PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Genetic tug of war in brain subregions influences parental control over offspring behavior

Cell-specific imprinting is prevalent in the brain, and more common than classic imprinting

Genetic tug of war in brain subregions influences parental control over offspring behavior
2015-07-30
(Press-News.org) Not every mom and dad agree on how their offspring should behave. But in genetics as in life, parenting is about knowing when your voice needs to be heard, and the best ways of doing so. Typically, compromise reigns, and one copy of each gene is inherited from each parent so that the two contribute equally to the traits who make us who we are. Occasionally, a mechanism called genomic imprinting, first described 30 years ago, allows just one parent to be heard by completely silencing the other.

Now, researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine report on a version of genetic parental control in mice that is more targeted, and subtle. Published in Cell Reports, so-called noncanonical imprinting is particularly prevalent in the brain, and skews the genetic message in subpopulations of cells so that mom, or dad, has a stronger say. The mechanism can influence offspring behavior, and because it is observed more frequently than classic imprinting, appears to be preferred.

"The field has traditionally thought of genetics at the level of the whole animal, and sometimes the tissue. We're documenting it at the cellular level," says senior author Christopher Gregg, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy. "Genetics is much more complicated than we thought."

A case in point is the impact of noncanonical signaling on motivated behaviors that prompt a timid mouse to leave its protective shelter when it needs to search for food. Five genes preferably controlled by mom, or dad, cluster within a biochemical pathway that creates serotonin and dopamine, neurochemicals that affect mood and behavior. The imprinting appears to be further customized to influence behavior by being enriched in subregions of the brain known to control it (arcuate nucleus, and dorsal raphe nucleus). When the scientists remove the active, maternal copy of one of the genes, tyrosine hydroxylase (Th), they see a modest but consistent increase in the amount of time the mice spend out in the open. By contrast, mice with their muffled, paternal copy removed show no behavioral changes.

"We speculate that a better strategy for imprinting is to do it in the cells that are needed to achieve the desired effect, rather than to do it in every tissue," says Gregg.

In total, 80 percent of 210 imprinted genes analyzed - the vast majority - were subject to noncanonical imprinting. 64 percent of those genes showed parental bias exclusively in the brain or subregions of the brain, and not in non-neural tissues, liver or muscle.

A novel method that visualizes active copies of genes shows that the bias stems from differences within populations of cells. While canonically imprinted genes have just one active copy in nearly every cell examined, noncanonically imprinted genes have one active copy in subsets of cells, and two active copies in others.

The results expand on previous work by another group who found a gene that imprints in specific neurons, and is reported to be associated with autism when mutated. This and the current study's behavior experiments highlight that in addition to fine-tuning parental control, noncanonical imprinting may have a downside.

Gregg speculates that the targeted form of imprinting gives rise to "high-risk" neurons that are especially vulnerable to mutations inherited from one parent because they don't express a second, healthy back-up copy to compensate for the mistake. "We think that subpopulations of cells that preferentially express mutated genes could disproportionately contribute to brain disorders such as autism," he says. Future research will test the hypothesis and novel therapies to overcome the deficits.

INFORMATION:

The research was supported by the New York Stem Cell foundation, National Institutes of Health, Swiss National Science Foundation, and The Klarman Foundation for Eating Disorders

"Noncanonical genomic imprinting effects in offspring" by Paul Bonthuis, Wei-Chao Huang, Cornelia Stacher Hörndli, Elliott Ferris, Tong Cheng, and Christopher Gregg, will be published in Cell Reports online, July 30, 2015


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Genetic tug of war in brain subregions influences parental control over offspring behavior

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Take a trip through the brain

Take a trip through the brain
2015-07-30
A new imaging tool developed by Boston scientists could do for the brain what the telescope did for space exploration. In the first demonstration of how the technology works, published July 30 in the journal Cell, the researchers look inside the brain of an adult mouse at a scale previously unachievable, generating images at a nanoscale resolution. The inventors' long-term goal is to make the resource available to the scientific community in the form of a national brain observatory. "I'm a strong believer in bottom up-science, which is a way of saying that I would prefer ...

Mouth rinse could help predict recurrence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers

2015-07-30
Oropharyngeal cancer patients who were found to have detectable traces of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) in their saliva following cancer treatment are at an increased risk for recurrence, a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found. The oropharynx is the area of the upper throat that includes the back of the tongue, the soft palate, the tonsils and the walls of the throat. Oropharyngeal cancer accounts for 2.8 percent of new cancers in the United States; it is often treated successfully with surgery. In a small ...

A cheaper, high-performance prosthetic knee

2015-07-30
In the last two decades, prosthetic limb technology has grown by leaps and bounds. Today, the most advanced prostheses incorporate microprocessors that work with onboard gyroscopes, accelerometers, and hydraulics to enable a person to walk with a normal gait. Such top-of-the-line prosthetics can cost more than $50,000. Amos Winter is aiming to develop a passive, low-tech prosthetic knee that performs nearly as well as high-end prosthetics, at a fraction of the cost. "We're going after this disruptive opportunity," says Winter, an assistant professor of mechanical ...

amfAR report highlights priorities to help states achieve national HIV/AIDS strategy goals

2015-07-30
NEW YORK, July 30, 2015 - Major achievements have been made in the domestic HIV/AIDS response as a result of increased realignment and coordination of efforts at the federal level. However, that level of consistent coordination and alignment has yet to take place in most states. In an effort to identify what needs to be done, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, in collaboration with the National HIV/AIDS Initiative at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, has released a set of recommendations for how states across the U.S. can ...

