Biology subjects

Hohman, T.

Publications and source records attributed to Hohman, T..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Female-Biased IL-17/STAT3 Signaling Marks Dementia-Associated Microglial Inflammation in Alzheimer's Disease

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) disproportionately affects women, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We compare sex-specific molecular changes across AD with and without dementia at single-cell resolution. METHODS: We performed sex-stratified single-nucleus transcriptomic analysis of human AD to dissect sex-specific differences in dementia progression, using the SEA-AD cohort for discovery and the ROSMAP and NBB datasets, together with 5xFAD mouse models, for validation. Donors were classified as no-dementia controls, no-dementia AD, or dementia AD, followed by donor-level pathway analysis, de novo microglial clustering, communication modeling, and cytokine-response enrichment RESULTS: Females with AD dementia showed enhanced inflammatory pathway activity across glial, neuronal and vascular-associated cell types, with the strongest enrichment in microglia. This female-biased program centered on IL6-JAK-STAT3 signaling and increased STAT3 expression in microglia and astrocytes. These results were validated in the ROSMAP and NBB datasets and conserved in the 5xFAD mouse model. Microglial clustering resolved 18 states and revealed sex-divergent disease remodeling, including female-specific expansion of redox-reactive and CD163+ macrophage-primed states. Cell:cell communication analysis identified female-biased TGF{beta}/GRN signaling, male-biased CD99 signaling, and dementia-associated SPP1-integrin communication with the vasculature. Microglial cytokine-response analysis identified IL-2 response as a dementia-associated signature in both sexes, alongside a female-biased IL-17/interferon response and a male-biased IL-7 response. DISCUSSION: These findings identify a disease-emergent, female-biased STAT3-centered neuroinflammatory program in human and mouse AD, linking sex-specific microglial remodeling to cytokine responsiveness and glial-vascular communication. The results suggest that sex-specific changes in neuroinflammation pathways in microglia and other cell types are associated with progression to dementia.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

MidRISH: Unbiased harmonization of rotationally invariant harmonics of the diffusion signal

ObjectiveData harmonization is necessary for removing confounding effects in multi-site diffusion image analysis. One such harmonization method, LinearRISH, scales rotationally invariant spherical harmonic (RISH) features from one site ("target") to the second ("reference") to reduce confounding scanner effects. However, reference and target site designations are not arbitrary and resultant diffusion metrics (fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity) are biased by this choice. In this work we propose MidRISH: rather than scaling reference RISH features to target RISH features, we project both sites to a mid-space. MethodsWe validate MidRISH with the following experiments: harmonizing scanner differences from 37 matched patients free of cognitive impairment, and harmonizing acquisition and study differences on 117 matched patients free of cognitive impairment. ConclusionMidRISH reduces bias of reference selection while preserving harmonization efficacy of LinearRISH. SignificanceUsers should be cautious when performing LinearRISH harmonization. To select a reference site is to choose diffusion metric effect-size. Our proposed method eliminates the bias-inducing site selection step.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Leveraging longitudinal diffusion MRI data to quantify differences in white matter microstructural decline in normal and abnormal aging

AbstractO_ST_ABSINTRODUCTIONC_ST_ABSIt is unclear how rates of white matter microstructural decline differ between normal aging and abnormal aging. METHODSDiffusion MRI data from several well-established longitudinal cohorts of aging [Alzheimers Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), Vanderbilt Memory & Aging Project (VMAP)] was free-water corrected and harmonized. This dataset included 1,723 participants (age at baseline: 72.8{+/-}8.87 years, 49.5% male) and 4,605 imaging sessions (follow-up time: 2.97{+/-}2.09 years, follow-up range: 1-13 years, mean number of visits: 4.42{+/-}1.98). Differences in white matter microstructural decline in normal and abnormal agers was assessed. RESULTSWhile we found global decline in white matter in normal/abnormal aging, we found that several white matter tracts (e.g., cingulum bundle) were vulnerable to abnormal aging. CONCLUSIONSThere is a prevalent role of white matter microstructural decline in aging, and future large-scale studies in this area may further refine our understanding of the underlying neurodegenerative processes. HIGHLIGHTSO_LILongitudinal data was free-water corrected and harmonized C_LIO_LIGlobal effects of white matter decline were seen in normal and abnormal aging C_LIO_LIThe free-water metric was most vulnerable to abnormal aging C_LIO_LICingulum free-water was the most vulnerable to abnormal aging C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

A Haptoglobin (HP) Structural Variant Alters the Effect of APOE Alleles on Alzheimer's Disease

BackgroundHaptoglobin (HP) is an antioxidant of apolipoprotein E (APOE), and previous reports have shown HP binds with APOE and amyloid-{beta} (A{beta}) to aid its clearance. A common structural variant of the HP gene distinguishes it into two alleles: HP1 and HP2. MethodsHP genotypes were imputed in 29 cohorts from the Alzheimers Disease (AD) Genetics Consortium (N=22,651). Associations between the HP polymorphism and AD risk and age of onset through APOE interactions were investigated using regression models. ResultsThe HP polymorphism significantly impacts AD risk and age at onset in European-descent individuals (and in meta-analysis with African Americans) by modifying both the protective effect of APOE{varepsilon}2 and the detrimental effect of APOE{varepsilon}4, especially for APOE{varepsilon}4 carriers. DiscussionThe effect modification of APOE by HP suggests adjustment and/or stratification by HP genotype is warranted when APOE risk is considered. Our findings also provided directions for further investigations on potential mechanisms behind this association.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2022

Genetic, clinical underpinnings of subtle early brain change along Alzheimer's dimensions

