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227 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 227
Markov State Modelling of Disease Courses and Mortality Risks of Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Genetical Statistics and Systems Biology

Abstract (Expand)

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most frequent infectious diseases worldwide, with high lethality. Risk evaluation is well established at hospital admission, and re-evaluation is advised … for patients at higher risk. However, severe disease courses may develop from all levels of severity. We propose a stochastic continuous-time Markov model describing daily development of time courses of CAP severity. Disease states were defined based on the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. Model calibration was based on longitudinal data from 2838 patients with a primary diagnosis of CAP from four clinical studies (PROGRESS, MAXSEP, SISPCT, VISEP). We categorized CAP severity into five disease states and estimated transition probabilities for CAP progression between these states and corresponding sojourn times. Good agreement between model predictions and clinical data was observed. Time courses of mortality were correctly predicted for up to 28 days, including validation with patient data not used for model calibration. We conclude that CAP disease course follows a Markov process, suggesting the necessity of daily monitoring and re-evaluation of patient’s risk. Our model can be used for regular updates of risk assessments of patients and could improve the design of clinical trials by estimating transition rates for different risk groups.

Authors: Jens Przybilla, Peter Ahnert, Holger Bogatsch, Frank Bloos, Frank M. Brunkhorst, Critical Care Trials Group SepNet, Study Group Progress, Michael Bauer, Markus Loeffler, Martin Witzenrath, Norbert Suttorp, Markus Scholz

Date Published: 1st Feb 2020

Publication Type: Journal article

Prognostic Factors for Iatrogenic Tracheal Rupture: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study
Genetical Statistics and Systems Biology

Abstract (Expand)

Iatrogenic tracheal ruptures are rare but severe complications of medical interventions. The main goal of this study was to explore prognostic factors for all-cause mortality and rupture-related … (adjusted) mortality. We retrospectively analyzed patients admitted to an academic referral center over a 15-year period (2004-2018). Fifty-four patients met the inclusion criteria, of whom 36 patients underwent surgical repair and 18 patients were treated conservatively. In a 90-day follow-up, the all-cause mortality was 50%, while the adjusted mortality was 13%. Rupture length was identified as a predictor for all-cause mortality (area under the curve, 0.84; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74-0.94) with a cutoff rupture length of 4.5 cm (sensitivity, 0.70; specificity, 0.81). Multivariate analysis confirmed rupture length as a prognostic factor for all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.5; 95% CI 1.2-1.9; p = 0.001), but not for adjusted mortality (HR 1.5; 95% CI 0.97-2.3; p = 0.068), while mediastinitis predicted adjusted mortality (HR 5.8; 95% CI 1.1-31.7; p = 0.042), but not all-cause mortality (HR 1.6; 95% CI 0.7-3.5; p = 0.243). The extent of iatrogenic tracheal rupture and mediastinitis might be relevant prognostic factors for all-cause mortality and adjusted mortality, respectively.

Authors: Sebastian Krämer, Johannes Broschewitz, Holger Kirsten, Carolin Sell, Uwe Eichfeld, Manuel Florian Struck

Date Published: 1st Feb 2020

Publication Type: Journal article

Neutralizing Complement C5a Protects Mice with Pneumococcal Pulmonary Sepsis
Genetical Statistics and Systems Biology

