TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gorlova, Anna
A1  - Svirin, Evgeniy
A1  - Pavlov, Dmitrii
A1  - Cespuglio, Raymond
A1  - Proshin, Andrey
A1  - Schroeter, Careen A.
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
A1  - Strekalova, Tatyana
T1  - Understanding the role of oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and abnormal myelination in excessive aggression associated with depression: recent input from mechanistic studies
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - Aggression and deficient cognitive control problems are widespread in psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD). These abnormalities are known to contribute significantly to the accompanying functional impairment and the global burden of disease. Progress in the development of targeted treatments of excessive aggression and accompanying symptoms has been limited, and there exists a major unmet need to develop more efficacious treatments for depressed patients. Due to the complex nature and the clinical heterogeneity of MDD and the lack of precise knowledge regarding its pathophysiology, effective management is challenging. Nonetheless, the aetiology and pathophysiology of MDD has been the subject of extensive research and there is a vast body of the latest literature that points to new mechanisms for this disorder. Here, we overview the key mechanisms, which include neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, insulin receptor signalling and abnormal myelination. We discuss the hypotheses that have been proposed to unify these processes, as many of these pathways are integrated for the neurobiology of MDD. We also describe the current translational approaches in modelling depression, including the recent advances in stress models of MDD, and emerging novel therapies, including novel approaches to management of excessive aggression, such as anti-diabetic drugs, antioxidant treatment and herbal compositions.
KW  - major depressive disorder (MDD)
KW  - aggression
KW  - neuroinflammation
KW  - oxidative stress
KW  - insulin receptor
KW  - myelination
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-304917
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 24
IS  - 2
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Fernàndez-Castillo, Noèlia
A1  - Cabana-Domínguez, Judit
A1  - Kappel, Djenifer B.
A1  - Torrico, Bàrbara
A1  - Weber, Heike
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
A1  - Lao, Oscar
A1  - Reif, Andreas
A1  - Cormand, Bru
T1  - Exploring the contribution to ADHD of genes involved in Mendelian disorders presenting with hyperactivity and/or inattention
JF  - Genes
N2  - 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.
KW  - ADHD
KW  - rare mendelian disorders
KW  - genetic variants
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-252346
SN  - 2073-4425
VL  - 13
IS  - 1
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Jansch, Charline
A1  - Ziegler, Georg C.
A1  - Forero, Andrea
A1  - Gredy, Sina
A1  - Wäldchen, Sina
A1  - Vitale, Maria Rosaria
A1  - Svirin, Evgeniy
A1  - Zöller, Johanna E. M.
A1  - Waider, Jonas
A1  - Günther, Katharina
A1  - Edenhofer, Frank
A1  - Sauer, Markus
A1  - Wischmeyer, Erhard
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
T1  - Serotonin-specific neurons differentiated from human iPSCs form distinct subtypes with synaptic protein assembly
JF  - Journal of Neural Transmission
N2  - Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have revolutionized the generation of experimental disease models, but the development of protocols for the differentiation of functionally active neuronal subtypes with defined specification is still in its infancy. While dysfunction of the brain serotonin (5-HT) system has been implicated in the etiology of various neuropsychiatric disorders, investigation of functional human 5-HT specific neurons in vitro has been restricted by technical limitations. We describe an efficient generation of functionally active neurons from hiPSCs displaying 5-HT specification by modification of a previously reported protocol. Furthermore, 5-HT specific neurons were characterized using high-end fluorescence imaging including super-resolution microscopy in combination with electrophysiological techniques. Differentiated hiPSCs synthesize 5-HT, express specific markers, such as tryptophan hydroxylase 2 and 5-HT transporter, and exhibit an electrophysiological signature characteristic of serotonergic neurons, with spontaneous rhythmic activities, broad action potentials and large afterhyperpolarization potentials. 5-HT specific neurons form synapses reflected by the expression of pre- and postsynaptic proteins, such as Bassoon and Homer. The distribution pattern of Bassoon, a marker of the active zone along the soma and extensions of neurons, indicates functionality via volume transmission. Among the high percentage of 5-HT specific neurons (~ 42%), a subpopulation of CDH13 + cells presumably designates dorsal raphe neurons. hiPSC-derived 5-HT specific neuronal cell cultures reflect the heterogeneous nature of dorsal and median raphe nuclei and may facilitate examining the association of serotonergic neuron subpopulations with neuropsychiatric disorders.
