Rath, M. F. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2022

Lysophosphatidic acid, a CSF marker in posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus that drives CSF accumulation via TRPV4-induced hyperactivation of NKCC1

A range of neurological pathologies can cause secondary hydrocephalus. For decades, treatment has been limited to surgical CSF diversion, as still no pharmacological options exist due to the elusive molecular nature of the CSF secretion apparatus and its regulatory properties. We have now identified phospholipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) as a biomarker for posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and mimicked our results in an animal model of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). Intraventricular administration of LPA caused elevated brain water content and ventriculomegaly in experimental rats, via its action as an agonist of the choroidal transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channel. TRPV4 was revealed as a novel regulator of ICP in experimental rats via its ability to modulate the CSF secretion rate through its direct activation of the Na+, K+, 2Cl- cotransporter (NKCC1) implicated in CSF secretion. Together, our data reveal that a biomarker present in brain pathologies with hemorrhagic events promotes CSF hypersecretion and ensuing brain water accumulation via its direct action on TRPV4 and its downstream regulation of NKCC1. TRPV4 may therefore be a promising future pharmacological target for pathologies involving disturbed brain fluid dynamics.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

MobiSeq: De Novo SNP discovery in model and non-model species through sequencing the flanking region of transposable elements

In recent years, the availability of reduced representation library (RRL) methods has catalysed an expansion of genome-scale studies to characterize both model and non-model organisms. Most of these methods rely on the use of restriction enzymes to obtain DNA sequences at a genome-wide level. These approaches have been widely used to sequence thousands of markers across individuals for many organisms at a reasonable cost, revolutionizing the field of population genomics. However, there are still some limitations associated with these methods, in particular, the high molecular weight DNA required as starting material, the reduced number of common loci among investigated samples, and the short length of the sequenced site-associated DNA. Here, we present MobiSeq, a RRL protocol exploiting simple laboratory techniques, that generates genomic data based on PCR targeted-enrichment of transposable elements and the sequencing of the associated flanking region. We validate its performance across 103 DNA extracts derived from three mammalian species: grey wolf (Canis lupus), red deer complex (Cervus sp.), and brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). MobiSeq enables the sequencing of hundreds of thousands loci across the genome, and performs SNP discovery with relatively low rates of clonality. Given the ease and flexibility of MobiSeq protocol, the method has the potential to be implemented for marker discovery and population genomics across a wide range of organisms - enabling the exploration of diverse evolutionary and conservation questions.

genomics↗