Association study in siblings and case-controls of serotonin- and oxytocin-related genes with high functioning autism

BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heritable and neurodevelopmental with unknown causes. The serotonergic and oxytocinergic systems are of interest in autism for several reasons: (i) Both systems are implicated in social behavior, and abnormal levels of serotonin and oxytocin have been found in people with ASD; (ii) treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and oxytocin can yield improvements; and (iii) previous association studies have linked the serotonin transporter (SERT; SLC6A4), serotonin receptor 2A (HTR2A), and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) genes with ASD. We examined their association with high functioning autism (HFA) including siblings and their interaction. METHODS In this association study with HFA children (IQ > 80), siblings, and controls, participants were genotyped for four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in OXTR (rs2301261, rs53576, rs2254298, rs2268494) and one in HTR2A (rs6311) as well as the triallelic HTTLPR (SERT polymorphism). RESULTS We identified a nominal significant association with HFA for the HTTLPR s allele (consisting of S and LG alleles) (p = .040; odds ratio (OR) = 1.697, 95% CI 1.191-2.204)). Four polymorphisms (HTTLPR, HTR2A rs6311, OXTR rs2254298 and rs53576) in combination conferred nominal significant risk for HFA with a genetic score of ≥4 (OR = 2.09, 95% CI 1.05-4.18, p = .037). The resulting area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.595 (p = .033). CONCLUSIONS Our findings, combined with those of previous reports, indicate that ASD, in particular HFA, is polygenetic rather than monogenetic and involves the serotonergic and oxytocin pathways, probably in combination with other factors

Neural crest cell migration as a functional endpoint to test for developmental toxicity

Neurodevelopmental disorders affect 10-15% of children. For disorders like autism and attention deficit disorder, the prevalence has been rising, pointing towards environmental risk factors such as toxicants. At present, only few compounds are known as developmental neurotoxicants but most compounds have never been assessed for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT). To change this, novel high-throughput human cell-based assays are developed with the aim to model all critical steps of neurodevelopment.One step involves proper functioning of neural crest cells (NCC). NCCs are a particular fetal cell type that arises at the time of neurulation, delaminates from the neural tube and migrates to different places in the embryo to give rise to various cell types, including enteric and peripheral neurons, melanocytes and craniofacial skeleton. NCC function can be disturbed by toxicants such as retinoic acid.The aim of the present thesis was to develop a high-throughput assay to measure human NCC migration and to investigate the molecular mechanisms that are disturbed by NCC migration-inhibiting compounds.In a first step, an existing NCC migration assay was adapted for high-throughput. The new as- say (cMINC) is experimenter-independent, suitable for automated image acquisition and reproducible. Proliferation-inhibition by toxicants was identified as potential confounding factor and further investigated. Using appropriate positive and negative controls, a preliminary prediction model was set up.In a second step, performance of the assay was tested by screening a compound library consisting of compounds from several chemical classes (flame retardants, pesticides, drug-like compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, industrial chemicals), including known DNT compounds and negative controls. Of the tested compounds, 23/75 disturbed NCC migration at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Strikingly, many hits were halogenated or phosphorous organic compounds.In a third subproject, mechanisms of migration-inhibition were investigated using polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as an example. PCBs are a group of environmental contaminants composed of 209 congeners with varying chemical properties and biological activities. A structure-activity-relationship (SAR) was built for migration-inhibition and compared to literature data and own measurements. Subsequently, reduction of Connexin43 (Cx43) plaque number was identified as a potential key event in migration-inhibition.In a follow-up project, testing of other NCC migration-inhibiting compounds revealed that several toxicants interfered with Cx43 localization, indicating that Cx43 mislocalization might be a general toxicity mechanism. Moreover, Cx43 is known to play an important role in NCC migration in vivo. All together, this leads to the conclusion that Cx43 mislocalization is a likely mechanistic step involved in migration-inhibition by a subset of NCC toxicants.To conclude, the developed migration assay is suitable for medium to high throughput. Over 100 compounds have already been tested and > 30 NCC migration-inhibiting compounds identified. Some hits are shared with other assays, but there are also compounds unique to the cMINC assay. This indicates that the assay could give complementary information as part of a test battery to assess DNT. Future studies should address the role of Cx43 localization in human NCC migration in more detail.publishe

