Transcriptome deviation in early neuronal stage of MBD5-Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorder (MAND)

Purpose: MBD5-Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorder (MAND) is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) disorder characterized by intellectual disability, motor delay, severe speech impairment and autism-like behavioral problems. The role of MBD5 in neurodevelopmental function remains largely undefined. In this study, we explored the neurodevelopmental phenotype of 2q23.1 deletion syndrome through creating neuronal progenitor stem cells (NPC) derived from 2q23.1 patients and conducting RNA-seq to identify the contributory altered gene and to expand our knowledge about gene network differences and possible interactions between the related disease pathways and ASD.Methods: Primary skin fibroblasts from three MAND patients and four control cases were converted into induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines by transient transfections of episomal plasmids. Directed differentiation of these iPSC to NPC was accomplished with monolayer culture protocol for two weeks.Results: The RNA-seq analysis identified 498 genome-wide significant (q < 0.05) differentially expressed gene in the patients derived NPC lines as a consequence of reduced MBD5 dosage. 25 ASD associated genes were included in the differentially expressed gene list. On the top of the list, FOXG1 expression is significantly (P < 0.0001) increased in the patient derived NPC samples. The differentially expressed gene list was highly overlapped with the SFARI autism gene set, identifying biological processes that are implicating neurological phenotype and ASD such as central nervous system development, neuron differentiation, and regulation of neurogenesis. The findings of the transcriptome deviation in early neuronal stage of MAND can provide potential connection to the overlapping neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric phenotypes associated with growing risk factors, such as other chromatin modifiers and epigenetic factors that link to ASD. Such in vitro models can nurture hypotheses toward therapeutic interventions.