KW  - neuropsychiatric disorders
KW  - human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)
KW  - serotonin-specific neurons
KW  - median and dorsal raphe
KW  - synapse formation
KW  - Cadherin-13 (CDH13)
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-268519
SN  - 1435-1463
VL  - 128
IS  - 2
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ziegler, Georg C.
A1  - Radtke, Franziska
A1  - Vitale, Maria Rosaria
A1  - Preuße, André
A1  - Klopocki, Eva
A1  - Herms, Stefan
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
T1  - Generation of multiple human iPSC lines from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of two SLC2A3 deletion and two SLC2A3 duplication carriers
JF  - Stem Cell Research
N2  - 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.
KW  - congenital heart-deffects
KW  - transporter gene SLC2A3
KW  - copy-number variation
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-264696
VL  - 56
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Vitale, Maria Rosaria
A1  - Zöller, Johanna Eva Maria
A1  - Jansch, Charline
A1  - Janz, Anna
A1  - Edenhofer, Frank
A1  - Klopocki, Eva
A1  - van den Hove, Daniel
A1  - Vanmierlo, Tim
A1  - Rivero, Olga
A1  - Kasri, Nael Nadif
A1  - Ziegler, Georg Christoph
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
T1  - 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
JF  - Stem Cell Research
N2  - 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.
KW  - CRISPR-Cas Systems
KW  - cadherins
KW  - female
KW  - heterozygote
KW  - humans
KW  - Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
KW  - middle aged
KW  - neurodevelopmental disorders / genetics
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260331
VL  - 51
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Rivero, Olga
A1  - Alhama-Riba, Judit
A1  - Ku, Hsing-Ping
A1  - Fischer, Matthias
A1  - Ortega, Gabriela
A1  - Álmos, Péter
A1  - Diouf, David
A1  - van den Hove, Daniel
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
T1  - Haploinsufficiency of the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Risk Gene St3gal3 in Mice Causes Alterations in Cognition and Expression of Genes Involved in Myelination and Sialylation
JF  - Frontiers in Genetics
N2  - Genome wide association meta-analysis identified ST3GAL3, a gene encoding the beta-galactosidase-alpha-2,3-sialyltransferase-III, as a risk gene for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although loss-of-function mutations in ST3GAL3 are implicated in non-syndromic autosomal recessive intellectual disability (NSARID) and West syndrome, the impact of ST3GAL3 haploinsufficiency on brain function and the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as ADHD, is unknown. Since St3gal3 null mutant mice display severe developmental delay and neurological deficits, we investigated the effects of partial inactivation of St3gal3 in heterozygous (HET) knockout (St3gal3±) mice on behavior as well as expression of markers linked to myelination processes and sialylation pathways. Our results reveal that male St3gal3 HET mice display cognitive deficits, while female HET animals show increased activity, as well as increased cognitive control, compared to their wildtype littermates. In addition, we observed subtle alterations in the expression of several markers implicated in oligodendrogenesis, myelin formation, and protein sialylation as well as cell adhesion/synaptic target glycoproteins of ST3GAL3 in a brain region- and/or sex-specific manner. Taken together, our findings indicate that haploinsufficiency of ST3GAL3 results in a sex-dependent alteration of cognition, behavior and markers of brain plasticity.
KW  - sialyltransferase
KW  - sialic acid
KW  - psychiatric disorders
KW  - attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
KW  - prefrontal cortex
KW  - hippocampus
KW  - mouse model
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-246855
SN  - 1664-8021
VL  - 12
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ziegler, Georg C.
A1  - Ehlis, Ann-Christine
A1  - Weber, Heike
A1  - Vitale, Maria Rosaria
A1  - Zöller, Johanna E. M.
A1  - Ku, Hsing-Ping
A1  - Schiele, Miriam A.
A1  - Kürbitz, Laura I.
A1  - Romanos, Marcel
A1  - Pauli, Paul
A1  - Kalisch, Raffael
A1  - Zwanzger, Peter
A1  - Domschke, Katharina
A1  - Fallgatter, Andreas J.
