Somatic mosaicism in schizophrenia brains reveals prenatal mutational processes.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
Authors
Abstract

Germline mutations modulate the risk of developing schizophrenia (SCZ). Much less is known about the role of mosaic somatic mutations in the context of SCZ. Deep (239×) whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of brain neurons from 61 SCZ cases and 25 controls postmortem identified mutations occurring during prenatal neurogenesis. SCZ cases showed increased somatic variants in open chromatin, with increased mosaic CpG transversions (CpG>GpG) and T>G mutations at transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) overlapping open chromatin, a result not seen in controls. Some of these variants alter gene expression, including SCZ risk genes and genes involved in neurodevelopment. Although these mutational processes can reflect a difference in factors indirectly involved in disease, increased somatic mutations at developmental TFBSs could also potentially contribute to SCZ.

Year of Publication
2024
Journal
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Volume
386
Issue
6718
Pages
217-224
Date Published
10/2024
ISSN
1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.adq1456
PubMed ID
39388546
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