Down Syndrome. Using whole cell patch clamp we recently showed changes in several types of transmembrane currents in hippocampal neuronal cultures of Ts65Dn and Tc1 embryos. The associated genetic changes responsible for these changes in physiology were yet to be studied.Methods:We used qPCR to measure RNA expression level of a few of the channel genes that we suspect are implicated in the previously reported changes of measured currents, and performed statistical analysis using Matlab procedures for the standard t-test and ANOVA and for calculating correlations between the RNA expression levels of several channel genes.Results:We present differential gene expression levels measured using qPCR of the potassium channel regulators KCNE1 and KCNE2 in both Ts65Dn and Tc1 embryos and pups compared to controls. In Tc1, the human genes KCNJ6 and KCNJ15 are expressed in addition to a statistically insignificant increase of expression in the mouse genes KCNJ6 and KCNJ15. All channel genes that we have measured with large replication, have the same up-regulation or down-regulation in both mouse models, indicating that the transcription mechanism acts similarly in these two mouse models. The large dataset furthermore allows us to observe correlations between different channel genes. We find that, despite the significant changes in expression levels, channels that are known to interact have a high and significant correlation in expression both in controls and in the Down syndrome mouse model.Conclusions:We suggest the differential expression of KCNE1 and KCNE2 as a possible cause for our previously reported changes in potassium currents. We report a KCNJ6 and KCNJ15 overexpression, which plays a role in the increased input conductance and the reduced cell excitability that we previously reported in the Tc1 mouse model. The large and significant positive (KCNQ2-KCNQ3, KCNE1-KCNE2, KCNQ3-KCNE1, KCNQ2-KCNE1, KCNQ2-KCNE2, KCNQ3-KCNE2) and negative correlations (KCNE1-KCNJ15, KCNE2-KCNJ15) that we find between channel genes indicate that these genes probably work in a cooperative or in a mutually exclusive manner.

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Prenatal Evaluation of MicroRNA Expressions in Pregnancies with Down Syndrome

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2016/5312674 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Biray Erturk ◽

Emin Karaca ◽

Ayca Aykut ◽

Burak Durmaz ◽

Ahmet Guler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Prenatal Testing ◽

Maternal Plasma ◽

Chromosome 21 ◽

Screening Tests ◽

Sonographic Examination ◽

Noninvasive Prenatal Testing ◽

Abnormal Finding ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Increased Risk

Background. Currently, the data available on the utility of miRNAs in noninvasive prenatal testing is insufficient in the literature. We evaluated the expression levels of 14 miRNAs located on chromosome 21 in maternal plasma and their utility in noninvasive prenatal testing of Down Syndrome.Method. A total of 56 patients underwent invasive prenatal testing; 23 cases were carrying Down Syndrome affected fetuses, and 33 control cases carrying unaffected, normal karyotype fetuses were included for comparison. Indications for invasive prenatal testing were advanced maternal age, increased risk of Down Syndrome in screening tests, and abnormal finding in the sonographic examination. In both the study and control groups, all the pregnant women were at 17th and 18th week of gestation. miRNA expression levels were measured using real-time RT-PCR.Results. Significantly increased maternal plasma levels of miR-3156 and miR-99a were found in the women carrying a fetus with Down Syndrome.Conclusion. Our results provide a basis for multicenter studies with larger sample groups and microRNA profiles, particularly with the microRNAs which were found to be variably expressed in our study. Through this clinical research, the utility of microRNAs in noninvasive prenatal testing can be better explored in future studies.

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Human iPSC-derived Down syndrome astrocytes display genome-wide perturbations in gene expression, an altered adhesion profile, and increased cellular dynamics

Human Molecular Genetics ◽

10.1093/hmg/ddaa003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 785-802 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Blandine Ponroy Bally ◽

W Todd Farmer ◽

Emma V Jones ◽

Selin Jessa ◽

J Benjamin Kacerovsky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Extracellular Matrix ◽

