title: Increased nicotine response in iPSC-derived human neurons carrying the CHRNA5 N398 allele.
abstract: Genetic variation in nicotinic receptor alpha 5 (CHRNA5) has been associated with increased risk of addiction-associated phenotypes in humans yet little is known the underlying neural basis. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were derived from donors homozygous for either the major (D398) or the minor (N398) allele of the nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs16969968, in CHRNA5. To understand the impact of these nicotinic receptor variants in humans, we differentiated these iPSCs to dopamine (DA) or glutamatergic neurons and then tested their functional properties and response to nicotine. Results show that N398 variant human DA neurons differentially express genes associated with ligand receptor interaction and synaptic function. While both variants exhibited physiological properties consistent with mature neuronal function, the N398 neuronal population responded more actively with an increased excitatory postsynaptic current response upon the application of nicotine in both DA and glutamatergic neurons. Glutamatergic N398 neurons responded to lower nicotine doses (0.1 μM) with greater frequency and amplitude but they also exhibited rapid desensitization, consistent with previous analyses of N398-associated nicotinic receptor function. This study offers a proof-of-principle for utilizing human neurons to study gene variants contribution to addiction.
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Eileen N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Oni
authors.affiliation: Child Health Institute of New Jersey &Dept. of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Apoorva
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Halikere
authors.affiliation: Child Health Institute of New Jersey &Dept. of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Guohui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Alana J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Toro-Ramos
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Mavis R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Swerdel
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Verpeut
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University and RWJMS, Piscataway, NJ, USA.|Department of Human Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Bello
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Laura J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Bierut
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Department, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goate
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University and RWJMS, Piscataway, NJ, USA.|Department of Human Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Jay A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Tischfield
authors.affiliation: Child Health Institute of New Jersey &Dept. of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.|Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University and RWJMS, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Zhiping P
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.|Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University and RWJMS, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Hart
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C447158:CHRNA5 protein, human; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D009538:Nicotine