Quantitative trait locus mapping identifies a locus linked to striatal dopamine and points to collagen IV alpha-6 chain as a novel regulator of striatal axonal branching in mice
[en] Dopaminergic neurons (DA neurons) are controlled by multiple factors, many involved in neurological disease. Parkinson's disease motor symptoms are caused by the demise of nigral DA neurons, leading to loss of striatal dopamine (DA). Here, we measured DA concentration in the dorsal striatum of 32 members of Collaborative Cross (CC) family and their eight founder strains. Striatal DA varied greatly in founders, and differences were highly heritable in the inbred CC progeny. We identified a locus, containing 164 genes, linked to DA concentration in the dorsal striatum on chromosome X. We used RNAseq profiling of the ventral midbrain of two founders with substantial difference in striatal DA–C56BL/6 J and A/J—to highlight potential protein-coding candidates modulating this trait. Among the five differentially expressed genes within the locus, we found that the gene coding for the collagen IV alpha 6 chain (Col4a6) was expressed nine times less in A/J than in C57BL/6J. Using single cell RNA-seq data from developing human midbrain, we found that COL4A6 is highly expressed in radial glia-like cells and neuronal progenitors, indicating a role in neuronal development. Collagen IV alpha-6 chain (COL4A6) controls axogenesis in simple model organisms. Consistent with these findings, A/J mice had less striatal axonal branching than C57BL/6J mice. We tentatively conclude that DA concentration and axonal branching in dorsal striatum are modulated by COL4A6, possibly during development. Our study shows that genetic mapping based on an easily measured Central Nervous System (CNS) trait, using the CC population, combined with follow-up observations, can parse heritability of such a trait, and nominate novel functions for commonly expressed proteins.
Disciplines :
Biochemistry, biophysics & molecular biology
Author, co-author :
THOMAS, Melanie ; University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) > Systems Ecology
Gui, Yujuan; Department of Life Sciences and Medicine (DLSM), University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
GARCIA, Pierre ; University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) > Neuropathology
Karout, Mona; Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg
GOMEZ RAMOS, Borja ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Life Sciences and Medicine (DLSM)
JÄGER, Christian ; University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) > Scientific Central Services > Metabolomics Platform
Michelucci, Alessandro; Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg ; Neuro-Immunology Group, Department of Oncology (DONC), Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), Luxembourg, Luxembourg
GAIGNEAUX, Anthoula ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Life Sciences and Medicine (DLSM)
Kollmus, Heike; Department of Infection Genetics, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
Centeno, Arthur; Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Schughart, Klaus; Department of Infection Genetics, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany ; University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany ; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Balling, Rudi; Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg
Mittelbronn, Michel; Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg ; Luxembourg Centre of Neuropathology (LCNP), Luxembourg ; National Center of Pathology (NCP), Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), Dudelange, Luxembourg
Nadeau, Joseph H.; Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA ; Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Scarborough, Maine, USA
SAUTER, Thomas ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Life Sciences and Medicine (DLSM)
Williams, Robert W.; Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
SINKKONEN, Lasse ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Life Sciences and Medicine (DLSM)
BUTTINI, Manuel ; University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) > Neuropathology
Quantitative trait locus mapping identifies a locus linked to striatal dopamine and points to collagen IV alpha-6 chain as a novel regulator of striatal axonal branching in mice
Publication date :
09 August 2021
Journal title :
Genes, Brain, and Behavior
ISSN :
1601-1848
eISSN :
1601-183X
Publisher :
Blackwell, Oxford, United Kingdom
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Focus Area :
Systems Biomedicine
FnR Project :
FNR10406131 - Identifying Novel Genetic And Epigenetic Modulators Of Dopaminergic Neuron Structure And Function., 2015 (01/05/2016-30/04/2019) - Manuel Buttini
Funders :
Fonds National de la Recherche - FnR, Helmholtz-Association