A1  - Reif, Andreas
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
T1  - A Common CDH13 Variant is Associated with Low Agreeableness and Neural Responses to Working Memory Tasks in ADHD
JF  - Genes
N2  - The cell—cell signaling gene CDH13 is associated with a wide spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and major depression. CDH13 regulates axonal outgrowth and synapse formation, substantiating its relevance for neurodevelopmental processes. Several studies support the influence of CDH13 on personality traits, behavior, and executive functions. However, evidence for functional effects of common gene variation in the CDH13 gene in humans is sparse. Therefore, we tested for association of a functional intronic CDH13 SNP rs2199430 with ADHD in a sample of 998 adult patients and 884 healthy controls. The Big Five personality traits were assessed by the NEO-PI-R questionnaire. Assuming that altered neural correlates of working memory and cognitive response inhibition show genotype-dependent alterations, task performance and electroencephalographic event-related potentials were measured by n-back and continuous performance (Go/NoGo) tasks. The rs2199430 genotype was not associated with adult ADHD on the categorical diagnosis level. However, rs2199430 was significantly associated with agreeableness, with minor G allele homozygotes scoring lower than A allele carriers. Whereas task performance was not affected by genotype, a significant heterosis effect limited to the ADHD group was identified for the n-back task. Heterozygotes (AG) exhibited significantly higher N200 amplitudes during both the 1-back and 2-back condition in the central electrode position Cz. Consequently, the common genetic variation of CDH13 is associated with personality traits and impacts neural processing during working memory tasks. Thus, CDH13 might contribute to symptomatic core dysfunctions of social and cognitive impairment in ADHD.
KW  - ADHD
KW  - CDH13
KW  - neurodevelopment
KW  - executive functions
KW  - working memory
KW  - Big Five
KW  - agreeableness
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245220
SN  - 2073-4425
VL  - 12
IS  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Popp, Sandy
A1  - Schmitt-Böhrer, Angelika
A1  - Langer, Simon
A1  - Hofmann, Ulrich
A1  - Hommers, Leif
A1  - Schuh, Kai
A1  - Frantz, Stefan
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
A1  - Frey, Anna
T1  - 5-HTT Deficiency in Male Mice Affects Healing and Behavior after Myocardial Infarction
JF  - Journal of Clinical Medicine
N2  - Anxiety disorders and depression are common comorbidities in cardiac patients. Mice lacking the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) exhibit increased anxiety-like behavior. However, the role of 5-HTT deficiency on cardiac aging, and on healing and remodeling processes after myocardial infarction (MI), remains unclear. Cardiological evaluation of experimentally naïve male mice revealed a mild cardiac dysfunction in ≥4-month-old 5-HTT knockout (−/−) animals. Following induction of chronic cardiac dysfunction (CCD) by MI vs. sham operation 5-HTT−/− mice with infarct sizes >30% experienced 100% mortality, while 50% of 5-HTT+/− and 37% of 5-HTT+/+ animals with large MI survived the 8-week observation period. Surviving (sham and MI < 30%) 5-HTT−/− mutants displayed reduced exploratory activity and increased anxiety-like behavior in different approach-avoidance tasks. However, CCD failed to provoke a depressive-like behavioral response in either 5-Htt genotype. Mechanistic analyses were performed on mice 3 days post-MI. Electrocardiography, histology and FACS of inflammatory cells revealed no abnormalities. However, gene expression of inflammation-related cytokines (TGF-β, TNF-α, IL-6) and MMP-2, a protein involved in the breakdown of extracellular matrix, was significantly increased in 5-HTT−/− mice after MI. This study shows that 5-HTT deficiency leads to age-dependent cardiac dysfunction and disrupted early healing after MI probably due to alterations of inflammatory processes in mice.
