Cell-type brain-region specific changes in prefrontal cortex of mouse model of alcohol dependence
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ABSTRACT: The prefrontal cortex is a crucial regulator of escalation of alcohol drinking, dependence, and other behavioral criteria associated with AUD. Comprehensive identification of cell-type specific transcriptomic changes in alcohol dependence will improve our understanding of mechanisms mediating the escalation of alcohol use and will refine targets for therapeutic development. We performed single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) on ~150,000 single nuclei from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) obtained from C57BL/6J mice exposed to the chronic intermittent ethanol exposure (CIE) paradigm which models phenotypes associated with alcohol dependence. Gene co-expression network analysis and differential expression analysis identified highly dysregulated co-expression networks in multiple cell types. Here, we present a comprehensive atlas of cell-type specific alcohol dependence related gene expression changes in the mPFC.
Project description:Analysis of transcriptiomic alternations related with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). The hypothesis is that chronic alcohol consumption might alter genome-wide gene expression patterns. The results suggest that differential gene expression in the prefrontal cortex is implicated in neuroadaptations to alcohol. Total RNAs were extracted from postmortem prefrontal cortex tissues from 23 AUD cases and 23 matched controls. Both AUD cases and matched controls were assessed with DSM-IV.
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
Project description:Alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects transcriptomic, epigenetic and proteomic expression in several organs including the brain. Multi-omic analyses of the brain from individuals with AUD to date lack a comprehensive analysis of protein alterations in the multiple brain regions that underlie neuroadaptations occurring in AUD. We performed quantitative proteomic analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of human post-mortem tissue from brain regions that play a key role in the development and maintenance of AUD: amygdala (AMG), hippocampus (HIPP), hypothalamus (HYP), nucleus accumbens (NAc), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Brain tissues analyzed were from individuals with AUD (n = 11) and matched controls (n = 16).
Project description:Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic, relapsing syndrome diagnosed by a heterogeneous set of behavioral signs and symptoms. There are no laboratory tests that provide direct objective evidence for diagnosis. Microarray and RNA-Seq technologies enable genome-wide transcriptome profiling at low costs and provide an opportunity to identify biomarkers to facilitate diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of patients. Brain gene expression patterns can discriminate alcohol-dependent and non-dependent people and predict drugs that reduce drinking in rodents. However, access to brain tissue in living patients is not possible. Blood contains cellular and extracellular RNAs that provide disease-relevant information for some brain diseases. We hypothesized that blood gene expression profiles can be used to diagnose AUD. We profiled brain (prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hypothalamus) and blood gene expression levels in C57BL/6J mice using RNA-seq one week after chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure, a mouse model of alcohol dependence. To determine the preservation of gene expression levels between blood and brain, we calculated the Spearman correlation coefficient between blood and brain mean gene expression levels across all subjects and found a high degree of preservation (rho range: [0.50, 0.67]) with hundreds of transcripts in blood correlated with their brain transcript levels. To determine whether the transcriptional response to alcohol dependence was similar in blood and brain, we studied the overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and gene coexpression networks. Although there was small overlap between blood and brain DEGs, there was considerable overlap of gene networks perturbed after CIE related to cell-cell signaling (e.g., GABA and glutamate receptor signaling, endocannabinoid signaling, synaptogenesis), immune responses (e.g., antigen presentation, communication between innate and adaptive immune systems), and protein processing / mitochondrial functioning (e.g., ubiquitination, unfolded protein responses, oxidative phosphorylation). To determine whether blood gene expression can predict alcohol dependence status, blood gene expression data were used to train classifiers (logistic regression, random forest, and partial least squares discriminant analysis), which were highly accurate at predicting alcohol dependence status (maximum AUC for females: 90.1%; males: 80.5%). These results suggest that gene expression profiles from peripheral blood samples contain a biological signature of alcohol dependence that can discriminate between alcohol-dependent and non-dependent subjects.