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND Community-acquired pneumonia and associated sepsis cause high mortality despite antibiotic treatment. Uncontrolled inflammatory host responses contribute to the unfavorable outcome by driving …g lung and extrapulmonary organ failure. The complement fragment C5a holds significant proinflammatory functions and is associated with tissue damage in various inflammatory conditions. The authors hypothesized that C5a concentrations are increased in pneumonia and C5a neutralization promotes barrier stabilization in the lung and is protective in pneumococcal pulmonary sepsis. METHODS The authors investigated regulation of C5a in pneumonia in a prospective patient cohort and in experimental pneumonia. Two complementary models of murine pneumococcal pneumonia were applied. Female mice were treated with NOX-D19, a C5a-neutralizing L-RNA-aptamer. Lung, liver, and kidney injury and the inflammatory response were assessed by measuring pulmonary permeability (primary outcome), pulmonary and blood leukocytes, cytokine concentrations in lung and blood, and bacterial load in lung, spleen, and blood, and performing histologic analyses of tissue damage, apoptosis, and fibrin deposition (n = 5 to 13). RESULTS In hospitalized patients with pneumonia (n = 395), higher serum C5a concentrations were observed compared to healthy subjects (n = 24; 6.3 nmol/l [3.9 to 10.0] vs. 4.5 nmol/l [3.8 to 6.6], median [25 to 75% interquartile range]; difference: 1.4 [95% CI, 0.1 to 2.9]; P = 0.029). Neutralization of C5a in mice resulted in lower pulmonary permeability in pneumococcal pneumonia (1.38 \pm 0.89 vs. 3.29 \pm 2.34, mean \pm SD; difference: 1.90 [95% CI, 0.15 to 3.66]; P = 0.035; n = 10 or 11) or combined severe pneumonia and mechanical ventilation (2.56 \pm 1.17 vs. 7.31 \pm 5.22; difference: 4.76 [95% CI, 1.22 to 8.30]; P = 0.011; n = 9 or 10). Further, C5a neutralization led to lower blood granulocyte colony-stimulating factor concentrations and protected against sepsis-associated liver injury. CONCLUSIONS Systemic C5a is elevated in pneumonia patients. Neutralizing C5a protected against lung and liver injury in pneumococcal pneumonia in mice. Early neutralization of C5a might be a promising adjunctive treatment strategy to improve outcome in community-acquired pneumonia. : WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS TOPIC: Pneumonia, sepsis, and immune dysregulation cause morbidity and mortalityC5a is a component of the complement system and a proinflammatory mediator that modulates the innate immune response in critical illnessDisruption of the C5a receptor axis with antibodies or antagonists was previously protective in various animal sepsis models WHAT THIS ARTICLE TELLS US THAT IS NEW: In hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia, serum C5a concentrations were 1.4-fold higher compared to healthy subjectsIn two mouse models of pneumonia and sepsis, NOX-D19, a C5a-neutralizing L-RNA aptamer, caused lower pulmonary hyperpermeability and sepsis-related acute liver injury.

Authors: Holger Müller-Redetzky, Ute Kellermann, Sandra-Maria Wienhold, Birgitt Gutbier, Jasmin Lienau, Katharina Hellwig, Katrin Reppe, Eleftheria Letsiou, Thomas Tschernig, Markus Scholz, Peter Ahnert, Christian Maasch, Kai Hoehlig, Sven Klussmann, Axel Vater, Theresa C. Firsching, Judith Hoppe, Norbert Suttorp, Martin Witzenrath

Date Published: 2020

Publication Type: Journal article

Genome-wide association meta-analyses and fine-mapping elucidate pathways influencing albuminuria
Genetical Statistics and Systems Biology

Abstract (Expand)

Increased levels of the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) are associated with higher risk of kidney disease progression and cardiovascular events, but underlying mechanisms are incompletely … understood. Here, we conduct trans-ethnic (n = 564,257) and European-ancestry specific meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies of UACR, including ancestry- and diabetes-specific analyses, and identify 68 UACR-associated loci. Genetic correlation analyses and risk score associations in an independent electronic medical records database (n = 192,868) reveal connections with proteinuria, hyperlipidemia, gout, and hypertension. Fine-mapping and trans-Omics analyses with gene expression in 47 tissues and plasma protein levels implicate genes potentially operating through differential expression in kidney (including TGFB1, MUC1, PRKCI, and OAF), and allow coupling of UACR associations to altered plasma OAF concentrations. Knockdown of OAF and PRKCI orthologs in Drosophila nephrocytes reduces albumin endocytosis. Silencing fly PRKCI further impairs slit diaphragm formation. These results generate a priority list of genes and pathways for translational research to reduce albuminuria.

