scholarly journals Oxytocin gene networks in the human brain: A gene expression and large-scale fMRI meta-analysis study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Quintana ◽  
Jaroslav Rokicki ◽  
Dennis van der Meer ◽  
Dag Alnæs ◽  
Tobias Kaufmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Gene Expression Patterns ◽  
Gene Pathway ◽  
The Brain

AbstractOxytocin is a neuropeptide involved in animal and human reproductive and social behavior, with implications for a range of psychiatric disorders. However, the therapeutic potential of oxytocin in mental health care suggested by animal research has not been successfully translated into clinical practice. This may be partly due to a poor understanding of the expression and distribution of the oxytocin signaling pathway in the human brain, and its complex interactions with other biological systems. Among the genes involved in the oxytocin signaling pathway, three genes have been frequently implicated in human social behavior: OXT (structural gene for oxytocin), OXTR (oxytocin receptor), and CD38 (central oxytocin secretion). We characterized the distribution of OXT, OXTR, and CD38 mRNA across the brain, identified putative gene pathway interactions by comparing gene expression patterns across 20737 genes, and assessed associations between gene expression patterns and mental states via large-scale fMRI metaanalysis. In line with the animal literature, expression of the three selected oxytocin pathway genes was increased in central, temporal, and olfactory regions. Across the brain, there was high co-expression with several dopaminergic and muscarinic acetylcholine genes, reflecting an anatomical basis for critical gene pathway interactions. Finally, fMRI meta-analysis revealed that the oxytocin pathway gene maps correspond with motivation and emotion processing.

scholarly journals Linking central gene expression patterns and mental states using transcriptomics and large-scale meta-analysis of fMRI data: A tutorial and example using the oxytocin signaling pathway

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Rokicki ◽  
Daniel S Quintana ◽  
Lars T. Westlye
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Gene Expression Patterns ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Gene Expression Levels

The measurement of gene expression levels in the human brain can help accelerate our understanding of complex mental states and psychiatric illnesses. Mental states are typically associated with whole-brain networks, however, gene expression levels from post-mortem brain samples have traditionally been measured in a limited number of brain regions due to resource limitations. The recent availability of whole-brain gene expression data from the Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA) provides the opportunity to generate gene expression patterns for over 20,000 genes. By linking these expression patterns with brain activity patterns that are associated with specific mental states, researchers can better understand which genes may support given mental states, via forward inference. Conversely, reverse inference can also be used to determine which mental state activation patterns are most strongly associated with a given gene expression map. This chapter provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the AHBA in conjunction with the NeuroSynth fMRI meta-analysis tool to identify the mental state correlates of specific gene expression patterns, using genes from oxytocin signaling pathway as an example. We also demonstrate how to perform an out-of-sample validation and assess the specificity of results for genes of interest.

scholarly journals Global gene expression patterns in response to white patch syndrome: Disentangling symbiont loss from the thermal stress response in reef-building coral

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carly D. Kenkel ◽  
Veronique J.L. Mocellin ◽  
Line K. Bay
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Global Gene Expression ◽  
Host Protein ◽  
Gene Expression Patterns ◽  
White Patch

AbstractThe mechanisms resulting in the breakdown of the coral symbiosis once the process of bleaching has been initiated remain unclear. Distinguishing symbiont loss from the abiotic stress response may shed light on the cellular and molecular pathways involved in each process. This study examined physiological changes and global gene expression patterns associated with white patch syndrome (WPS) in P. lobata, which manifests in localized bleaching independent of thermal stress. In addition, a meta-analysis of global gene expression studies in other corals and anemones was used to contrast differential regulation as a result of abiotic stress from expression patterns correlated with symbiotic state. Symbiont density, chlorophyll a content, holobiont productivity, instant calcification rate, and total host protein content were uniformly reduced in WPS relative to healthy tissue. While expression patterns associated with WPS were secondary to fixed effects of source colony, specific functional enrichments suggest that the viral infection putatively giving rise to this condition affects symbiont rather than host cells. The meta-analysis revealed that expression patterns in WPS-affected tissues were significantly correlated with prior studies examining short-term thermal stress responses. This correlation was independent of symbiotic state, as the strongest correlations were found between WPS adults and both symbiotic adult and aposymbiotic coral larvae experiencing thermal stress, suggesting that the majority of expression changes reflect a non-specific stress response. Across studies, the magnitude and direction of expression change among particular functional enrichments suggests unique responses to stressor duration, and highlights unique responses to bleaching in an anemone model which engages in a non-obligate symbiosis.

scholarly journals Gene Expression Patterns Underlying the Reinstatement of Plasticity in the Adult Visual System

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ettore Tiraboschi ◽  
Ramon Guirado ◽  
Dario Greco ◽  
Petri Auvinen ◽  
Jose Fernando Maya-Vetencourt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Monocular Deprivation ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Gene Expression Patterns ◽  
Postnatal Life ◽  
Critical Periods

The nervous system is highly sensitive to experience during early postnatal life, but this phase of heightened plasticity decreases with age. Recent studies have demonstrated that developmental-like plasticity can be reactivated in the visual cortex of adult animals through environmental or pharmacological manipulations. These findings provide a unique opportunity to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of adult plasticity. Here we used the monocular deprivation paradigm to investigate large-scale gene expression patterns underlying the reinstatement of plasticity produced by fluoxetine in the adult rat visual cortex. We found changes, confirmed with RT-PCRs, in gene expression in different biological themes, such as chromatin structure remodelling, transcription factors, molecules involved in synaptic plasticity, extracellular matrix, and excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. Our findings reveal a key role for several molecules such as the metalloproteases Mmp2 and Mmp9 or the glycoprotein Reelin and open up new insights into the mechanisms underlying the reopening of the critical periods in the adult brain.

scholarly journals A Large Scale Genetic Analysis of c-Myc-regulated Gene Expression Patterns

2003 ◽  
Vol 278 (14) ◽  
pp. 12563-12573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda C. O'Connell ◽  
Ann F. Cheung ◽  
Carl P. Simkevich ◽  
Wanny Tam ◽  
Xiaojia Ren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Gene Expression Patterns ◽  
Regulated Gene Expression
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