Normalization of data for viability and relative cell function curves

Many types of assays in cell biology, pharmacology and toxicology generate data in which a parameter is measured in a reference system (negative control) and then also under conditions of increasing stress or drug exposure. To make such data easily comparable, they are normalized, i.e., the initial value of the system (e.g., viability or transport function) is set to 100%, and all data are indicated relative to this value. Then, curves are fitted through the data points and summary data of the system behavior are determined. For this, a benchmark response (BMR) is given (e.g., a curve drop by 15 or 50%), and the corresponding benchmark concentration (BMC15 or BMC50) is determined. Especially for low BMRs, this procedure is not very robust and often results in incorrect summary data. It is often neglected that a second normalization (re-normalization) is necessary to make the data suitable for curve fitting. It is also frequently overlooked that this requires knowledge of the system behavior at very low stress conditions. Here, good in vitro practice guidance for the re-normalization procedure is provided so that data of higher fidelity can be generated and presented.publishe

Optimization and Application of a Multivariate Image-Based Phenotypic Profiling Assay for Screening of Environmental Chemicals in U-2 OS and MCF7 Cells

Poster presentation at Society of Toxicology annual meeting March 201

Design of a high-throughput human neural crest cell migration assay to indicate potential developmental toxicants

Migration of neural crest cells (NCCs) is one of the pivotal processes of human fetal development. Malformations arise, if NCC migration and differentiation are impaired genetically or by toxicants. In the currently available test systems for migration inhibition of NCC (MINC), the manual generation of a cell-free space results in extreme operator dependencies, and limits throughput. Therefore, a new test format was established here. The assay avoids scratching by plating cells around a commercially available circular stopper. Removal of this barrier after cell attachment initiates migration. This microwell-based circular migration zone NCC function assay (cMINC) was further optimized for toxicological testing of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived NCCs. The challenge of automated image processing to obtain data on viability and migration was addressed by development of a software made generally available for downloading. To optimize the biological system, data on cell proliferation were obtained by labelling of replicating cells, and by careful assessment of cell viability for each experimental sample. The role of cell proliferation as experimental confounder was tested experimentally by performance of the cMINC in the presence of the proliferation-inhibiting drug cytosine arabinoside (AraC), and by a careful evaluation of mitotic events over time. Data from these studies led to an adaptation of the test protocol, so that toxicant exposure was limited to 24 h. Under these conditions, a prediction model was developed that allowed classification of toxicants as either being inactive, leading to unspecific cytotoxicity or specifically inhibiting NC migration at non-cytotoxic concentrations.publishe

Impairment of human neural crest cell migration by prolonged exposure to interferon-beta

Human cell-based toxicological assays have been used successfully to detect known toxicants, and to distinguish them from negative controls. However, there is at present little experience on how to deal with hits from screens of compounds with yet unknown hazard. As a case study to this issue, we characterized human interferon-beta (IFNβ) as potential developmental toxicant affecting neural crest cells (NCC). The protein was identified as a hit during a screen of clinically used drugs in the 'migration inhibition of neural crest' (MINC) assay. Concentration-response studies in the MINC combined with immunocytochemistry and mRNA quantification of cellular markers showed that IFNβ inhibited NCC migration at concentrations as low as 20 pM. The effective concentrations found here correspond to levels found in human plasma, and they were neither cytostatic nor cytotoxic nor did they did they affect the differentiation state and overall phenotype of NCC. Data from two other migration assays confirmed that picomolar concentration of IFNβ reduced the motility of NCC, while other interferons were less potent. The activation of JAK kinase by IFNβ, as suggested by bioinformatics analysis of the transcriptome changes, was confirmed by biochemical methods. The degree and duration of pathway activation correlated with the extent of migration inhibition, and pharmacological block of this signaling pathway before, or up to 6 h after exposure to the cytokine prevented the effects of IFNβ on migration. Thus, the reduction of vital functions of human NCC is a hitherto unknown potential hazard of endogenous or pharmacologically applied interferons.publishe

Multiparameter toxicity assessment of novel DOPO-derived organophosphorus flame retardants

