<p>Executive function is an essential cognitive domain for typical human behavior which is disrupted in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, but little is known about its underlying molecular basis. To address this, we perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using three different measures of executive function in UK Biobank (<i>N</i> = 84,238) and NIHR BioResource’s Genes and Cognition (<i>N</i> = 9932) study participants, followed by a meta-analysis. The trail-making alphanumeric (TMA) measure is the most heritable phenotype (h²=7-26%), associated with 18 independent loci that exhibit a similar direction of effect in both cohorts. Across these loci, in-silico follow-up implicates 178 genes, of which <i>NT5DC2</i> and <i>RP11-579E24.2</i> are independently replicated prior to meta-analysis. TMA is linked to pan-cerebral differences in brain structure, with brain-enriched genes showing a biphasic expression profile from early development through to later life. Our data implicate specific cell types, histone modifications and butyrophilin immunoglobulin family proteins as potential targets for promoting cognitive resilience.</p>

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Genetic landscape of adult executive function reveals a cell-type-specific developmental origin

  • Md Shafiqur Rahman,
  • Azra Frkatović-Hodžić,
  • Jelle van den Ameele,
  • Steven M. Hill,
  • Nathalie Kingston,
  • John R. Bradley,
  • Brian D. M. Tom,
  • Patrick F. Chinnery

摘要

Executive function is an essential cognitive domain for typical human behavior which is disrupted in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, but little is known about its underlying molecular basis. To address this, we perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using three different measures of executive function in UK Biobank (N = 84,238) and NIHR BioResource’s Genes and Cognition (N = 9932) study participants, followed by a meta-analysis. The trail-making alphanumeric (TMA) measure is the most heritable phenotype (h²=7-26%), associated with 18 independent loci that exhibit a similar direction of effect in both cohorts. Across these loci, in-silico follow-up implicates 178 genes, of which NT5DC2 and RP11-579E24.2 are independently replicated prior to meta-analysis. TMA is linked to pan-cerebral differences in brain structure, with brain-enriched genes showing a biphasic expression profile from early development through to later life. Our data implicate specific cell types, histone modifications and butyrophilin immunoglobulin family proteins as potential targets for promoting cognitive resilience.