Down Syndrome ◽

Cell Adhesion ◽

Brain Development ◽

Trisomy 21 ◽

Chromatin Accessibility ◽

Chromosome 21 ◽

Genome Wide ◽

And Function ◽

The Impact

Abstract Down syndrome (DS), caused by the triplication of human chromosome 21, leads to significant alterations in brain development and is a major genetic cause of intellectual disability. While much is known about changes to neurons in DS, the effects of trisomy 21 on non-neuronal cells such as astrocytes are poorly understood. Astrocytes are critical for brain development and function, and their alteration may contribute to DS pathophysiology. To better understand the impact of trisomy 21 on astrocytes, we performed RNA-sequencing on astrocytes from newly produced DS human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). While chromosome 21 genes were upregulated in DS astrocytes, we found consistent up- and down-regulation of genes across the genome with a strong dysregulation of neurodevelopmental, cell adhesion and extracellular matrix molecules. ATAC (assay for transposase-accessible chromatin)-seq also revealed a global alteration in chromatin state in DS astrocytes, showing modified chromatin accessibility at promoters of cell adhesion and extracellular matrix genes. Along with these transcriptomic and epigenomic changes, DS astrocytes displayed perturbations in cell size and cell spreading as well as modifications to cell-cell and cell-substrate recognition/adhesion, and increases in cellular motility and dynamics. Thus, triplication of chromosome 21 is associated with genome-wide transcriptional, epigenomic and functional alterations in astrocytes that may contribute to altered brain development and function in DS.

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Dyrk1a gene dosage in glutamatergic neurons has key effects in cognitive deficits observed in mouse models of MRD7 and Down syndrome

10.1101/2021.05.01.442242 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Veronique Brault ◽

Thu Lan Nguyen ◽

Javier Flores-Gutierrez ◽

Marie-Christine Birling ◽

Valerie Lalanne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Conditional Knockout ◽

Synaptic Proteins ◽

Chromosome 21 ◽

Gene Copy ◽

Glutamatergic Neurons ◽

The Impact

Perturbation of the excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance leads to neurodevelopmental diseases including to autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disability, and epilepsy. Mutation in the DYRK1A gene located on human chromosome 21 (Hsa21) leads to an intellectual disability syndrome associated with microcephaly, epilepsy, and autistic troubles (MRD7). Overexpression of DYRK1A, on the other hand, has been linked with learning and memory defects observed in people with Down syndrome (DS). Dyrk1a is expressed in both glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons, but its impact on each neuronal population has not yet been elucidated. Here we investigated the impact of Dyrk1a gene copy number variation in glutamatergic neurons using a conditional knockout allele of Dyrk1a crossed with the Tg(Camk2-Cre)4Gsc transgenic mouse. We explored this genetic modification in homozygotes, heterozygotes and combined with the Dp(16Lipi-Zbtb21)1Yey trisomic mouse model to unravel the consequence of Dyrk1a dosage from 0 to 3, to understand its role in normal physiology, and in MRD7 and DS. Overall, Dyrk1a dosage in glutamatergic neurons did not impact locomotor activity, working memory or epileptic susceptibility, but revealed that Dyrk1a is involved in long-term explicit memory. Molecular analyses pointed at a deregulation of transcriptional activity through immediate early genes and a role of DYRK1A at the glutamatergic post-synapse by deregulating and interacting with key post-synaptic proteins implicated in mechanism leading to long-term enhanced synaptic plasticity. Altogether, our work gives important information to understand the action of DYRK1A inhibitors and have a better therapeutic approach.

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Dyrk1a gene dosage in glutamatergic neurons has key effects in cognitive deficits observed in mouse models of MRD7 and Down syndrome

PLoS Genetics ◽

10.1371/journal.pgen.1009777 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (9) ◽

pp. e1009777

Author(s):

Véronique Brault ◽

Thu Lan Nguyen ◽

Javier Flores-Gutiérrez ◽

Giovanni Iacono ◽

Marie-Christine Birling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Conditional Knockout ◽

