@article{SpinelliMuellerFriedeletal.2013, author = {Spinelli, Simona and M{\"u}ller, Tanja and Friedel, Miriam and Sigrist, Hannes and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Henkelman, Mark and Rudin, Markus and Seifritz, Erich and Pryce, Christopher R.}, title = {Effects of repeated adolescent stress and serotonin transporter gene partial knockout in mice on behaviors and brain structures relevant to major depression}, series = {Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience}, volume = {7}, journal = {Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience}, doi = {10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00215}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-122240}, pages = {215}, year = {2013}, abstract = {In humans, exposure to stress during development is associated with structural and functional alterations of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala (AMY), and hippocampus (HC) and their circuits of connectivity, and with an increased risk for developing major depressive disorder particularly in carriers of the short (s) variant of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). Although changes in these regions are found in carriers of the s allele and/or in depressed patients, evidence for a specific genotype x developmental stress effect on brain structure and function is limited. Here, we investigated the effect of repeated stress exposure during adolescence in mice with partial knockout of the 5-HIT gene (HET) vs. wildtype (WT) on early-adulthood behavioral measures and brain structure [using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)] relevant to human major depression. Behaviorally, adolescent stress (AS) increased anxiety and decreased activity and did so to a similar degree in HET and WT. In a probabilistic reversal learning task, HET-AS mice achieved fewer reversals than did HET-No-AS mice. 5-HIT genotype and AS were without effect on corticosterone stress response. In terms of structural brain differences, AS reduced the volume of two long-range white matter tracts, the optic tract (OT) and the cerebral peduncle (CP), in WT mice specifically. In a region-of-interest analysis, AS was associated with increased HC volume and HET genotype with a decreased frontal lobe volume. In conclusion, we found that 5-HIT and AS genotype exerted long-term effects on behavior and development of brain regions relevant to human depression.}, language = {en} } @article{FreyPoppPostetal.2014, author = {Frey, Anna and Popp, Sandy and Post, Antonia and Langer, Simon and Lehmann, Marc and Hofmann, Ulrich and Siren, Anna-Leena and Hommers, Leif and Schmitt, Angelika and Strekalova, Tatyana and Ertl, Georg and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Frantz, Stefan}, title = {Experimental heart failure causes depression-like behavior together with differential regulation of inflammatory and structural genes in the brain}, series = {Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience}, issn = {1662-5153}, doi = {10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00376}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-118234}, pages = {376}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background: Depression and anxiety are common and independent outcome predictors in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, it is unclear whether CHF causes depression. Thus, we investigated whether mice develop anxiety- and depression-like behavior after induction of ischemic CHF by myocardial infarction (MI). Methods and Results: In order to assess depression-like behavior, anhedonia was investigated by repeatedly testing sucrose preference for 8 weeks after coronary artery ligation or sham operation. Mice with large MI and increased left ventricular dimensions on echocardiography (termed CHF mice) showed reduced preference for sucrose, indicating depression-like behavior. 6 weeks after MI, mice were tested for exploratory activity, anxiety-like behavior and cognitive function using the elevated plus maze (EPM), light-dark box (LDB), open field (OF), and object recognition (OR) tests. In the EPM and OF, CHF mice exhibited diminished exploratory behavior and motivation despite similar movement capability. In the OR, CHF mice had reduced preference for novelty and impaired short-term memory. On histology, CHF mice had unaltered overall cerebral morphology. However, analysis of gene expression by RNA-sequencing in prefrontal cortical, hippocampal, and left ventricular tissue revealed changes in genes related to inflammation and cofactors of neuronal signal transduction in CHF mice, with Nr4a1 being dysregulated both in prefrontal cortex and myocardium after MI. Conclusions: After induction of ischemic CHF, mice exhibited anhedonic behavior, decreased exploratory activity and interest in novelty, and cognitive impairment. Thus, ischemic CHF leads to distinct behavioral changes in mice analogous to symptoms observed in humans with CHF and comorbid depression.