Pong, S. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2022

Linking Choroid Plexus Enlargement with Plasma Analyte and Structural Phenotypes in Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: A Multisite Neuroimaging Study

BackgroundChoroid plexus (ChP) enlargement exists in first-episode and chronic psychosis, but whether enlargement occurs before psychosis onset is unknown. This study investigated whether ChP volume is enlarged in individuals with clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis and whether these changes are related to clinical, neuroanatomical, and plasma analytes. MethodsClinical and neuroimaging data from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study 2 (NAPLS2) was used for analysis. 509 participants (169 controls, 340 CHR) were recruited. Conversion status was determined after 2-years of follow-up, with 36 psychosis converters. The lateral ventricle ChP was manually segmented from baseline scans. A subsample of 31 controls and 53 CHR had plasma analyte and neuroimaging data. ResultsCompared to controls, CHR (d=0.23, p=0.017) and non-converters (d=0.22, p=0.03) demonstrated higher ChP volumes, but not in converters. In CHR, greater ChP volume correlated with lower cortical (r=-0.22, p<0.001), subcortical gray matter (r=-0.21, p<0.001), and total white matter volume (r=-0.28,p<0.001), as well as larger lateral ventricle volume (r=0.63,p<0.001). Greater ChP volume correlated with makers functionally associated with the lateral ventricle ChP in CHR [CCL1 (r=-0.30, p=0.035), ICAM1 (r=0.33, p=0.02)], converters [IL1{beta} (r=0.66, p=0.004)], and non-converters [BMP6 (r=-0.96, p<0.001), CALB1 (r=-0.98, p<0.001), ICAM1 (r=0.80, p=0.003), SELE (r=0.59, p=0.026), SHBG (r=0.99, p<0.001), TNFRSF10C (r=0.78, p=0.001)]. ConclusionsCHR and non-converters demonstrated significantly larger ChP volumes compared to controls. Enlarged ChP was associated with neuroanatomical alterations and analyte markers functionally associated with the ChP. These findings suggest that the ChP may be a key explanatory biomarker in CHR for psychosis.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Functional profiling of long intergenic non-coding RNAs in fission yeast

Eukaryotic genomes express numerous long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) that do not overlap any coding genes. Some lincRNAs function in various aspects of gene regulation, but it is not clear in general to what extent lincRNAs contribute to the information flow from genotype to phenotype. To explore this question, we systematically analyzed cellular roles of lincRNAs in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Using seamless CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing, we deleted 141 lincRNA genes to broadly phenotype these mutants, together with 238 diverse coding-gene mutants for functional context. We applied high-throughput colony-based assays to determine mutant growth and viability in benign conditions and in response to 145 different nutrient, drug and stress conditions. These analyses uncovered phenotypes for 47.5% of the lincRNAs and 96% of the protein-coding genes. For 110 lincRNA mutants, we also performed high-throughput microscopy and flow-cytometry assays, linking 37% of these lincRNAs with cell-size and/or cell-cycle control. With all assays combined, we detected phenotypes for 84 (59.6%) of all lincRNA deletion mutants tested. For complementary functional inference, we analyzed colony growth of strains ectopically overexpressing 113 lincRNA genes under 47 different conditions. Of these overexpression strains, 102 (90.3%) showed altered growth under certain conditions. Clustering analyses provided further functional clues and relationships for some of the lincRNAs. These rich phenomics datasets associate lincRNA mutants with hundreds of phenotypes, indicating that most of the lincRNAs analyzed exert cellular functions in specific environmental or physiological contexts. This study provides groundwork to further dissect the roles of these lincRNAs in the relevant conditions.

genetics↗