Synaptic Proteins ◽

Chromosome 21 ◽

Gene Copy ◽

Glutamatergic Neurons ◽

The Impact

Perturbation of the excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance leads to neurodevelopmental diseases including to autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disability, and epilepsy. Loss-of-function mutations in the DYRK1A gene, located on human chromosome 21 (Hsa21,) lead to an intellectual disability syndrome associated with microcephaly, epilepsy, and autistic troubles. Overexpression of DYRK1A, on the other hand, has been linked with learning and memory defects observed in people with Down syndrome (DS). Dyrk1a is expressed in both glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons, but its impact on each neuronal population has not yet been elucidated. Here we investigated the impact of Dyrk1a gene copy number variation in glutamatergic neurons using a conditional knockout allele of Dyrk1a crossed with the Tg(Camk2-Cre)4Gsc transgenic mouse. We explored this genetic modification in homozygotes, heterozygotes and combined with the Dp(16Lipi-Zbtb21)1Yey trisomic mouse model to unravel the consequence of Dyrk1a dosage from 0 to 3, to understand its role in normal physiology, and in MRD7 and DS. Overall, Dyrk1a dosage in postnatal glutamatergic neurons did not impact locomotor activity, working memory or epileptic susceptibility, but revealed that Dyrk1a is involved in long-term explicit memory. Molecular analyses pointed at a deregulation of transcriptional activity through immediate early genes and a role of DYRK1A at the glutamatergic post-synapse by deregulating and interacting with key post-synaptic proteins implicated in mechanism leading to long-term enhanced synaptic plasticity. Altogether, our work gives important information to understand the action of DYRK1A inhibitors and have a better therapeutic approach.

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2180

Journal of Clinical and Translational Science ◽

10.1017/cts.2017.207 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (S1) ◽

pp. 58-58

Author(s):

Marisa Hornbaker ◽

Miguel Gallardo ◽

Xiaorui Zhang ◽

Huaxian Ma ◽

Peter Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bone Marrow ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Myeloid Leukemia ◽

Hnrnp K ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Qrt Pcr ◽

Clinical Observations ◽

The Impact

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a devastating hematologic malignancy wherein <20% of patients will survive 5 years after diagnosis. In an effort to understand alterations that drive AML development and progression, The Cancer Genome Atlas detailed the most common recurrent mutations. One gene of interest identified here was HNRNPK, supporting our clinical observations that suggest altered expression levels of HNRNPK and its corresponding protein (hnRNP K) may impact AML. Here, we aim to elucidate the impact of hnRNP K overexpression in AML by utilizing AML cell lines and mouse models reflective of the human disease. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We utilized fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), qRT-PCR, and reverse phase protein array (RPPA) to evaluate HNRNPK copy number and expression levels in AML patient samples compared with CD34+ cells from healthy human donor bone marrow. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed using clinical data from 415 AML patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center and stratified based on hnRNP K protein expression as evaluated by RPPA. To directly evaluate the impact of hnRNP K overexpression in vivo, we created 2 distinct lines of Hnrnpk transgenic mice (HnrnpkTg). Phenotypic differences in the hematologic compartments of these mice were evaluated via flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and transplantation assays. Molecular pathways have been evaluated in mice and cell lines using immunoblotting, qRT-PCR, and RNA-immunoprecipitation. The drug JQ1 was used in vitro with both OCI-AML3 cell lines and with primary bone marrow and splenocytes from HnrnpkTg mice. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: FISH analyses demonstrated that a large proportion of AML cases had amplification of HNRNPK that corresponded with upregulation of HNRNPK at the RNA and protein levels. Indeed, patients with high levels of hnRNP K had decreased overall survival compared with those expressing lower hnRNP K levels. In line with these clinical observations, we observed altered myelopoiesis in HnrnpkTg mice. These mice demonstrate increased CD11b+Gr1+ populations in the bone marrow and peripheral blood. Indeed, these mice develop myeloid leukemia, indicated by >20% of circulating white blood cells harboring markers of immature stem cells in conjunction with positive myeloperoxidase staining and blast-appearing morphology. RPPA revealed expression of c-Myc positively correlated with increased hnRNP K levels. In HnrnpkTg mice, c-Myc protein was increased, yet MYC RNA was invariably decreased compared to wildtype. To decipher a mechanism by which this may occur, we demonstrated a post-transcriptional interaction between hnRNP K and c-Myc in vivo. JQ1, a BRD4 inhibitor, that epigenetically decreases c-Myc expression showed preferential activity against myeloid cells expressing high levels of hnRNP K both in vitro and in vivo. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: These preliminary studies demonstrate that hnRNP K overexpression causes myeloid malignancies in both mouse and man. We have determined that c-Myc contributes in part to hnRNP K-mediated leukemogenesis, and that targeting c-Myc may be an effective strategy for hnRNP K-overexpressing AML. We are currently validating other potential targets for interaction with hnRNP K by performing RNA-Seq and hnRNP K immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry. Fortunately, several of our putative targets are druggable—allowing for viable translational outputs to these mechanistic studies.