Alzheimers disease (AD) is associated with heterogeneous atrophy patterns. We employed a semi-supervised clustering technique known as Surreal-GAN, through which we identified two dominant dimensions of brain atrophy in symptomatic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD patients: the "diffuse-AD" (R1) dimension shows widespread brain atrophy, and the "MTL-AD" (R2) dimension displays focal medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy. Critically, only R2 was associated with widely known sporadic AD genetic risk factors (e.g., APOE {varepsilon}4) in MCI and AD patients at baseline. We then independently detected the presence of the two dimensions in the early stages by deploying the trained model in the general population and two cognitively unimpaired cohorts of asymptomatic participants. In the general population, genome-wide association studies found 77 genes unrelated to APOE differentially associated with R1 and R2. Functional analyses revealed that these genes were overrepresented in differentially expressed gene sets in organs beyond the brain (R1 and R2), including the heart (R1) and the pituitary gland, muscle, and kidney (R2). These genes were enriched in biological pathways implicated in dendritic cells (R2), macrophage functions (R1), and cancer (R1 and R2). Several of them were "druggable genes" for cancer (R1), inflammation (R1), cardiovascular diseases (R1), and diseases of the nervous system (R2). The longitudinal progression showed that APOE {varepsilon}4, amyloid, and tau were associated with R2 at early asymptomatic stages, but this longitudinal association occurs only at late symptomatic stages in R1. Our findings deepen our understanding of the multifaceted pathogenesis of AD beyond the brain. In early asymptomatic stages, the two dimensions are associated with diverse pathological mechanisms, including cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, and hormonal dysfunction - driven by genes different from APOE - which may collectively contribute to the early pathogenesis of AD.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2022

Short superficial white matter and aging: a longitudinal multi-site study of 1,293 subjects and 2,711 sessions

It is estimated that short association fibers, or "U-shaped" fibers running immediately beneath the cortex, may make up as much as 60% of the total white matter volume. However, these have been understudied relative to the long-range association, projection, and commissural fibers of the brain. This is largely because of limitations of diffusion MRI fiber tractography, which is the primary methodology used to non-invasively study the white matter connections. Inspired by recent anatomical considerations and methodological improvements in U-fiber tractography, we aim to characterize changes in these fiber systems in cognitively normal aging, which provide insight into the biological foundation of age-related cognitive changes, and a better understanding of how age-related pathology differs from healthy aging. To do this, we used three large, longitudinal and cross-sectional datasets (N = 1293 subjects, 2711 sessions) to quantify microstructural features and length/volume features of several U-fiber systems. We find that axial, radial, and mean diffusivities show positive associations with age, while fractional anisotropy has negative associations with age in superficial white matter throughout the entire brain. These associations were most pronounced in the frontal, temporal, and temporoparietal regions. Moreover, measures of U-fiber volume and length decrease with age in a heterogenous manner across the brain, with prominent effects observed for pre- and post-central gyri. These features, and their variations with age, provide the background for characterizing normal aging, and, in combination with larger association pathways and gray matter microstructural features, may provide insight into fundamental mechanisms associated with aging and cognition.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Free-water metrics in medial temporal lobe white matter tract projections relate to longitudinal cognitive decline

ObjectiveHippocampal volume is a sensitive marker of neurodegeneration and a well-established predictor of age-related cognitive impairment. Recently, free-water (FW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown associations with pathology in Alzheimers disease (AD), but it is still unclear whether these metrics are associated with measures of cognitive impairment. Here, we investigate whether FW and FW-corrected fractional anisotropy (FAT) within medial temporal lobe white matter tracts (cingulum, fornix, uncinate fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and tapetum) provides meaningful contribution to cognition and cognitive decline beyond hippocampal volume. Participants and MethodsVanderbilt Memory & Aging Project participants (n=319, 73{+/-}7 years, 59% male) with normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment (40% of cohort) underwent baseline brain MRI, including structural MRI to quantify hippocampal volume, diffusion MRI to quantify medial temporal lobe white matter tract FW and FAT, and longitudinal neuropsychological assessment with a mean follow-up of 3.5 years. Linear regressions were conducted to determine how hippocampal volume and white matter tract FW and FAT interact with baseline memory and executive function performances. Competitive model analyses determined the unique variance provided by white matter tract FW and FAT beyond that of hippocampal volume and other comorbidities. Linear mixed-effects models were conducted to determine how baseline hippocampal volume and white matter tract FW and FAT interact to explain longitudinal change in memory and executive function performances. ResultsFW in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, tapetum, uncinate fasciculus, and cingulum were robustly associated with baseline memory and executive function. Further, competitive model analysis showed that tract FW contributed unique variance beyond other comorbidities and hippocampal volume for memory ({Delta}Radj2 range: 0.82-2.00%) and executive function ({Delta}Radj2 range: 0.88-1.87%). Longitudinal analyses demonstrated significant interactions of hippocampal volume and FAT in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (p=0.02), tapetum (p=0.02), uncinate fasciculus (p=0.02), and cingulum (p=0.002) with decline in memory. For decline in executive function, we found significant interactions of hippocampal volume and FAT in inferior longitudinal fasciculus (p=0.03), tapetum (p=0.02), uncinate fasciculus (p=0.02), and fornix (p=0.02), as well as cingulum (p=0.02) and fornix (p=0.02) FW. ConclusionsOur results highlight novel associations between FW and FAT measures of medial temporal lobe tract microstructure and cognitive performance such that individuals with smaller hippocampal volumes and lower tract microstructure experience greater cognitive decline. These results suggest that white matter has a unique role in cognitive decline and, therefore, could be used to provide better disease staging, allowing for more precise disease monitoring in AD.

neuroscience↗