Halogen-free organophosphorus flame retardants are considered as replacements for the phased-out class of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). However, toxicological information on new flame retardants is still limited. Based on their excellent flame retardation potential, we have selected three novel 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) derivatives and assessed their toxicological profile using a battery of in vitro test systems in order to provide toxicological information before their large-scale production and use. PBDE-99, applied as a reference compound, exhibited distinct neuro-selective cytotoxicity at concentrations ≥10 µM. 6-(2-((6-oxido-6H-dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphinin-6-yl)amino)ethoxy)-6H-dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphinine 6-oxide (ETA-DOPO) and 6,6'-(ethane-1,2-diylbis(oxy))bis(6H-dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphinine-6-oxide) (EG-DOPO) displayed adverse effects at concentrations >10 µM in test systems reflecting the properties of human central and peripheral nervous system neurons, as well as in a set of non-neuronal cell types. DOPO and its derivative 6,6'-(ethane-1,2-diylbis(azanediyl))bis(6H-dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphinine-6-oxide) (EDA-DOPO) were neither neurotoxic, nor did they exhibit an influence on neural crest cell migration, or on the integrity of human skin equivalents. The two compounds furthermore displayed no inflammatory activation potential, nor did they affect algae growth or daphnia viability at concentrations ≤400 µM. Based on the superior flame retardation properties, biophysical features suited for use in polyurethane foams, and low cytotoxicity of EDA-DOPO, our results suggest that it is a candidate for the replacement of currently applied flame retardants.publishe

Determination of benchmark concentrations and their statistical uncertainty for cytotoxicity test data and functional in vitro assays

Many toxicological test methods, including assays of cell viability and function, require an evaluation of concentration-response data. This often involves curve fitting, and the resulting mathematical functions are then used to determine the concentration at which a certain deviation from the control value occurs (e.g. a decrease of cell viability by 15%). Such a threshold is called the benchmark response (BMR). For a toxicological test, it is often of interest to determine the concentration of test compound at which a pre-defined BMR of e.g. 10, 25 or 50% is reached. The concentration at which the modelled curve crosses the BMR is called the benchmark concentration (BMC). We present a user-friendly, web-based tool (BMCeasy), designed for operators without programming skills and profound statistical background, to determine BMCs and their confidence intervals. BMCeasy allows simultaneous analysis of viability plus a functional test endpoint, and it yields absolute BMCs with confidence intervals for any BMR. Besides an explanation of the algorithm underlying BMCeasy, this article also gives multiple examples of data outputs. BMCeasy was used within the EU-ToxRisk project for preparing data packages that were submitted to regulatory authorities, demonstrating the real-life applicability of the tool.This work was supported by the BMBF, EFSA, the DK-EPA, and the DFG (Konstanz Research School of Chemical Biology; KoRS-CB). It has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements No. 681002 (EU-ToxRisk) and No. 825759 (ENDpoiNTs). We are grateful to collaborators R. von Hellfeld and T. Braunbeck (University of Heidelberg), and H. Vrieling and J. Boei (Leiden University Medical Center) of the EU-ToxRisk con-sortium for providing the experimental data. We are indebted to S. Förster for triggering this work and to other colleagues for in-sightful discussions

A structure-activity relationship linking non-planar PCBs to functional deficits of neural crest cells : new roles for connexins

Migration of neural crest cells (NCC) is a fundamental developmental process, and test methods to identify interfering toxicants have been developed. By examining cell function endpoints, as in the 'migration-inhibition of NCC (cMINC)' assay, a large number of toxicity mechanisms and protein targets can be covered. However, the key events that lead to the adverse effects of a given chemical or group of related compounds are hard to elucidate. To address this issue, we explored here, whether the establishment of two overlapping structure-activity relationships (SAR)-linking chemical structure on the one hand to a phenotypic test outcome, and on the other hand to a mechanistic endpoint-was useful as strategy to identify relevant toxicity mechanisms. For this purpose, we chose polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) as a large group of related, but still toxicologically and physicochemically diverse structures. We obtained concentration-dependent data for 26 PCBs in the cMINC assay. Moreover, the test chemicals were evaluated by a new high-content imaging method for their effect on cellular re-distribution of connexin43 and for their capacity to inhibit gap junctions. Non-planar PCBs inhibited NCC migration. The potency (1-10 µM) correlated with the number of ortho-chlorine substituents; non-ortho-chloro (planar) PCBs were non-toxic. The toxicity to NCC partially correlated with gap junction inhibition, while it fully correlated (p < 0.0004) with connexin43 cellular re-distribution. Thus, our double-SAR strategy revealed a mechanistic step tightly linked to NCC toxicity of PCBs. Connexin43 patterns in NCC may be explored as a new endpoint relevant to developmental toxicity screening.publishe