}, language = {en} } @article{FernandezCastilloCabanaDominguezKappeletal.2021, author = {Fern{\`a}ndez-Castillo, No{\`e}lia and Cabana-Dom{\´i}nguez, Judit and Kappel, Djenifer B. and Torrico, B{\`a}rbara and Weber, Heike and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Lao, Oscar and Reif, Andreas and Cormand, Bru}, title = {Exploring the contribution to ADHD of genes involved in Mendelian disorders presenting with hyperactivity and/or inattention}, series = {Genes}, volume = {13}, journal = {Genes}, number = {1}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes13010093}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-252346}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, and/or inattention, which are symptoms also observed in many rare genetic disorders. We searched for genes involved in Mendelian disorders presenting with ADHD symptoms in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database, to curate a list of new candidate risk genes for ADHD. We explored the enrichment of functions and pathways in this gene list, and tested whether rare or common variants in these genes are associated with ADHD or with its comorbidities. We identified 139 genes, causal for 137 rare disorders, mainly related to neurodevelopmental and brain function. Most of these Mendelian disorders also present with other psychiatric traits that are often comorbid with ADHD. Using whole exome sequencing (WES) data from 668 ADHD cases, we found rare variants associated with the dimension of the severity of inattention symptoms in three genes: KIF11, WAC, and CRBN. Then, we focused on common variants and identified six genes associated with ADHD (in 19,099 cases and 34,194 controls): MANBA, UQCC2, HIVEP2, FOPX1, KANSL1, and AUH. Furthermore, HIVEP2, FOXP1, and KANSL1 were nominally associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (18,382 cases and 27,969 controls), as well as HIVEP2 with anxiety (7016 cases and 14,475 controls), and FOXP1 with aggression (18,988 individuals), which is in line with the symptomatology of the rare disorders they are responsible for. In conclusion, inspecting Mendelian disorders and the genes responsible for them constitutes a valuable approach for identifying new risk genes and the mechanisms of complex disorders.}, language = {en} } @article{KittelSchneiderKenisScheketal.2012, author = {Kittel-Schneider, Sarah and Kenis, Gunter and Schek, Julia and van den Hove, Daniel and Prickaerts, Jos and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Steinbusch, Harry and Reif, Andreas}, title = {Expression of monoamine transporters, nitric oxide synthase 3, and neurotrophin genes in antidepressant-stimulated astrocytes}, series = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, volume = {3}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00033}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-123627}, pages = {33}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: There is increasing evidence that glial cells play a role in the pathomechanisms of mood disorders and the mode of action of antidepressant drugs. Methods: To examine whether there is a direct effect on the expression of different genes encoding proteins that have been implicated in the pathophysiology of affective disorders, primary astrocyte cell cultures from rats were treated with two different antidepressant drugs, imipramine and escitalopram, and the RNA expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf), serotonin transporter (5Htt), dopamine transporter (Dat), and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (Nos3) was examined. Results: Stimulation of astroglial cell culture with imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant, led to a significant increase of the Bdnf RNA level whereas treatment with escitalopram did not. In contrast, 5Htt was not differentially expressed after antidepressant treatment. Finally, neither Dat nor Nos3 RNA expression was detected in cultured astrocytes. Conclusion: These data provide further evidence for a role of astroglial cells in the molecular mechanisms of action of antidepressants.}, language = {en} } @article{ReuterJaeckelsKneitzetal.2019, author = {Reuter, Isabel and J{\"a}ckels, Jana and Kneitz, Susanne and Kuper, Jochen and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Lillesaar, Christina}, title = {Fgf3 is crucial for the generation of monoaminergic cerebrospinal fluid contacting cells in zebrafish}, series = {Biology Open}, volume = {8}, journal = {Biology Open}, doi = {10.1242/bio.040683}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200749}, pages = {bio040683}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In most vertebrates, including zebrafish, the hypothalamic serotonergic cerebrospinal fluid-contacting (CSF-c) cells constitute a prominent population. In contrast to the hindbrain serotonergic neurons, little is known about the development and function of these cells. Here, we identify fibroblast growth factor (Fgf)3 as the main Fgf ligand controlling the ontogeny of serotonergic CSF-c cells. We show that fgf3 positively regulates the number of serotonergic CSF-c cells, as well as a subset of dopaminergic and neuroendocrine cells in the posterior hypothalamus via control of proliferation and cell survival. Further, expression of the ETS-domain transcription factor etv5b is downregulated after fgf3 impairment. Previous findings identified etv5b as critical for the proliferation of serotonergic progenitors in the hypothalamus, and therefore we now suggest that Fgf3 acts via etv5b during early development to ultimately control the number of mature serotonergic CSF-c cells. Moreover, our analysis of the developing hypothalamic transcriptome shows that the expression of fgf3 is upregulated upon fgf3 loss-of-function, suggesting activation of a self-compensatory mechanism. Together, these results highlight Fgf3 in a novel context as part of a signalling pathway of critical importance for hypothalamic development.