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bioRxiv2021

Integrated gene analyses of de novo mutations from 46,612 trios with autism and developmental disorders

Most genetic studies consider autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental disorder (DD) separately despite overwhelming comorbidity and shared genetic etiology. Here we analyzed de novo mutations (DNMs) from 15,560 ASD (6,557 are new) and 31,052 DD trios independently and combined as broader neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) using three models. We identify 615 candidate genes (FDR 5%, 189 potentially novel) by one or more models, including 138 reaching exome-wide significance (p < 3.64e-07) in all models. We find no evidence for ASD-specific genes in contrast to 18 genes significantly enriched for DD. There are 53 genes show particular mutational-bias including enrichments for missense (n=41) or truncating DNM (n=12). We find 22 genes with evidence of sex-bias including five X chromosome genes also with significant female burden (DDX3X, MECP2, SMC1A, WDR45, and HDAC8). NDD risk genes group into five functional networks associating with different brain developmental lineages based on single-cell nuclei transcriptomic data, which provides important insights into disease subtypes and future functional studies.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2021

Sex-specific blood-brain barrier alterations and vascular biomarkers underlie chronic stress responses in mice and human depression.

Prevalence, symptoms, and treatment of depression all point toward major sex differences. Social stress-induced neurovascular pathology is associated with depressive symptoms in male mice however it remains unknown if it contributes to this sexual dimorphism. Here, we report that chronic social and subchronic variable stress promoted sex-specific blood-brain barrier (BBB) molecular and morphological alterations in mood-related brain regions. Viral-mediated functional manipulation leading to a targeted disruption of the BBB induced anxiety- and depression-like behaviors including social avoidance and anhedonia. Endothelium cell-specific transcriptomic profiling revealed key pathways and novel genes involved in maladaptive stress responses vs resilience. We also confirmed BBB leakiness in the brain of stressed females which led us to explore and identify circulating vascular biomarkers of chronic stress that could inform on diagnosis and treatment. Importantly, these pre-clinical findings were validated in human blood and postmortem brain samples from depressed women, thus highlighting their translational value. By revealing a sex-specific causal role of BBB dysfunction in stress responses and depression, our results implicate vascular impairment as a major factor underlying mood disorders.

neuroscience↗