KW  - chronic heart failure
KW  - myocardial infarction
KW  - serotonin transporter deficient mice
KW  - anxiety
KW  - depression
KW  - behavior
KW  - inflammation
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-242739
SN  - 2077-0383
VL  - 10
IS  - 14
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Drgonova, Jana
A1  - Walther, Donna
A1  - Hartstein, G Luke
A1  - Bukhari, Mohammad O
A1  - Baumann, Michael H
A1  - Katz, Jonathan
A1  - Hall, F Scott
A1  - Arnold, Elizabeth R
A1  - Flax, Shaun
A1  - Riley, Anthony
A1  - Rivero, Olga
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
A1  - Troncoso, Juan
A1  - Ranscht, Barbara
A1  - Uhl, George R
T1  - Cadherin 13: Human cis-Regulation and Selectively Altered Addiction Phenotypes and Cerebral Cortical Dopamine in Knockout Mice
JF  - Molecular Medicine
N2  - The Cadherin 13 (CDH13) gene encodes a cell adhesion molecule likely to influence development and connections of brain circuits that modulate addiction, locomotion and cognition, including those that involve midbrain dopamine neurons. Human CDH13 mRNA expression differs by more than 80% in postmortem cerebral cortical samples from individuals with different CDH13 genotypes, supporting examination of mice with altered CDH13 expression as models for common human variation at this locus. Constitutive CDH13 knockout mice display evidence for changed cocaine reward: shifted dose response relationship in tests of cocaine-conditioned place preference using doses that do not alter cocaine-conditioned taste aversion. Reduced adult CDH13 expression in conditional knockouts also alters cocaine reward in ways that correlate with individual differences in cortical CDH13 mRNA levels. In control and comparison behavioral assessments, knockout mice display modestly quicker acquisition of rotarod and water maze tasks, with a trend toward faster acquisition of 5-choice serial reaction time tasks that otherwise displayed no genotype-related differences. They display significant differences in locomotion in some settings, with larger effects in males. In assessments of brain changes that might contribute to these behavioral differences, there are selective alterations of dopamine levels, dopamine/metabolite ratios, dopaminergic fiber densities and mRNA encoding the activity dependent transcription factor npas4 in cerebral cortex of knockout mice. These novel data and previously reported human associations of CDH13 variants with addiction, individual differences in responses to stimulant administration and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) phenotypes suggest that levels of CDH13 expression, through mechanisms likely to include effects on mesocortical dopamine, influence stimulant reward and may contribute modestly to cognitive and locomotor phenotypes relevant to ADHD.
KW  - Cadherin (CDH13)
KW  - CDH13 mRNA
KW  - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
KW  - CDH13 Expression
KW  - Human CDH13
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-165842
VL  - 22
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Prelog, Martina
A1  - Hilligardt, Deborah
A1  - Schmidt, Christian A.
A1  - Przybylski, Grzegorz K.
A1  - Leierer, Johannes
A1  - Almanzar, Giovanni
A1  - El Hajj, Nady
A1  - Lesch, Klaus-Peter
A1  - Arolt, Volker
A1  - Zwanzger, Peter
A1  - Haaf, Thomas
A1  - Domschke, Katharina
T1  - Hypermethylation of FOXP3 Promoter and Premature Aging of the Immune System in Female Patients with Panic Disorder?
JF  - PLoS ONE
N2  - Immunological abnormalities associated with pathological conditions, such as higher infection rates, inflammatory diseases, cancer or cardiovascular events are common in patients with panic disorder. In the present study, T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), Forkhead-Box-Protein P3 gene (FOXP3) methylation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and relative telomere lengths (RTLs) were investigated in a total and subsamples of 131 patients with panic disorder as compared to 131 age- and sex-matched healthy controls in order to test for a potential dysfunction and premature aging of the immune system in anxiety disorders. Significantly lower TRECs (p = 0.004) as well as significant hypermethylation of the FOXP3 promoter region (p = 0.005) were observed in female (but not in male) patients with panic disorder as compared to healthy controls. No difference in relative telomere length was discerned between patients and controls, but significantly shorter telomeres in females, smokers and older persons within the patient group. The presently observed reduced TRECs in panic disorder patients and FOXP3 hypermethylation in female patients with panic disorder potentially reflect impaired thymus and immunosuppressive Treg function, which might partly account for the known increased morbidity and mortality of anxiety disorders conferred by e.g. cancer and cardiovascular disorders.
KW  - DNA methylation
KW  - antidepressants
KW  - regulatory T cells
KW  - panic disorder
KW  - treatment guidelines
KW  - telomere length
KW  - inflammatory diseases
KW  - anxiety disorders
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-179684
VL  - 11
IS  - 6
ER  -