}, language = {en} } @article{SchaeferFriedrichJorgensenetal.2018, author = {Sch{\"a}fer, Nadine and Friedrich, Maximilian and J{\o}rgensen, Morten Egevang and Kollert, Sina and Koepsell, Hermann and Wischmeyer, Erhard and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Geiger, Dietmar and D{\"o}ring, Frank}, title = {Functional analysis of a triplet deletion in the gene encoding the sodium glucose transporter 3, a potential risk factor for ADHD}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {13}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0205109}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-176495}, pages = {e0205109}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Sodium-glucose transporters (SGLT) belong to the solute carrier 5 family, which is characterized by sodium dependent transport of sugars and other solutes. In contrast, the human SGLT3 (hSGLT3) isoform, encoded by SLC5A4, acts as a glucose sensor that does not transport sugar but induces membrane depolarization by Na\(^{+}\) currents upon ligand binding. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) of several extended pedigrees with high density of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) identified a triplet ATG deletion in SLC5A4 leading to a single amino acid loss (ΔM500) in the hSGLT3 protein imperfectly co-segregating with the clinical phenotype of ADHD. Since mutations in homologous domains of hSGLT1 and hSGLT2 were found to affect intestinal and renal function, respectively, we analyzed the functional properties of hSGLT3[wt] and [ΔM500] by voltage clamp and current clamp recordings from cRNA-injected Xenopus laevis oocytes. The cation conductance of hSGLT3[wt] was activated by application of glucose or the specific agonist 1-desoxynojirimycin (DNJ) as revealed by inward currents in the voltage clamp configuration and cell depolarization in the current clamp mode. Almost no currents and changes in membrane potential were observed when glucose or DNJ were applied to hSGLT3[ΔM500]-injected oocytes, demonstrating a loss of function by this amino acid deletion in hSGLT3. To monitor membrane targeting of wt and mutant hSGLT3, fusion constructs with YFP were generated, heterologously expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and analyzed for membrane fluorescence by confocal microscopy. In comparison to hSGLT3[wt] the fluorescent signal of mutant [ΔM500] was reduced by 43\% indicating that the mutant phenotype might mainly result from inaccurate membrane targeting. As revealed by homology modeling, residue M500 is located in TM11 suggesting that in addition to the core structure (TM1-TM10) of the transporter, the surrounding TMs are equally crucial for transport/sensor function. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the deletion [ΔM500] in hSGLT3 inhibits membrane targeting and thus largely disrupts glucose-induced sodium conductance, which may, in interaction with other ADHD risk-related gene variants, influence the risk for ADHD in deletion carriers.}, language = {en} } @article{JanschGuentherWaideretal.2018, author = {Jansch, Charline and G{\"u}nther, Katharina and Waider, Jonas and Ziegler, Georg C. and Forero, Andrea and Kollert, Sina and Svirin, Evgeniy and P{\"u}hringer, Dirk and Kwok, Chee Keong and Ullmann, Reinhard and Maierhofer, Anna and Flunkert, Julia and Haaf, Thomas and Edenhofer, Frank and Lesch, Klaus-Peter}, title = {Generation of a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line from a 51-year-old female with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) carrying a duplication of SLC2A3}, series = {Stem Cell Research}, volume = {28}, journal = {Stem Cell Research}, doi = {10.1016/j.scr.2018.02.005}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-176654}, pages = {136-140}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Fibroblasts were isolated from a skin biopsy of a clinically diagnosed 51-year-old female attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patient carrying a duplication of SLC2A3, a gene encoding neuronal glucose transporter-3 (GLUT3). Patient fibroblasts were infected with Sendai virus, a single-stranded RNA virus, to generate transgene-free human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). SLC2A3-D2-iPSCs showed expression of pluripotency-associated markers, were able to differentiate into cells of the three germ layers in vitro and had a normal female karyotype. This in vitro cellular model can be used to study the role of risk genes in the pathogenesis of ADHD, in a patient-specific manner.