| 1. |
- Laan, Loora
(författare)
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Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) modelling for the identification of mechanisms behind neurodevelopmental disorders
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have opened new possibilities to recapitulate disease mechanisms and to model disorders in vitro. In the studies presented here, iPSCs were established to model neural differentiation in Down syndrome (DS), caused by trisomy for chromosome 21 (T21); Dravet syndrome (DRS), caused by variants in the SCN1A gene; and an ataxia syndrome, caused by a variant in the NFASC gene. The major aim has been to uncover molecular and cellular mechanisms behind perturbed neurogenesis in the three disorders.In Paper I, the analysis of transcriptomes and proteomes of the DS iPSC derived neural model revealed several perturbed gene clusters with strong temporal dynamics along neural differentiation, markedly down-regulated mitochondrial genes and a dysregulation of hub proteins. These results predict complex and genome-wide changes in T21 neural cells associated with prolonged cell cycle, reduced cell growth and a perturbed energy metabolism.In Paper II, it was demonstrated that the transcriptional profile of iPSC based neural model system for DS was enriched for differentially methylated genes and gene families when compared to a corresponding euploid model. The differentially methylated genes were enriched for transcriptional regulation and chromatin structure, suggesting novel mechanistic links between the genomic imbalance caused by T21 and the global transcriptional dysregulation in DS. In Paper III, it was shown that DRS patient iPSCs differentiated into GABAergic interneurons exhibit a dysregulated epilepsy gene network as well as an altered expression of genes involved in chromatin remodelling, accompanied by abnormal electrophysiological properties and increased stress sensitivity.In Paper IV, it was shown that neural iPSCs, established from a patient with an ataxia syndrome and a novel homozygous variant in the NFASC gene, lack a full-length neurofascin-186 important for cell adhesion. The patient derived neural iPSCs showed delayed neuronal differentiation, reduced sprouting, shorter neurites and altered electrophysiology.The Papers I-IV show that patient derived neural iPSCs enable to identify molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with neuropathogenesis. Besides specific dysregulated pathways and cellular defects in models of three developmental disorders, with shortlists of novel candidate disease biomarkers, the results are consistent with prior data and clinical presentation of patients. The knowledge gained is of paramount importance for translation into clinical settings and a step towards development of novel therapies with the ultimate goal to alleviate symptoms of affected individuals.
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| 2. |
- Akram, Talia, et al.
(författare)
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Aberrant splicing due to a novel RPS7 variant causes Diamond-Blackfan Anemia associated with spontaneous remission and meningocele
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Hematology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0925-5710 .- 1865-3774. ; 112:6, s. 894-899
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) is a congenital pure red cell aplasia caused by heterozygous variants in ribosomal protein genes. The hematological features associated with DBA are highly variable and non-hematological abnormalities are common. We report herein on an affected mother and her daughter presenting with transfusion-dependent anemia. The mother showed mild physical abnormalities and entered spontaneous remission at age 13 years. Her daughter was born with occipital meningocele. Exome sequencing of DNA from the mother revealed a heterozygous novel splice site variant (NM_001011.4:c.508-3T > G) in the Ribosomal Protein S7 gene (RPS7) inherited by the daughter. Functional analysis of the RPS7 variant expressed from a mini-gene construct revealed that the exon 7 acceptor splice site was replaced by a cryptic splice resulting in a transcript missing 64 bp of exon 7 (p.Val170Serfs*8). Our study confirms a pathogenic effect of a novel RPS7 variant in DBA associated with spontaneous remission in the mother and meningocele in her daughter, thus adding to the genotype-phenotype correlations in DBA.
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| 3. |
- Fatima, Ambrin, et al.
(författare)
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Generation of a human Neurochondrin deficient iPSC line KICRi002-A-3 using CRISPR/Cas9
- 2020
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Ingår i: Stem Cell Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-5061 .- 1876-7753. ; 44
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The role of Neurochondrin (NCDN) in humans is not well understood. Mice with a conditional Ncdn knock-out show epileptic seizures, depressive-like behaviours and impaired spatial learning. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we generated a Neurochondrin deficient human iPSC line KICRi002-A-3 carrying a homozygous 752 bp deletion / 2 bp insertion in the NCDN gene. The iPSC line maintained a normal 46,XY karyotype, expressed pluripotency markers and exhibited capability to differentiate into the three germ layers in vitro. Off-target editing was excluded and Neurochondrin expression was not detectable. The iPSC line offers a valuable resource to study the role of Neurochondrin during human neurogenesis.
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| 4. |
- Fatima, Ambrin, et al.
