A translational systems biology approach in both animals and humans identifies a functionally related module of accumbal genes involved in the regulation of reward processing and binge drinking in males

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • David Stacey - , University of Adelaide (Author)
  • Anbarasu Lourdusamy - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)
  • Barbara Ruggeri - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)
  • Matthieu Maroteaux - , King's College London (KCL), ifm - Institut du Fer à Moulin (Author)
  • Tianye Jia - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)
  • Anna Cattrell - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Charlotte Nymberg - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)
  • Tobias Banaschewski - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Sohinee Bhattacharyya - , University of Nebraska Medical Center (Author)
  • Hamid Band - , University of Nebraska Medical Center (Author)
  • Gareth Barker - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Arun Bokde - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • Christian Büchel - , University of Hamburg (Author)
  • Fabiana Carvalho - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)
  • Patricia Conrod - , King's College London (KCL), University of Montreal (Author)
  • Sylvane Desrivières - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)
  • Alanna Easton - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)
  • Mira Fauth-Buehler - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Alberto Fernandez-Medarde - , Spanish National Research Council (Author)
  • Herta Flor - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Vincent Frouin - , French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (Author)
  • Jurgen Gallinat - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Hugh Garavanh - , Trinity College Dublin, University of Vermont (Author)
  • Andreas Heinz - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Bernd Ittermann - , Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Author)
  • Mark Lathrop - , McGill University (Author)
  • Claire Lawrence - , University of Nottingham (Author)
  • Eva Loth - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)
  • Karl Mann - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Jean Luc Martinot - , INSERM - Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, Université Paris Cité (Author)
  • Frauke Nees - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Tomas Paus - , University of Nottingham, University of Toronto, McGill University Health Centre (Author)
  • Zdenka Pausova - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Marcella Rietschel - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Andrea Rotter - , Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Eugenio Santos - , Spanish National Research Council (Author)
  • Michael Smolka - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Neuroimaging Center (Author)
  • Wolfgang Sommer - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Manuel Mameli - , ifm - Institut du Fer à Moulin (Author)
  • Rainer Spanagel - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Jean Antoine Girault - , ifm - Institut du Fer à Moulin (Author)
  • Christian Müller - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Gunter Schumann - , King's College London (KCL), Medical Research Council (MRC) (Author)

Abstract

Background: The mesolimbic dopamine system, composed primarily of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area that project to striatal structures, is considered to be the key mediator of reinforcement-related mechanisms in the brain. Prompted by a genome-wide association meta-analysis implicating the Ras-specific guanine nucleotide-releasing factor 2 (RASGRF2) gene in the regulation of alcohol intake in men, we have recently shown that male Rasgrf2–/– mice exhibit reduced ethanol intake and preference accompanied by a perturbed mesolimbic dopamine system. We therefore propose that these mice represent a valid model to further elucidate the precise genes and mechanisms regulating mesolimbic dopamine functioning. Methods: Transcriptomic data from the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) of maleRasgrf2–/– mice and wild-type controls were analyzed by weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA). We performed follow-up genetic association tests in humans using a sample of male adolescents from the IMAGEN study characterized for binge drinking (n = 905) and ventral striatal activation during an fMRI reward task (n = 608). Results: The WGCNA analyses using accumbal transcriptomic data revealed 37 distinct “modules,” or functionally related groups of genes. Two of these modules were significantly associated with Rasgrf2 knockout status: M5 (p < 0.001) and M6 (p < 0.001). In follow-up translational analyses we found that human orthologues for the M5 module were significantly (p < 0.01) enriched with genetic association signals for binge drinking in male adolescents. Furthermore, the most significant locus, originating from the EH-domain containing 4 (EHD4) gene (p < 0.001), was also significantly associated with altered ventral striatal activity in male adolescents performing an fMRI reward task (pempirical < 0.001). Limitations: It was not possible to determine the extent to which the M5 module was dysregulated in Rasgrf2–/– mice by perturbed mesolimbic dopamine signalling or by the loss of Rasgrf2 function in the NAcc. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings indicate that the accumbal M5 module, initially identified as being dysregulated in male Rasgrf2–/– mice, is also relevant for human alcohol-related phenotypes potentially through the modulation of reinforcement mechanisms in the NAcc. We therefore propose that the genes comprising this module represent important candidates for further elucidation within the context of alcohol-related phenotypes.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)192-202
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Volume41
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - May 2016
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 26679926
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/161890789