Project description:A comparative panoramic mass spectrometric analysis of serum samples from three families with children with autistic disorders was carried out. The total number of examined samples was nine, including four control samples from healthy parents, and five samples from autistic children.
Project description:The present study uses an intra-familial design, matching affected and unaffected sibling pairs by sex and age and controlling for pharmacological treatment in the autistic sibling. The aim of this study is to find ASD blood biomarkers possibly applicable within “high risk” families, where one child has already received an ASD diagnosis.
Project description:Analysis of the methylation level of 27,578 CpG dinucleotides in DNA derived from peripheral blood leukocytes from autistic children and unaffected siblings was conducted using the Illumina HumanMeth27 BeadChip DNA methylation association study for autistic and non-autistic siblings
Project description:Neurodevelopmental conditions with a genetic component, such as autism, are a highly heritable heterogeneous group. Large-scale genetic studies, predominantly focussing on simplex families and clinical diagnoses of autism have identified hundreds of genes associated with autism. Yet, the contribution of these classes of genes to multiplex families and autistic traits still warrants investigation. Here, we conducted whole-genome sequencing of 21 highly multiplex autism families, with at least three autistic individuals in each family, to prioritise genes associated with autism. Using a combination of both autistic traits and clinical diagnosis of autism, we identify rare variants in genes associated with autism, and related neurodevelopmental conditions in multiple families. We identify a modest excess of these variants in autistic individuals compared to individuals without an autism diagnosis. Finally, we identify a convergence of the genes identified in molecular pathways related to development and neurogenesis. In sum, our analysis provides initial evidence to demonstrate the value of integrating autism diagnosis and autistic traits to prioritise genes.
Project description:Autism is currently considered a multigene disorder with epigenetic influences. To investigate the contribution of DNA methylation to autism spectrum disorders, we have recently completed large-scale methylation profiling by CpG island microarray analysis of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) derived from monozygotic twins discordant for diagnosis of autism and their nonautistic siblings. Methylation profiling revealed many candidate genes differentially methylated between discordant MZ twins as well as between both twins and nonautistic siblings. Bioinformatics analysis of the differentially methylated genes demonstrated enrichment for high level functions including gene transcription, nervous system development, cell death/survival, and other biological processes implicated in autism. The methylation status of two of these candidate genes, BCL-2 and retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-related orphan receptor alpha (RORA), was further confirmed by bisulfite sequencing and methylation-specific PCR, respectively. Immunohistochemical analyses of tissue arrays containing slices of the cerebellum and frontal cortex of autistic and age- and sex-matched control subjects revealed decreased expression of RORA and BCL-2 proteins in the autistic brain. Our data thus confirm the role of epigenetic regulation of gene expression via differential DNA methylation in idiopathic autism, and furthermore link molecular changes in a peripheral cell model with brain pathobiology in autism. Global methylation profiling was performed on lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from three pairs of male monozygotic twins discordant for diagnosis of autism as determined by the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). As controls, cell lines derived from non-autistic siblings of two pairs of twins were also included in the analyses, in addition to cell lines derived from a set of monozygotic twins unaffected by autism. For all paired analyses, a direct comparison was performed in which the methylation-enriched fractions from two individuals were pooled and hybridized onto the same microarray. In addition, indirect comparisons were performed by co-hybridizing the methylation-enriched (MIRA) fraction with the respective unenriched DNA fraction obtained from the same individual. For each paired analysis (between autistic MZ twins and/or between autistic co-twin and unaffected sibling), a total number of 4 replicates were performed, including direct and indirect comparisons.
Project description:We performed single nuclei RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) with matched T cell receptor sequencing (TCR-seq), and pool matched low pass whole genome sequencing (WGS) of eight specimens from six patients, encompassing four undifferentiated polymorphic sarcomas (UPS) and four intimal sarcomas (INS), and paired specimens from two patients (one UPS and INS each) treated with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB).
Project description:we profiled the proteome of plasma exosomes collected from preschool children with autism, and performed targeted metabolic analysis on autistic plasma