(författare)
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Incontinentia pigmenti : Generation of an IKBKG deficient human iPSC line (KICRi002-A-1) on a 46,XY background using CRISPR/Cas9
- 2020
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Ingår i: Stem Cell Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-5061 .- 1876-7753. ; 44
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) is an X-linked dominant neuroectodermal dysplasia caused by loss-of-function mutations in the IKBKG gene. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we generated an IKBKG knock-out iPSC line (KICRi002-A-1) on a 46,XY background. The iPSC line showed a normal karyotype, expressed pluripotency markers and exhibited capability to differentiate into the three germ layers in vitro. Off-target editing was excluded and no IKBKG mRNA expression could be detected. Our line offers a useful resource to elucidate mechanisms caused by IKBKG deficiency that leads to disrupted male fetal development and for drug screening to improve treatment of female patients with IP.
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| 5. |
- Fatima, Ambrin, et al.
(författare)
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Monoallelic and bi-allelic variants in NCDN cause neurodevelopmental delay, intellectual disability, and epilepsy
- 2021
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Ingår i: American Journal of Human Genetics. - : Cell Press. - 0002-9297 .- 1537-6605. ; 108:4, s. 739-748
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neurochondrin (NCDN) is a cytoplasmatic neural protein of importance for neural growth, glutamate receptor (mGluR) signaling, and synaptic plasticity. Conditional loss of Ncdn in mice neural tissue causes depressive-like behaviors, impaired spatial learning, and epileptic seizures. We report on NCDN missense variants in six affected individuals with variable degrees of developmental delay, intellectual disability (ID), and seizures. Three siblings were found homozygous for a NCDN missense variant, whereas another three unrelated individuals carried different de novo missense variants in NCDN. We assayed the missense variants for their capability to rescue impaired neurite formation in human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells depleted of NCDN. Overexpression of wild-type NCDN rescued the neurite-phenotype in contrast to expression of NCDN containing the variants of affected individuals. Two missense variants, associated with severe neurodevelopmental features and epilepsy, were unable to restore mGluR5-induced ERK phosphorylation. Electrophysiological analysis of SH-SY5Y cells depleted of NCDN exhibited altered membrane potential and impaired action potentials at repolarization, suggesting NCDN to be required for normal biophysical properties. Using available transcriptome data from human fetal cortex, we show that NCDN is highly expressed in maturing excitatory neurons. In combination, our data provide evidence that bi-allelic and de novo variants in NCDN cause a clinically variable form of neurodevelopmental delay and epilepsy, highlighting a critical role for NCDN in human brain development.
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| 6. |
- Kvarnung, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Ataxia in Patients With Bi-Allelic NFASC Mutations and Absence of Full-Length NF186
- 2019
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Genetics. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-8021. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The etiology of hereditary ataxia syndromes is heterogeneous, and the mechanisms underlying these disorders are often unknown. Here, we utilized exome sequencing in two siblings with progressive ataxia and muscular weakness and identified a novel homozygous splice mutation (c.3020-1G > A) in neurofascin (NFASC). In RNA extracted from fibroblasts, we showed that the mutation resulted in inframe skipping of exon 26, with a deprived expression of the full-length transcript that corresponds to NFASC isoform NF186. To further investigate the disease mechanisms, we reprogrammed fibroblasts from one affected sibling to induced pluripotent stem cells, directed them to neuroepithelial stem cells and finally differentiated to neurons. In early neurogenesis, differentiating cells with selective depletion of the NF186 isoform showed significantly reduced neurite outgrowth as well as fewer emerging neurites. Furthermore, whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of patient-derived neuronal cells revealed a lower threshold for openings, indicating altered Na+ channel kinetics, suggesting a lower threshold for openings as compared to neuronal cells without the NFASC mutation. Taken together, our results suggest that loss of the full-length NFASC isoform NF186 causes perturbed neurogenesis and impaired neuronal biophysical properties resulting in a novel early-onset autosomal recessive ataxia syndrome.
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| 7. |
- Laan, Loora, et al.
