Genetic basis of sleep phenotypes and rare neurodevelopmental syndromes reveal shared molecular pathways

• Published in: Journal of neuroscience research Vol. 101; no. 7; pp. 1058 - 1067
• Main Authors: Moysés‐Oliveira, Mariana, Paschalidis, Mayara, Souza‐Cunha, Lais A., Esteves‐Guerreiro, Pedro A., Adami, Luana Nayara Gallego, Kloster, Anna K., Mosini, Amanda C., Moreira, Gustavo A., Doria, Sandra, Tempaku, Priscila F., Pires, Gabriel N., Andersen, Monica L., Tufik, Sergio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2023
• Subjects: Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - genetics; Brain Diseases; Circadian rhythms; Clusters; Comorbidity; Delay; Disorders; Disturbances; Enrichment; Epilepsy; epileptic encephalopathy; Gene regulation; Genes; genetic syndromes; Humans; insomnia; Molecular modelling; Network analysis; Neurodevelopment; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Phenotype; Phenotypes; Risk sharing; Sleep; Sleep - genetics; Sleep Wake Disorders - genetics; sleep‐associated genes; Syndrome; γ-Aminobutyric acid; genetic syndromes; autism; epileptic encephalopathy; insomnia; sleep-associated genes
• ISSN: 0360-4012; 1097-4547
• DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25180

Sleep‐related phenotypes have been frequently reported in early on‐set epileptic encephalopathies and in developmental delay syndromes, in particular in syndromes related to autism spectrum disorder. Yet the convergent pathogenetic mechanisms between these comorbidities are largely unknown. We first performed a gene enrichment study that identified shared risk genes among rare epileptic encephalopathies/neurodevelopmental disorders, rare developmental delay genetic syndromes and sleep disturbances. We then determined cellular and molecular pathways enriched among genes shared between sleep phenotypes and those two early onset mental illnesses, aiming to identify genetic disparities and commonalities among these phenotypic groups. The sleep gene set was observed as significantly overlapped with the two gene lists associated to rare genetic syndromes (i.e., epileptic encephalopathies/neurodevelopmental disorders and developmental delay gene sets), suggesting shared genetic contribution. Similarities across significantly enriched pathways between the two intersect lists comprehended mostly synapse‐related pathways, such as retrograde endocannabinoid signaling, serotonergic, and GABAergic synapse. Network analysis indicates epileptic encephalopathies/neurodevelopmental disorders versus sleep‐specific clusters and developmental delay versus sleep‐specific clusters related to synaptic and transcriptional regulation, respectively. Longstanding functional patterns previously described in epileptic encephalopathies and neurodevelopmental disorders genetic architecture were recaptured after dissecting the overlap between the genes associated to those developmental phenotypes and sleep disturbances, suggesting that during neurodevelopment different molecular and functional mechanisms are related to alterations on circadian rhythm. The overlapping gene set and biological pathways highlighted by this study may serve as a primer for new functional investigations of shared molecular mechanisms between sleep disturbances and rare developmental syndromes. There is significant overlap between sleep‐ and neurodevelopment‐associated genes, with divergencies and commonalities in biological processes involved in sleep and rare genetic syndromes related to early on‐set epileptic encephalopathies and developmental delay conditions.