Cortical miR-709 links glutamatergic signaling to NREM sleep EEG slow waves in an activity-dependent manner.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression that have been implicated in a plethora of neuronal processes. Nevertheless, their role in regulating brain activity in the context of sleep has so far received little attention. To test their involvement, we deleted mature miRNAs in post-mitotic neurons at two developmental ages, i.e., in early adulthood using conditional Dicer knockout (cKO) mice and in adult mice using an inducible conditional Dicer cKO (icKO) line. In both models, electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was affected and the response to sleep deprivation (SD) altered; while the rapid-eye-movement sleep (REMS) rebound was compromised in both, the increase in EEG delta (1 to 4 Hz) power during non-REMS (NREMS) was smaller in cKO mice and larger in icKO mice compared to controls. We subsequently investigated the effects of SD on the forebrain miRNA transcriptome and found that the expression of 48 miRNAs was affected, and in particular that of the activity-dependent miR-709. In vivo inhibition of miR-709 in the brain increased EEG power during NREMS in the slow-delta (0.75 to 1.75 Hz) range, particularly after periods of prolonged wakefulness. Transcriptome analysis of primary cortical neurons in vitro revealed that miR-709 regulates genes involved in glutamatergic neurotransmission. A subset of these genes was also affected in the cortices of sleep-deprived, miR-709-inhibited mice. Our data implicate miRNAs in the regulation of EEG activity and indicate that miR-709 links neuronal activity during wakefulness to brain synchrony during sleep through the regulation of glutamatergic signaling.

Environmental Enrichment Induces Epigenomic and Genome Organization Changes Relevant for Cognition.

In early development, the environment triggers mnemonic epigenomic programs resulting in memory and learning experiences to confer cognitive phenotypes into adulthood. To uncover how environmental stimulation impacts the epigenome and genome organization, we used the paradigm of environmental enrichment (EE) in young mice constantly receiving novel stimulation. We profiled epigenome and chromatin architecture in whole cortex and sorted neurons by deep-sequencing techniques. Specifically, we studied chromatin accessibility, gene and protein regulation, and 3D genome conformation, combined with predicted enhancer and chromatin interactions. We identified increased chromatin accessibility, transcription factor binding including CTCF-mediated insulation, differential occupancy of H3K36me3 and H3K79me2, and changes in transcriptional programs required for neuronal development. EE stimuli led to local genome re-organization by inducing increased contacts between chromosomes 7 and 17 (inter-chromosomal). Our findings support the notion that EE-induced learning and memory processes are directly associated with the epigenome and genome organization.

Sleep-wake-driven and circadian contributions to daily rhythms in gene expression and chromatin accessibility in the murine cortex.

The timing and duration of sleep results from the interaction between a homeostatic sleep-wake-driven process and a periodic circadian process, and involves changes in gene regulation and expression. Unraveling the contributions of both processes and their interaction to transcriptional and epigenomic regulatory dynamics requires sampling over time under conditions of unperturbed and perturbed sleep. We profiled mRNA expression and chromatin accessibility in the cerebral cortex of mice over a 3-d period, including a 6-h sleep deprivation (SD) on day 2. We used mathematical modeling to integrate time series of mRNA expression data with sleep-wake history, which established that a large proportion of rhythmic genes are governed by the homeostatic process with varying degrees of interaction with the circadian process, sometimes working in opposition. Remarkably, SD caused long-term effects on gene-expression dynamics, outlasting phenotypic recovery, most strikingly illustrated by a damped oscillation of most core clock genes, including Arntl/Bmal1, suggesting that enforced wakefulness directly impacts the molecular clock machinery. Chromatin accessibility proved highly plastic and dynamically affected by SD. Dynamics in distal regions, rather than promoters, correlated with mRNA expression, implying that changes in expression result from constitutively accessible promoters under the influence of enhancers or repressors. Serum response factor (SRF) was predicted as a transcriptional regulator driving immediate response, suggesting that SRF activity mirrors the build-up and release of sleep pressure. Our results demonstrate that a single, short SD has long-term aftereffects at the genomic regulatory level and highlights the importance of the sleep-wake distribution to diurnal rhythmicity and circadian processes.