Authors: Alexander Teumer, Yong Li, Sahar Ghasemi, Bram P. Prins, Matthias Wuttke, Tobias Hermle, Ayush Giri, Karsten B. Sieber, Chengxiang Qiu, Holger Kirsten, Adrienne Tin, Audrey Y. Chu, Nisha Bansal, Mary F. Feitosa, Lihua Wang, Jin-Fang Chai, Massimiliano Cocca, Christian Fuchsberger, Mathias Gorski, Anselm Hoppmann, Katrin Horn, Man Li, Jonathan Marten, Damia Noce, Teresa Nutile, Sanaz Sedaghat, Gardar Sveinbjornsson, Bamidele O. Tayo, Peter J. van der Most, Yizhe Xu, Zhi Yu, Lea Gerstner, Johan Ärnlöv, Stephan J. L. Bakker, Daniela Baptista, Mary L. Biggs, Eric Boerwinkle, Hermann Brenner, Ralph Burkhardt, Robert J. Carroll, Miao-Li Chee, Miao-Ling Chee, Mengmeng Chen, Ching-Yu Cheng, James P. Cook, Josef Coresh, Tanguy Corre, John Danesh, Martin H. de Borst, Alessandro de Grandi, Renée de Mutsert, Aiko P. J. de Vries, Frauke Degenhardt, Katalin Dittrich, Jasmin Divers, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Georg Ehret, Karlhans Endlich, Janine F. Felix, Oscar H. Franco, Andre Franke, Barry I. Freedman, Sandra Freitag-Wolf, Ron T. Gansevoort, Vilmantas Giedraitis, Martin Gögele, Franziska Grundner-Culemann, Daniel F. Gudbjartsson, Vilmundur Gudnason, Pavel Hamet, Tamara B. Harris, Andrew A. Hicks, Hilma Holm, Valencia Hui Xian Foo, Shih-Jen Hwang, M. Arfan Ikram, Erik Ingelsson, Vincent W. V. Jaddoe, Johanna Jakobsdottir, Navya Shilpa Josyula, Bettina Jung, Mika Kähönen, Chiea-Chuen Khor, Wieland Kiess, Wolfgang Koenig, Antje Körner, Peter Kovacs, Holly Kramer, Bernhard K. Krämer, Florian Kronenberg, Leslie A. Lange, Carl D. Langefeld, Jeannette Jen-Mai Lee, Terho Lehtimäki, Wolfgang Lieb, Su-Chi Lim, Lars Lind, Cecilia M. Lindgren, Jianjun Liu, Markus Loeffler, Leo-Pekka Lyytikäinen, Anubha Mahajan, Joseph C. Maranville, Deborah Mascalzoni, Barbara McMullen, Christa Meisinger, Thomas Meitinger, Kozeta Miliku, Dennis O. Mook-Kanamori, Martina Müller-Nurasyid, Josyf C. Mychaleckyj, Matthias Nauck, Kjell Nikus, Boting Ning, Raymond Noordam, Jeffrey O’ Connell, Isleifur Olafsson, Nicholette D. Palmer, Annette Peters, Anna I. Podgornaia, Belen Ponte, Tanja Poulain, Peter P. Pramstaller, Ton J. Rabelink, Laura M. Raffield, Dermot F. Reilly, Rainer Rettig, Myriam Rheinberger, Kenneth M. Rice, Fernando Rivadeneira, Heiko Runz, Kathleen A. Ryan, Charumathi Sabanayagam, Kai-Uwe Saum, Ben Schöttker, Christian M. Shaffer, Yuan Shi, Albert V. Smith, Konstantin Strauch, Michael Stumvoll, Benjamin B. Sun, Silke Szymczak, E-Shyong Tai, Nicholas Y. Q. Tan, Kent D. Taylor, Andrej Teren, Yih-Chung Tham, Joachim Thiery, Chris H. L. Thio, Hauke Thomsen, Unnur Thorsteinsdottir, Anke Tönjes, Johanne Tremblay, André G. Uitterlinden, Pim van der Harst, Niek Verweij, Suzanne Vogelezang, Uwe Völker, Melanie Waldenberger, Chaolong Wang, Otis D. Wilson, Charlene Wong, Tien-Yin Wong, Qiong Yang, Masayuki Yasuda, Shreeram Akilesh, Murielle Bochud, Carsten A. Böger, Olivier Devuyst, Todd L. Edwards, Kevin Ho, Andrew P. Morris, Afshin Parsa, Sarah A. Pendergrass, Bruce M. Psaty, Jerome I. Rotter, Kari Stefansson, James G. Wilson, Katalin Susztak, Harold Snieder, Iris M. Heid, Markus Scholz, Adam S. Butterworth, Adriana M. Hung, Cristian Pattaro, Anna Köttgen