(författare)
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DNA methylation changes in Down syndrome derived neural iPSCs uncover co-dysregulation of ZNF and HOX3 families of transcription factors
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical Epigenetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1868-7083 .- 1868-7075. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by neurodevelopmental abnormalities caused by partial or complete trisomy of human chromosome 21 (T21). Analysis of Down syndrome brain specimens has shown global epigenetic and transcriptional changes but their interplay during early neurogenesis remains largely unknown. We differentiated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) established from two DS patients with complete T21 and matched euploid donors into two distinct neural stages corresponding to early- and mid-gestational ages.Results: Using the Illumina Infinium 450K array, we assessed the DNA methylation pattern of known CpG regions and promoters across the genome in trisomic neural iPSC derivatives, and we identified a total of 500 stably and differentially methylated CpGs that were annotated to CpG islands of 151 genes. The genes were enriched within the DNA binding category, uncovering 37 factors of importance for transcriptional regulation and chromatin structure. In particular, we observed regional epigenetic changes of the transcription factor genes ZNF69, ZNF700 and ZNF763 as well as the HOXA3, HOXB3 and HOXD3 genes. A similar clustering of differential methylation was found in the CpG islands of the HIST1 genes suggesting effects on chromatin remodeling.Conclusions: The study shows that early established differential methylation in neural iPSC derivatives with T21 are associated with a set of genes relevant for DS brain development, providing a novel framework for further studies on epigenetic changes and transcriptional dysregulation during T21 neurogenesis.
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| 8. |
- Reimegård, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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A combined approach for single-cell mRNA and intracellular protein expression analysis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Nature. - 2399-3642. ; 4:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Combined measurements of mRNA and protein expression in single cells enable in-depth analysis of cellular states. We present SPARC, an approach that combines single-cell RNA-sequencing with proximity extension essays to simultaneously measure global mRNA and 89 intracellular proteins in individual cells. We show that mRNA expression fails to accurately reflect protein abundance at the time of measurement, although the direction of changes is in agreement during neuronal differentiation. Moreover, protein levels of transcription factors better predict their downstream effects than do their corresponding transcripts. Finally, we highlight that protein expression variation is overall lower than mRNA variation, but relative protein variation does not reflect the mRNA level. Our results demonstrate that mRNA and protein measurements in single cells provide different and complementary information regarding cell states. SPARC presents a state-of-the-art co-profiling method that overcomes current limitations in throughput and protein localization, including removing the need for cell fixation.
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| 9. |
- Schuster, Jens, Assistant Professor, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Epigenetic Insights into GABAergic development in Dravet Syndrome iPSC and Therapeutic Implications
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Dravet syndrome (DS) is a devastating early onset refractory epilepsy syndrome caused by variants in the SCN1A gene. A disturbed GABAergic interneuron function is implicated in the progression to DS but the underlying developmental and pathophysiological mechanisms remain elusive, in particularly at the chromatin level. In this study, we utilized induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from DS cases and healthy donors to model disease-associated epigenetic abnormalities of GABAergic development. Employing the ATAC-seq technique, we assessed chromatin accessibility at multiple time points (Day 0, Day 19, Day 35, and Day 65) of GABAergic differentiation. Additionally, we elucidated the effects of the commonly used anti-seizure drug valproic acid (VPA) on chromatin accessibility in GABAergic cells. The distinct dynamics in chromatin profile of DS iPSC predicted accelerated early GABAergic development, evident at D19, and diverged further from the pattern in control iPSC with continued differentiation, indicating a disrupted GABAergic maturation. Exposure to VPA at D65 reshaped the chromatin landscape at a variable extent in different iPSC-lines and rescued the observed dysfunctional development in some DS iPSC-GABA. This study provides the first comprehensive investigation on the chromatin landscape of GABAergic differentiation in DS-patient iPSC, offering valuable insights into the epigenetic dysregulations associated with interneuronal dysfunction in DS. Moreover, our detailed analysis of the chromatin changes induced by VPA in iPSC-GABA holds the potential to improve development of personalized and targeted anti-epileptic therapies.
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| 10. |
- Schuster, Jens, Assistant Professor, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Generation of a human iPSC line (UUIGPi015-A) from a patient with Dravet syndrome and a 2.9 Mb deletion spanning SCN1A on chromosome 2
- 2022
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Ingår i: Stem Cell Research. - : Elsevier. - 1873-5061 .- 1876-7753. ; 60
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dravet syndrome is an early onset devastating epilepsy syndrome usually caused by heterozygous mutations in SCN1A. We generated a human iPSC line (UUIGPi015A) from dermal fibroblasts of a patient with Dravet syndrome carrying a deletion on chromosome 2 encompassing SCN1A and 9 flanking genes. Characterization of the iPSC line confirmed expression of pluripotency markers, tri-lineage differentiation capacity and absence of exogenous reprogramming factors. The iPSC line retained the deletion and was genomically stable. The iPSC line UUIGPi015-A provides a useful resource for studies on the pathophysiology of Dravet syndrome and seizures caused by haploinsufficiency of SCN1A and flanking gene products.
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