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@ARTICLE{Rambarack:279453,
author = {Rambarack, Naiomi and Fodder, Katherine and Murthy, Megha
and Toomey, Christina and de Silva, Rohan and Heutink, Peter
and Humphrey, Jack and Raj, Towfique and Lashley, Tammaryn
and Bettencourt, Conceição},
title = {{DNA} methylation as a contributor to dysregulation of
{STX}6 and other frontotemporal {L}obar degeneration genetic
risk-associated loci.},
journal = {Acta Neuropathologica Communications},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
issn = {2051-5960},
address = {London},
publisher = {Biomed Central},
reportid = {DZNE-2025-00780},
pages = {148},
year = {2025},
abstract = {Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) represents a
spectrum of clinically, genetically, and pathologically
heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders. The two major
FTLD pathological subgroups are FTLD-TDP and FTLD-tau. While
the majority of FTLD cases are sporadic, heterogeneity also
exists within the familial cases, typically involving
mutations in MAPT, GRN or C9orf72, which is not fully
explained by known genetic mechanisms. We sought to address
this gap by investigating the effect of epigenetic
modifications, specifically DNA methylation variation, on
genes associated with FTLD genetic risk in different FTLD
subtypes. We used frontal cortex DNA methylation profiles
from three FTLD datasets containing different subtypes of
FTLD-TDP and FTLD-tau: FTLD1m (N = 23) containing FTLD-TDP
C9orf72 mutation carriers and sporadic cases, FTLD2m (N =
48) containing FTLD-Tau MAPT mutation carriers, FTLD-TDP GRN
and C9orf72 mutation carriers, and FTLD3m (N = 163) sporadic
FTLD-Tau (progressive supranuclear palsy - PSP) cases, and
corresponding controls. We then leveraged FTLD
transcriptomic and proteomic datasets to investigate
possible downstream effects of DNA methylation changes. Our
analysis revealed shared promoter region hypomethylation in
STX6 across FTLD-TDP and FTLD-tau subtypes, though the
largest effect size was observed in PSP cases compared to
controls (delta-beta = $-32\%,$ FDR adjusted-p value =
0.002). We also observed dysregulation of the STX6 gene and
protein expression in some FTLD subtypes. Additionally, we
performed a detailed examination of MAPT, GRN and C9orf72
across subtypes and observed nominally significant
differentially methylated CpGs in variable positions across
the genes, often with unique patterns and downstream changes
in gene/protein expression in mutation carriers. We
highlight aberrant DNA methylation at different CpG sites
mapping to genes previously associated with genetic risk of
FTLD, including STX6. Our findings support convergence of
genetic and epigenetic factors towards disruption of risk
loci, bringing new insights into the contribution of these
mechanisms to FTLD.},
keywords = {Humans / DNA Methylation: genetics / Frontotemporal Lobar
Degeneration: genetics / Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration:
metabolism / Male / Female / Middle Aged / Qa-SNARE
Proteins: genetics / Qa-SNARE Proteins: metabolism / Aged /
Genetic Predisposition to Disease: genetics / C9orf72
Protein: genetics / tau Proteins: genetics / Mutation /
Progranulins: genetics / DNA methylation (Other) / Disease
risk (Other) / Epigenetics (Other) / Frontotemporal Lobar
degeneration (Other) / Frontotemporal dementia (Other) /
Neurodegeneration (Other) / Progressive supranuclear palsy
(Other) / Qa-SNARE Proteins (NLM Chemicals) / C9orf72
Protein (NLM Chemicals) / tau Proteins (NLM Chemicals) /
C9orf72 protein, human (NLM Chemicals) / MAPT protein, human
(NLM Chemicals) / Progranulins (NLM Chemicals)},
cin = {AG Heutink},
ddc = {610},
cid = {I:(DE-2719)1210002},
pnm = {354 - Disease Prevention and Healthy Aging (POF4-354)},
pid = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-354},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
pubmed = {pmid:40618089},
doi = {10.1186/s40478-025-02071-3},
url = {https://pub.dzne.de/record/279453},
}