Date Published: 1st Dec 2019

Publication Type: Journal article

Genetic architecture of subcortical brain structures in 38,851 individuals
Genetical Statistics and Systems Biology

Abstract (Expand)

Subcortical brain structures are integral to motion, consciousness, emotions and learning. We identified common genetic variation related to the volumes of the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, brainstem, … caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen and thalamus, using genome-wide association analyses in almost 40,000 individuals from CHARGE, ENIGMA and UK Biobank. We show that variability in subcortical volumes is heritable, and identify 48 significantly associated loci (40 novel at the time of analysis). Annotation of these loci by utilizing gene expression, methylation and neuropathological data identified 199 genes putatively implicated in neurodevelopment, synaptic signaling, axonal transport, apoptosis, inflammation/infection and susceptibility to neurological disorders. This set of genes is significantly enriched for Drosophila orthologs associated with neurodevelopmental phenotypes, suggesting evolutionarily conserved mechanisms. Our findings uncover novel biology and potential drug targets underlying brain development and disease.

Authors: Claudia L. Satizabal, Hieab H. H. Adams, Derrek P. Hibar, Charles C. White, Maria J. Knol, Jason L. Stein, Markus Scholz, Muralidharan Sargurupremraj, Neda Jahanshad, Gennady V. Roshchupkin, Albert V. Smith, Joshua C. Bis, Xueqiu Jian, Michelle Luciano, Edith Hofer, Alexander Teumer, Sven J. van der Lee, Jingyun Yang, Lisa R. Yanek, Tom V. Lee, Shuo Li, Yanhui Hu, Jia Yu Koh, John D. Eicher, Sylvane Desrivières, Alejandro Arias-Vasquez, Ganesh Chauhan, Lavinia Athanasiu, Miguel E. Rentería, Sungeun Kim, David Hoehn, Nicola J. Armstrong, Qiang Chen, Avram J. Holmes, Anouk den Braber, Iwona Kloszewska, Micael Andersson, Thomas Espeseth, Oliver Grimm, Lucija Abramovic, Saud Alhusaini, Yuri Milaneschi, Martina Papmeyer, Tomas Axelsson, Stefan Ehrlich, Roberto Roiz-Santiañez, Bernd Kraemer, Asta K. Håberg, Hannah J. Jones, G. Bruce Pike, Dan J. Stein, Allison Stevens, Janita Bralten, Meike W. Vernooij, Tamara B. Harris, Irina Filippi, A. Veronica Witte, Tulio Guadalupe, Katharina Wittfeld, Thomas H. Mosley, James T. Becker, Nhat Trung Doan, Saskia P. Hagenaars, Yasaman Saba, Gabriel Cuellar-Partida, Najaf Amin, Saima Hilal, Kwangsik Nho, Nazanin Mirza-Schreiber, Konstantinos Arfanakis, Diane M. Becker, David Ames, Aaron L. Goldman, Phil H. Lee, Dorret I. Boomsma, Simon Lovestone, Sudheer Giddaluru, Stephanie Le Hellard, Manuel Mattheisen, Marc M. Bohlken, Dalia Kasperaviciute, Lianne Schmaal, Stephen M. Lawrie, Ingrid Agartz, Esther Walton, Diana Tordesillas-Gutierrez, Gareth E. Davies, Jean Shin, Jonathan C. Ipser, Louis N. Vinke, Martine Hoogman, Tianye Jia, Ralph Burkhardt, Marieke Klein, Fabrice Crivello, Deborah Janowitz, Owen Carmichael, Unn K. Haukvik, Benjamin S. Aribisala, Helena Schmidt, Lachlan T. Strike, Ching-Yu Cheng, Shannon L. Risacher, Benno Pütz, Debra A. Fleischman, Amelia A. Assareh, Venkata S. Mattay, Randy L. Buckner, Patrizia Mecocci, Anders M. Dale, Sven Cichon, Marco P. Boks, Mar Matarin, Brenda W. J. H. Penninx, Vince