Positive reinforcement plays key role in cognitive task performance in ADHD kids

2015-07-30
BUFFALO, N.Y. - A little recognition for a job well done means a lot to children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - more so than it would for typically developing kids. That praise, or other possible reward, improves the performance of children with ADHD on certain cognitive tasks, but until a recent study led by researchers from the University at Buffalo, it wasn't clear if that result was due to heightened motivation inspired by positive reinforcement or because those with ADHD simply had greater room for improvement at certain tasks relative to ...

HPV16 detection in oral rinses for oropharyngeal cancer

2015-07-30
The presence of persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 DNA in oral rinses after treatment for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer was rare but it appears to be associated with poor prognosis and therefore may have potential as a long-term tool for tumor surveillance, according to an article published online by JAMA Oncology. HPV infection is responsible for the majority of oropharyngeal carcinomas in the United States. In 10 percent to 25 percent of patients with HPV-positive tumors, the cancer will progress after treatment and earlier diagnoses of progressive or ...

Liver plays role in pneumonia, sepsis susceptibility

2015-07-30
(Boston)--New evidence highlights the importance of the liver in immunity against bacterial pneumonia. The study is the first of its kind to directly show such a link between liver-produced molecules and pneumonia susceptibility during sepsis. Led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), the study appears in the journal Infection and Immunity. Pneumonia, according to the World Health Organization, is the leading infectious cause of death in children worldwide, taking more than 900,000 lives of children under the age of 5 in 2013 alone. Pneumonia, ...

Electric fields signal 'no flies zone'

2015-07-30
A new piece of research led by the University of Southampton has found that the behaviour of fruit flies, which are commonly used in laboratory experiments, is altered by electric fields. The research indicates that the wings of the insects are disturbed by static electric fields, leading to changes in avoidance behaviour and the neurochemical balance of their brains. The paper, published in the Proceeding of the Royal Society B, suggests that the plastic housing laboratory fruit flies are commonly kept in (which hold their own static electric charge) could agitate the ...

Why female physicians are paid less than men

2015-07-30
In a survey of hospital medical physicians across the United States, women made nearly $15,000 less than their male counterparts, with a portion of this disparity explained by female doctors' tendency to prioritize collegiality and control over personal time, rather than substantial pay. The figure was determined after controlling for a number of factors, including age, geography, specialty, and amount and type of clinical work. Optimal workload was the top priority for both male and female physicians, 776 of whom responded to survey questions on work priorities. Substantial ...

New study narrows the gap between climate models and reality

2015-07-30
A new study led by a University of York scientist addresses an important question in climate science: how accurate are climate model projections? Climate models are used to estimate future global warming, and their accuracy can be checked against the actual global warming observed so far. Most comparisons suggest that the world is warming a little more slowly than the model projections indicate. Scientists have wondered whether this difference is meaningful, or just a chance fluctuation. Dr Kevin Cowtan, of the Department of Chemistry at York, led an international study ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Modesty and boastfulness – perception depends on usual performance

Do sweeteners increase your appetite? New evidence from randomised controlled trial says no 

Women with obesity do not need to gain weight during pregnancy, new study suggests

Individuals with multiple sclerosis face substantially greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, despite high rates of vaccination

Study shows obesity in childhood associated with a more than doubling of risk of developing multiple sclerosis in early adulthood

Rice Emerging Scholars Program receives $2.5M NSF grant to boost STEM education

Virtual rehabilitation provides benefits for stroke recovery

Generative AI develops potential new drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Biofuels could help island nations survive a global catastrophe, study suggests

NJIT research team discovering how fluids behave in nanopores with NSF grant

New study shows association of historical housing discrimination and shortfalls in colon cancer treatment

Social media use may help to empower plastic surgery patients

Q&A: How to train AI when you don't have enough data

Wayne State University researchers uncover potential treatment targets for Zika virus-related eye abnormalities

Discovering Van Gogh in the wild: scientists unveil a new gecko species

Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia

Imaging detects transient “hypoxic pockets” in the mouse brain

Dissolved organic matter could be used to track and improve the health of freshwaters

Indoor air quality standards in public buildings would boost health and economy, say international experts

Positive associations between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

New imaging method illuminates oxygen's journey in the brain

Researchers discover key gene for toxic alkaloid in barley

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

Bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

Cell division quality control ‘stopwatch’ uncovered

Vaccine protects cattle from bovine tuberculosis, may eliminate disease

Andrew Siemion to receive the SETI Institute’s 2024 Drake Award

New study shows how the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy proves effective for locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma

Study flips treatment paradigm in bilateral Wilms tumor, shows resistance to chemotherapy may point toward favorable outcomes

[Press-News.org] Genetic tug of war in brain subregions influences parental control over offspring behavior
Cell-specific imprinting is prevalent in the brain, and more common than classic imprinting