}, language = {en} } @article{VitaleZoellerJanschetal.2021, author = {Vitale, Maria Rosaria and Z{\"o}ller, Johanna Eva Maria and Jansch, Charline and Janz, Anna and Edenhofer, Frank and Klopocki, Eva and van den Hove, Daniel and Vanmierlo, Tim and Rivero, Olga and Kasri, Nael Nadif and Ziegler, Georg Christoph and Lesch, Klaus-Peter}, title = {Generation of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines carrying a heterozygous (UKWMPi002-A-1) and null mutant knockout (UKWMPi002-A-2) of Cadherin 13 associated with neurodevelopmental disorders using CRISPR/Cas9}, series = {Stem Cell Research}, volume = {51}, journal = {Stem Cell Research}, doi = {10.1016/j.scr.2021.102169}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260331}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Fibroblasts isolated from a skin biopsy of a healthy 46-year-old female were infected with Sendai virus containing the Yamanaka factors to produce transgene-free human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). CRISPR/Cas9 was used to generate isogenic cell lines with a gene dose-dependent deficiency of CDH13, a risk gene associated with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Thereby, a heterozygous CDH13 knockout (CDH13\(^{+/-}\)) and a CDH13 null mutant (CDH13\(^{-/-}\)) iPSC line was obtained. All three lines showed expression of pluripotency-associated markers, the ability to differentiate into cells of the three germ layers in vitro, and a normal female karyotype.}, language = {en} } @article{ZieglerRadtkeVitaleetal.2021, author = {Ziegler, Georg C. and Radtke, Franziska and Vitale, Maria Rosaria and Preuße, Andr{\´e} and Klopocki, Eva and Herms, Stefan and Lesch, Klaus-Peter}, title = {Generation of multiple human iPSC lines from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of two SLC2A3 deletion and two SLC2A3 duplication carriers}, series = {Stem Cell Research}, volume = {56}, journal = {Stem Cell Research}, doi = {10.1016/j.scr.2021.102526}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-264696}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Copy number variants of SLC2A3, which encodes the glucose transporter GLUT3, are associated with several neuropsychiatric and cardiac diseases. Here, we report the successful reprogramming of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from two SLC2A3 duplication and two SLC2A3 deletion carriers and subsequent generation of two transgene-free iPSC clones per donor by Sendai viral transduction. All eight clones represent bona fide hiPSCs with high expression of pluripotency genes, ability to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers and normal karyotype. The generated cell lines will be helpful to enlighten the role of glucometabolic alterations in pathophysiological processes shared across organ boundaries.}, language = {en} } @article{BrevikvanDonkelaarWeberetal.2016, author = {Brevik, Erlend J and van Donkelaar, Marjolein M. J. and Weber, Heike and S{\´a}nchez-Mora, Cristina and Jacob, Christian and Rivero, Olga and Kittel-Schneider, Sarah and Garcia-martinez, Iris and Aebi, Marcel and van Hulzen, Kimm and Cormand, Bru and Ramos-Quiroga, Josep A and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Reif, Andreas and Ribases, Marta and Franke, Barbara and Posserud, Maj-Britt and Johansson, Stefan and Lundervold, Astri J. and Haavik, Jan and Zayats, Tetyana}, title = {Genome-wide analyses of aggressiveness in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder}, series = {American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B-Neuropsychiatric Genetics}, volume = {171B}, journal = {American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B-Neuropsychiatric Genetics}, number = {5}, organization = {IMAGE Consortium}, doi = {10.1002/ajmg.b.32434}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-188116}, pages = {733-747}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Aggressiveness is a behavioral trait that has the potential to be harmful to individuals and society. With an estimated heritability of about 40\%, genetics is important in its development. We performed an exploratory genome-wide association (GWA) analysis of childhood aggressiveness in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to gain insight into the underlying biological processes associated with this trait. Our primary sample consisted of 1,060 adult ADHD patients (aADHD). To further explore the genetic architecture of childhood aggressiveness, we performed enrichment analyses of suggestive genome-wide associations observed in aADHD among GWA signals of dimensions of oppositionality (defiant/vindictive and irritable dimensions) in childhood ADHD (cADHD). No single polymorphism reached genome-wide significance (P<5.00E-08). The strongest signal in aADHD was observed at rs10826548, within a long noncoding RNA gene (beta = -1.66, standard error (SE) = 0.34, P = 1.07E-06), closely followed by rs35974940 in the neurotrimin gene (beta = 3.23, SE = 0.67, P = 1.26E-06). The top GWA SNPs observed in aADHD showed significant enrichment of signals from both the defiant/vindictive dimension (Fisher's P-value = 2.28E-06) and the irritable dimension in cADHD (Fisher's P-value = 0.0061). In sum, our results identify a number of biologically interesting markers possibly underlying childhood aggressiveness and provide targets for further genetic exploration of aggressiveness across psychiatric disorders.}, language = {en} }