D. Calhoun, M. Mallar Chakravarty, Andre F. Marquand, Christine Macare, Shahrzad Kharabian Masouleh, Jaap Oosterlaan, Philippe Amouyel, Katrin Hegenscheid, Jerome I. Rotter, Andrew J. Schork, David C. M. Liewald, Greig I. de Zubicaray, Tien Yin Wong, Li Shen, Philipp G. Sämann, Henry Brodaty, Joshua L. Roffman, Eco J. C. de Geus, Magda Tsolaki, Susanne Erk, Kristel R. van Eijk, Gianpiero L. Cavalleri, Nic J. A. van der Wee, Andrew M. McIntosh, Randy L. Gollub, Kazima B. Bulayeva, Manon Bernard, Jennifer S. Richards, Jayandra J. Himali, Markus Loeffler, Nanda Rommelse, Wolfgang Hoffmann, Lars T. Westlye, Maria C. Valdés Hernández, Narelle K. Hansell, Theo G. M. van Erp, Christiane Wolf, John B. J. Kwok, Bruno Vellas, Andreas Heinz, Loes M. Olde Loohuis, Norman Delanty, Beng-Choon Ho, Christopher R. K. Ching, Elena Shumskaya, Baljeet Singh, Albert Hofman, Dennis van der Meer, Georg Homuth, Bruce M. Psaty, Mark E. Bastin, Grant W. Montgomery, Tatiana M. Foroud, Simone Reppermund, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Andrew Simmons, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Wiepke Cahn, Christopher D. Whelan, Marjolein M. J. van Donkelaar, Qiong Yang, Norbert Hosten, Robert C. Green, Anbupalam Thalamuthu, Sebastian Mohnke, Hilleke E. Hulshoff Pol, Honghuang Lin, Clifford R. Jack, Peter R. Schofield, Thomas W. Mühleisen, Pauline Maillard, Steven G. Potkin, Wei Wen, Evan Fletcher, Arthur W. Toga, Oliver Gruber, Matthew Huentelman, George Davey Smith, Lenore J. Launer, Lars Nyberg, Erik G. Jönsson, Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, Nastassja Koen, Douglas N. Greve, André G. Uitterlinden, Daniel R. Weinberger, Vidar M. Steen, Iryna O. Fedko, Nynke A. Groenewold, Wiro J. Niessen, Roberto Toro, Christophe Tzourio, William T. Longstreth, M. Kamran Ikram, Jordan W. Smoller, Marie-Jose van Tol, Jessika E. Sussmann, Tomas Paus, Hervé Lemaître, Matthias L. Schroeter, Bernard Mazoyer, Ole A. Andreassen, Florian Holsboer, Chantal Depondt, Dick J. Veltman, Jessica A. Turner, Zdenka Pausova, Gunter Schumann, Daan van Rooij, Srdjan Djurovic, Ian J. Deary, Katie L. McMahon, Bertram Müller-Myhsok, Rachel M. Brouwer, Hilkka Soininen, Massimo Pandolfo, Thomas H. Wassink, Joshua W. Cheung, Thomas Wolfers, Jean-Luc Martinot, Marcel P. Zwiers, Matthias Nauck, Ingrid Melle, Nicholas G. Martin, Ryota Kanai, Eric Westman, René S. Kahn, Sanjay M. Sisodiya, Tonya White, Arvin Saremi, Hans van Bokhoven, Han G. Brunner, Henry Völzke, Margaret J. Wright, Dennis van ’t Ent, Markus M. Nöthen, Roel A. Ophoff, Jan K. Buitelaar, Guillén Fernández, Perminder S. Sachdev, Marcella Rietschel, Neeltje E. M. van Haren, Simon E. Fisher, Alexa S. Beiser, Clyde Francks, Andrew J. Saykin, Karen A. Mather, Nina Romanczuk-Seiferth, Catharina A. Hartman, Anita L. DeStefano, Dirk J. Heslenfeld, Michael W. Weiner, Henrik Walter, Pieter J. Hoekstra, Paul A. Nyquist, Barbara Franke, David A. Bennett, Hans J. Grabe, Andrew D. Johnson, Christopher Chen, Cornelia M. van Duijn, Oscar L. Lopez, Myriam Fornage, Joanna M. Wardlaw, Reinhold Schmidt, Charles DeCarli, Philip L. de Jager, Arno Villringer, Stéphanie Debette, Vilmundur Gudnason, Sarah E. Medland, Joshua M. Shulman, Paul M. Thompson, Sudha Seshadri, M. Arfan Ikram