Project description:Purpose: The goal of this study to examine mRNA transcriptomic changes in reward-related brain regions of subjects with alcohol use disorder. Methods: Total RNAs were extracted from postmortem prefrontal cortex of 12 AUD and 12 control subjects. rRNA depletion RNA sequencing was performed and the sequence reads were processed using the bulk RNA-seq processing pipeline Pipeliner workflow (Federico et al. Front Genet 2019; 10, 614). AUD-associated mRNA transcriptomic changes were analyzed by the Limma-Voom method. Results: Differentially expressed mRNAs (absolute FC>2.0 & P<0.05) were identified in postmortem prefrontal cortex of subjects with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Chronic alcohol consumption may alter mRNA transcriptome profiles in reward-related brain regions, resulting in alcohol-induced neuroadaptations.
Project description:Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a life-threatening disease characterized by compulsive drinking, cognitive deficits, and social impairment that continue despite negative consequences, which are driven by dysfunction of cortical areas, such as the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), that normally balances decisions related to reward and risk. In this study, proteomics and machine learning analysis of post-mortem OFC brain samples collected from individuals with AUD revealed dysregulation of presynaptic (e.g., AP2A1) and mitochondrial proteins that predicted the occurrence and severity of AUD. Alcohol-sensitive OFC proteins also mapped to abnormal social behaviors and interactions. Validation using reverse genetics, we found that prefrontal Ap2a1 regulates alcohol drinking in genetically diverse mouse strains. Furthermore, we demonstrated sexual dimorphism in human OFC proteins that regulate extracellular matrix structure and signaling. Together, these findings highlight the impact of excessive alcohol consumption on the human OFC proteome and identify important cross-species cortical mechanisms underlying AUD.
Project description:Excessive alcohol consumption is a leading cause of preventable death worldwide. Neurobiological mechanisms associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD) remain insufficiently understood. Here, we provide RNA-sequencing data generated in nucleus accumbent and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, from 114 deceased individuals: 58 AUD cases, 56 non-AUD controls. DNA methylation data on many of these same individuals is available (see GEO accession number GSE252501).
Project description:Lasting behavioral and physiological changes such as abusive consumption, dependence, and withdrawal are characteristic features of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Mechanistically, persistent changes in gene expression are hypothesized to contribute to these brain adaptations leading to ethanol toxicity and abuse. Here we employed repeated chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure by vapor chamber as a mouse model to simulate the cycles of ethanol exposure and withdrawal commonly seen with AUD. This model has previously been shown to induce progressive ethanol consumption in rodents. Brain regional expression networks contributing to CIE-induced behavioral changes were identified by microarray analysis across five brain regions in the mesolimbic dopamine system and extended amygdala with tissue harvested from 0-120 hours following the last cycle of CIE. Weighted Gene Correlated Network Analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify gene networks over-represented for CIE-induced temporal expression changes across brain regions. Differential gene expression analysis of CIE vs. air-treated controls showed that long-lasting gene regulation occurred 5-days after the final cycle of ethanol exposure only in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. In the majority of brain-regions, however, ethanol regulated gene expression changes occurred only immediately following CIE or within the first 8-hours of removal from ethanol. Bioinformatics analysis of modules identified by WGCNA showed that neuroinflammatory responses were seen across multiple brain regions at early time-points, whereas co-expression modules related to neuroplasticity, chromatin remodeling, and neurodevelopment were seen at later time-points and in specific brain regions (PFC or HPC). In PFC a module containing Bdnf was identified as highly CIE responsive in a biphasic manner, with peak changes at 0 hours and 5 days following CIE, suggesting a possible role in mechanisms underlying long-term molecular and behavioral response to CIE. Strikingly, bioinformatics analysis of this network and several other modules identified Let-7 family microRNAs as potential regulators of gene expression changes induced by CIE. Our results suggest a complex temporal and regional pattern of widespread gene network responses involving neuroinflammatory and neuroplasticity related genes as contributing to physiological and behavioral responses to chronic ethanol. In particular, our identification of a potential role for Let-7 miRNAs and a Bdnf-related expression network in long-lasting expression changes after CIE may lead to future druggable gene target identification for novel intervention in AUD.