A systems genetics resource and analysis of sleep regulation in the mouse.

Sleep is essential for optimal brain functioning and health, but the biological substrates through which sleep delivers these beneficial effects remain largely unknown. We used a systems genetics approach in the BXD genetic reference population (GRP) of mice and assembled a comprehensive experimental knowledge base comprising a deep "sleep-wake" phenome, central and peripheral transcriptomes, and plasma metabolome data, collected under undisturbed baseline conditions and after sleep deprivation (SD). We present analytical tools to interactively interrogate the database, visualize the molecular networks altered by sleep loss, and prioritize candidate genes. We found that a one-time, short disruption of sleep already extensively reshaped the systems genetics landscape by altering 60%-78% of the transcriptomes and the metabolome, with numerous genetic loci affecting the magnitude and direction of change. Systems genetics integrative analyses drawing on all levels of organization imply α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor trafficking and fatty acid turnover as substrates of the negative effects of insufficient sleep. Our analyses demonstrate that genetic heterogeneity and the effects of insufficient sleep itself on the transcriptome and metabolome are far more widespread than previously reported.

Missense mutations in TENM4, a regulator of axon guidance and central myelination, cause essential tremor.

Essential tremor (ET) is a common movement disorder with an estimated prevalence of 5% of the population aged over 65 years. In spite of intensive efforts, the genetic architecture of ET remains unknown. We used a combination of whole-exome sequencing and targeted resequencing in three ET families. In vitro and in vivo experiments in oligodendrocyte precursor cells and zebrafish were performed to test our findings. Whole-exome sequencing revealed a missense mutation in TENM4 segregating in an autosomal-dominant fashion in an ET family. Subsequent targeted resequencing of TENM4 led to the discovery of two novel missense mutations. Not only did these two mutations segregate with ET in two additional families, but we also observed significant over transmission of pathogenic TENM4 alleles across the three families. Consistent with a dominant mode of inheritance, in vitro analysis in oligodendrocyte precursor cells showed that mutant proteins mislocalize. Finally, expression of human mRNA harboring any of three patient mutations in zebrafish embryos induced defects in axon guidance, confirming a dominant-negative mode of action for these mutations. Our genetic and functional data, which is corroborated by the existence of a Tenm4 knockout mouse displaying an ET phenotype, implicates TENM4 in ET. Together with previous studies of TENM4 in model organisms, our studies intimate that processes regulating myelination in the central nervous system and axon guidance might be significant contributors to the genetic burden of this disorder.

DQB1 locus alone explains most of the risk and protection in narcolepsy with cataplexy in Europe.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Prior research has identified five common genetic variants associated with narcolepsy with cataplexy in Caucasian patients. To replicate and/or extend these findings, we have tested HLA-DQB1, the previously identified 5 variants, and 10 other potential variants in a large European sample of narcolepsy with cataplexy subjects. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. SETTING: A recent study showed that over 76% of significant genome-wide association variants lie within DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHSs). From our previous GWAS, we identified 30 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with P < 10(-4) mapping to DHSs. Ten SNPs tagging these sites, HLADQB1, and all previously reported SNPs significantly associated with narcolepsy were tested for replication. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: For GWAS, 1,261 narcolepsy patients and 1,422 HLA-DQB1*06:02-matched controls were included. For HLA study, 1,218 patients and 3,541 controls were included. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: None of the top variants within DHSs were replicated. Out of the five previously reported SNPs, only rs2858884 within the HLA region (P < 2x10(-9)) and rs1154155 within the TRA locus (P < 2x10(-8)) replicated. DQB1 typing confirmed that DQB1*06:02 confers an extraordinary risk (odds ratio 251). Four protective alleles (DQB1*06:03, odds ratio 0.17, DQB1*05:01, odds ratio 0.56, DQB1*06:09 odds ratio 0.21, DQB1*02 odds ratio 0.76) were also identified. CONCLUSION: An overwhelming portion of genetic risk for narcolepsy with cataplexy is found at DQB1 locus. Since DQB1*06:02 positive subjects are at 251-fold increase in risk for narcolepsy, and all recent cases of narcolepsy after H1N1 vaccination are positive for this allele, DQB1 genotyping may be relevant to public health policy.