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Phosphoproteomic Landscape of AML Cells Treated with the ATP-Competitive CK2 Inhibitor CX-4945

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10020338 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 338

Author(s):

Mauro Rosales ◽

Arielis Rodríguez-Ulloa ◽

Vladimir Besada ◽

Ailyn C. Ramón ◽

George V. Pérez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Signaling Pathways ◽

Myeloid Leukemia ◽

Protein Kinase Ck2 ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Biological Processes ◽

Attractive Therapeutic Target ◽

Kinase Ck2 ◽

The Impact ◽

Ck2 Inhibitor ◽

Target Effects

Casein kinase 2 (CK2) regulates a plethora of proteins with pivotal roles in solid and hematological neoplasia. Particularly, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) CK2 has been pointed as an attractive therapeutic target and prognostic marker. Here, we explored the impact of CK2 inhibition over the phosphoproteome of two cell lines representing major AML subtypes. Quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis was conducted to evaluate changes in phosphorylation levels after incubation with the ATP-competitive CK2 inhibitor CX-4945. Functional enrichment, network analysis, and database mining were performed to identify biological processes, signaling pathways, and CK2 substrates that are responsive to CX-4945. A total of 273 and 1310 phosphopeptides were found differentially modulated in HL-60 and OCI-AML3 cells, respectively. Despite regulated phosphopeptides belong to proteins involved in multiple biological processes and signaling pathways, most of these perturbations can be explain by direct CK2 inhibition rather than off-target effects. Furthermore, CK2 substrates regulated by CX-4945 are mainly related to mRNA processing, translation, DNA repair, and cell cycle. Overall, we evidenced that CK2 inhibitor CX-4945 impinge on mediators of signaling pathways and biological processes essential for primary AML cells survival and chemosensitivity, reinforcing the rationale behind the pharmacologic blockade of protein kinase CK2 for AML targeted therapy.

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Astrocytes in Down Syndrome Across the Lifespan

Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fncel.2021.702685 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Blandine Ponroy Bally ◽

Keith K. Murai

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Brain Development ◽

Chromosome 21 ◽

Early Brain Development ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Circuit Development ◽

And Function ◽

The Impact ◽

The Brain

Down Syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability in which delays and impairments in brain development and function lead to neurological and cognitive phenotypes. Traditionally, a neurocentric approach, focusing on neurons and their connectivity, has been applied to understanding the mechanisms involved in DS brain pathophysiology with an emphasis on how triplication of chromosome 21 leads to alterations in neuronal survival and homeostasis, synaptogenesis, brain circuit development, and neurodegeneration. However, recent studies have drawn attention to the role of non-neuronal cells, especially astrocytes, in DS. Astrocytes comprise a large proportion of cells in the central nervous system (CNS) and are critical for brain development, homeostasis, and function. As triplication of chromosome 21 occurs in all cells in DS (with the exception of mosaic DS), a deeper understanding of the impact of trisomy 21 on astrocytes in DS pathophysiology is warranted and will likely be necessary for determining how specific brain alterations and neurological phenotypes emerge and progress in DS. Here, we review the current understanding of the role of astrocytes in DS, and discuss how specific perturbations in this cell type can impact the brain across the lifespan from early brain development to adult stages. Finally, we highlight how targeting, modifying, and/or correcting specific molecular pathways and properties of astrocytes in DS may provide an effective therapeutic direction given the important role of astrocytes in regulating brain development and function.

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