Project description:Lasting behavioral and physiological changes such as abusive consumption, dependence, and withdrawal are characteristic features of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Mechanistically, persistent changes in gene expression are hypothesized to contribute to these brain adaptations leading to ethanol toxicity and abuse. Here we employed repeated chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure by vapor chamber as a mouse model to simulate the cycles of ethanol exposure and withdrawal commonly seen with AUD. This model has previously been shown to induce progressive ethanol consumption in rodents. Brain regional expression networks contributing to CIE-induced behavioral changes were identified by microarray analysis across five brain regions in the mesolimbic dopamine system and extended amygdala with tissue harvested from 0-120 hours following the last cycle of CIE. Weighted Gene Correlated Network Analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify gene networks over-represented for CIE-induced temporal expression changes across brain regions. Differential gene expression analysis of CIE vs. air-treated controls showed that long-lasting gene regulation occurred 5-days after the final cycle of ethanol exposure only in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. In the majority of brain-regions, however, ethanol regulated gene expression changes occurred only immediately following CIE or within the first 8-hours of removal from ethanol. Bioinformatics analysis of modules identified by WGCNA showed that neuroinflammatory responses were seen across multiple brain regions at early time-points, whereas co-expression modules related to neuroplasticity, chromatin remodeling, and neurodevelopment were seen at later time-points and in specific brain regions (PFC or HPC). In PFC a module containing Bdnf was identified as highly CIE responsive in a biphasic manner, with peak changes at 0 hours and 5 days following CIE, suggesting a possible role in mechanisms underlying long-term molecular and behavioral response to CIE. Strikingly, bioinformatics analysis of this network and several other modules identified Let-7 family microRNAs as potential regulators of gene expression changes induced by CIE. Our results suggest a complex temporal and regional pattern of widespread gene network responses involving neuroinflammatory and neuroplasticity related genes as contributing to physiological and behavioral responses to chronic ethanol. In particular, our identification of a potential role for Let-7 miRNAs and a Bdnf-related expression network in long-lasting expression changes after CIE may lead to future druggable gene target identification for novel intervention in AUD.
Project description:Lasting behavioral and physiological changes such as abusive consumption, dependence, and withdrawal are characteristic features of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Mechanistically, persistent changes in gene expression are hypothesized to contribute to these brain adaptations leading to ethanol toxicity and abuse. Here we employed repeated chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure by vapor chamber as a mouse model to simulate the cycles of ethanol exposure and withdrawal commonly seen with AUD. This model has previously been shown to induce progressive ethanol consumption in rodents. Brain regional expression networks contributing to CIE-induced behavioral changes were identified by microarray analysis across five brain regions in the mesolimbic dopamine system and extended amygdala with tissue harvested from 0-120 hours following the last cycle of CIE. Weighted Gene Correlated Network Analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify gene networks over-represented for CIE-induced temporal expression changes across brain regions. Differential gene expression analysis of CIE vs. air-treated controls showed that long-lasting gene regulation occurred 5-days after the final cycle of ethanol exposure only in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. In the majority of brain-regions, however, ethanol regulated gene expression changes occurred only immediately following CIE or within the first 8-hours of removal from ethanol. Bioinformatics analysis of modules identified by WGCNA showed that neuroinflammatory responses were seen across multiple brain regions at early time-points, whereas co-expression modules related to neuroplasticity, chromatin remodeling, and neurodevelopment were seen at later time-points and in specific brain regions (PFC or HPC). In PFC a module containing Bdnf was identified as highly CIE responsive in a biphasic manner, with peak changes at 0 hours and 5 days following CIE, suggesting a possible role in mechanisms underlying long-term molecular and behavioral response to CIE. Strikingly, bioinformatics analysis of this network and several other modules identified Let-7 family microRNAs as potential regulators of gene expression changes induced by CIE. Our results suggest a complex temporal and regional pattern of widespread gene network responses involving neuroinflammatory and neuroplasticity related genes as contributing to physiological and behavioral responses to chronic ethanol. In particular, our identification of a potential role for Let-7 miRNAs and a Bdnf-related expression network in long-lasting expression changes after CIE may lead to future druggable gene target identification for novel intervention in AUD.