Date Published: 1st Nov 2019

Publication Type: Journal article

Human brain arousal in the resting state: a genome-wide association study
Genetical Statistics and Systems Biology

Abstract (Expand)

Arousal affects cognition, emotion, and behavior and has been implicated in the etiology of psychiatric disorders. Although environmental conditions substantially contribute to the level of arousal, … stable interindividual characteristics are well-established and a genetic basis has been suggested. Here we investigated the molecular genetics of brain arousal in the resting state by conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS). We selected N = 1877 participants from the population-based LIFE-Adult cohort. Participants underwent a 20-min eyes-closed resting state EEG, which was analyzed using the computerized VIGALL 2.1 (Vigilance Algorithm Leipzig). At the SNP-level, GWAS analyses revealed no genome-wide significant locus (p \textless 5E-8), although seven loci were suggestive (p \textless 1E-6). The strongest hit was an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) of TMEM159 (lead-SNP: rs79472635, p = 5.49E-8). Importantly, at the gene-level, GWAS analyses revealed significant evidence for TMEM159 (p = 0.013, Bonferroni-corrected). By mapping our SNPs to the GWAS results from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we found that all corresponding markers of TMEM159 showed nominally significant associations with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD; 0.006 ≤ p ≤ 0.011). More specifically, variants associated with high arousal levels have previously been linked to an increased risk for MDD. In line with this, the MetaXcan database suggests increased expression levels of TMEM159 in MDD, as well as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Furthermore, our pathway analyses provided evidence for a role of sodium/calcium exchangers in resting state arousal. In conclusion, the present GWAS identifies TMEM159 as a novel candidate gene which may modulate the risk for psychiatric disorders through arousal mechanisms. Our results also encourage the elaboration of the previously reported interrelations between ion-channel modulators, sleep-wake behavior, and psychiatric disorders.   Arousal affects cognition, emotion, and behavior and has been implicated in the etiology of psychiatric disorders. Although environmental conditions substantially contribute to the level of arousal, stable interindividual characteristics are well-established and a genetic basis has been suggested. Here we investigated the molecular genetics of brain arousal in the resting state by conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS). We selected N = 1877 participants from the population-based LIFE-Adult cohort. Participants underwent a 20-min eyes-closed resting state EEG, which was analyzed using the computerized VIGALL 2.1 (Vigilance Algorithm Leipzig). At the SNP-level, GWAS analyses revealed no genome-wide significant locus (p \textless 5E-8), although seven loci were suggestive (p \textless 1E-6). The strongest hit was an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) of TMEM159 (lead-SNP: rs79472635, p = 5.49E-8). Importantly, at the gene-level, GWAS analyses revealed significant evidence for TMEM159 (p = 0.013, Bonferroni-corrected). By mapping our SNPs to the GWAS results from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we found that all corresponding markers of TMEM159 showed nominally significant associations with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD; 0.006 ≤ p ≤ 0.011). More specifically, variants associated with high arousal levels have previously been linked to an increased risk for MDD. In line with this, the MetaXcan database suggests increased expression levels of TMEM159 in MDD, as well as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Furthermore, our pathway analyses provided evidence for a role of sodium/calcium exchangers in resting state arousal. In conclusion, the present GWAS identifies TMEM159 as a novel candidate gene which may modulate the risk for psychiatric disorders through arousal mechanisms. Our results also encourage the elaboration of the previously reported interrelations between ion-channel modulators, sleep-wake behavior, and psychiatric disorders. // Arousal affects cognition, emotion, and behavior and has been implicated in the etiology of psychiatric disorders. Although environmental conditions substantially contribute to the level of arousal, stable interindividual characteristics are well-established and a genetic basis has been suggested. Here we investigated the molecular genetics of brain arousal in the resting state by conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS). We selected N = 1877 participants from the population-based LIFE-Adult cohort. Participants underwent a 20-min eyes-closed resting state EEG, which was analyzed using the computerized VIGALL 2.1 (Vigilance Algorithm Leipzig). At the SNP-level, GWAS analyses revealed no genome-wide significant locus (p \textless 5E-8), although seven loci were suggestive (p \textless 1E-6). The strongest hit was an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) of TMEM159 (lead-SNP: rs79472635, p = 5.49E-8). Importantly, at the gene-level, GWAS analyses revealed significant evidence for TMEM159 (p = 0.013, Bonferroni-corrected). By mapping our SNPs to the GWAS results from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we found that all corresponding markers of TMEM159 showed nominally significant associations with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD; 0.006 ≤ p ≤ 0.011). More specifically, variants associated with high arousal levels have previously been linked to an increased risk for MDD. In line with this, the MetaXcan database suggests increased expression levels of TMEM159 in MDD, as well as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Furthermore, our pathway analyses provided evidence for a role of sodium/calcium exchangers in resting state arousal. In conclusion, the present GWAS identifies TMEM159 as a novel candidate gene which may modulate the risk for psychiatric disorders through arousal mechanisms. Our results also encourage the elaboration of the previously reported interrelations between ion-channel modulators, sleep-wake behavior, and psychiatric disorders.

