Title | Divergence of human and mouse brain transcriptome highlights Alzheimer disease pathways. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2010 |
Authors | Miller, JA, Horvath, S, Geschwind, DH |
Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A |
Volume | 107 |
Issue | 28 |
Pagination | 12698-703 |
Date Published | 2010 Jul 13 |
ISSN | 1091-6490 |
Keywords | Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Brain, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Regulatory Networks, Humans, Male, Mice, Presenilin-1, Systems Biology |
Abstract | Because mouse models play a crucial role in biomedical research related to the human nervous system, understanding the similarities and differences between mouse and human brain is of fundamental importance. Studies comparing transcription in human and mouse have come to varied conclusions, in part because of their relatively small sample sizes or underpowered methodologies. To better characterize gene expression differences between mouse and human, we took a systems-biology approach by using weighted gene coexpression network analysis on more than 1,000 microarrays from brain. We find that global network properties of the brain transcriptome are highly preserved between species. Furthermore, all modules of highly coexpressed genes identified in mouse were identified in human, with those related to conserved cellular functions showing the strongest between-species preservation. Modules corresponding to glial and neuronal cells were sufficiently preserved between mouse and human to permit identification of cross species cell-class marker genes. We also identify several robust human-specific modules, including one strongly correlated with measures of Alzheimer disease progression across multiple data sets, whose hubs are poorly-characterized genes likely involved in Alzheimer disease. We present multiple lines of evidence suggesting links between neurodegenerative disease and glial cell types in human, including human-specific correlation of presenilin-1 with oligodendrocyte markers, and significant enrichment for known neurodegenerative disease genes in microglial modules. Together, this work identifies convergent and divergent pathways in mouse and human, and provides a systematic framework that will be useful for understanding the applicability of mouse models for human brain disorders. |
DOI | 10.1073/pnas.0914257107 |
Alternate Journal | Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
PubMed ID | 20616000 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC2906579 |
Grant List | F31 AG031649 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States P01 HL028481 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States R01 AG26938-05 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States R37 MH 60233-09S1 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States U01 AG016976 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States U19 AI063603-01 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States |
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