Authors: Philippe Jawinski, Holger Kirsten, Christian Sander, Janek Spada, Christine Ulke, Jue Huang, Ralph Burkhardt, Markus Scholz, Tilman Hensch, Ulrich Hegerl

Date Published: 1st Nov 2019

Publication Type: Journal article

Circulating oxytocin is genetically determined and associated with obesity and impaired glucose tolerance
Genetical Statistics and Systems Biology

Abstract (Expand)

CONTEXT Despite the emerging evidence on the role of oxytocin (OXT) in metabolic diseases, there is a lack of well powered studies addressing the relationship of circulating OXT with obesity and diabetes. …. OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN Here, we measured OXT in a study cohort (n=721; 396 women, 325 men; mean age\pmSD - 47.7\pm15.2 years) with sub-phenotypes related to obesity including anthropometric traits such as body mass index (BMI; mean\pmSD - 47.7\pm15.2 kg/m2), waist-to-hip-ratio (WHR; 0.88\pm0.09), blood parameters (glucose - 5.32\pm0.50 mmol/l, insulin - 5.3\pm3.3 µU/ml, lipids) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to clarify the association with OXT. We also tested in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) whether the inter-individual variation in OXT serum levels might be explained by genetic variation. RESULTS The OXT concentration was increased in subjects with elevated BMI and positively correlated with WHR, waist circumference and triglyceride levels. The OXT concentration in subjects with BMI\textless25 kg/m2 was significantly lower (n=256; 78.6 pg/ml) than in subjects with a BMI between 25-30 kg/m2 (n=314; 98.5 pg/ml, p=6x10-6) and with BMI\textgreater30 kg/m2 (n=137; 106.4 pg/ml, p=8x10-6). OXT levels were also positively correlated with plasma glucose and insulin and were elevated in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (p=4.6x10-3). Heritability of OXT was estimated to 12.8%. In a GWAS, two hits in linkage disequilibrium close (19kb) to the OXT reached genome-wide significant association (top-hit rs12625893, p=3.1x10-8, explained variance 3%). CONCLUSIONS Our data show that OXT is genetically affected by a variant in OXT and is associated with obesity and impaired glucose tolerance.

Authors: Mark Florian Joachim Weingarten, Markus Scholz, Tobias Wohland, Katrin Horn, Michael Stumvoll, Peter Kovacs, Anke Tönjes

Date Published: 1st Nov 2019

Publication Type: Journal article

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