Cited by 480Bioinformatics and Genomic NetworksAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Divergence of human and mouse brain transcriptome highlights Alzheimer disease pathways

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Miller, Jeremy A., Horvath, Steve, Geschwind, Daniel H.·2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.0914257107

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  • That work found major differences in dementia susceptibility genes between humans and mice, potentially explaining why some mouse models may not recapitulate human neuropathology.

    “This work also found major differences in dementia susceptibility genes between humans and mice, potentially identifying why some mouse models might not recapitulate human neuropathology.”
  • A subsequent study incorporating more than 1,000 microarrays from mouse models and human Alzheimer disease reproduced and extended those results, identifying additional co-expression modules related to mitochondrial dysfunction and synaptic plasticity.

    “They subsequently150 incorporated more than 1,000 microarrays from mouse models of Alzheimer disease and human patients with Alzheimer disease from public databases to reproduce and extend these results, identifying additional co-expression modules that are related to mitochondrial dysfunction and synaptic plasticity.”
  • Applied to the entire 911 sample set from Brain 1, genes were grouped into well-defined co-expression modules with specific anatomical distributions, consistent with previous studies.

    “Applied to the entire 911 sample set from Brain 1, genes were grouped into well-defined co-expression modules with specific anatomical distributions (Fig. 3a, b), consistent with previous studies in brain tissues18, 19.”
  • Modules corresponding to broad neural cell types showed highly significant preservation compared to a previous study using human brain samples.

    “Modules corresponding to broad neural cell types also showed highly significant preservation compared to a previous study using human brain samples (ref. 19 and data not shown).”
  • A number of important studies have shown a significant overlap between the transcriptomes of mouse and human microglia, but also that a number of genes are expressed selectively more abundantly in human microglia.

    “a number of important studies have compared gene expression in microglia from mice and humans, and while they have shown a significant overlap between the transcriptomes of the two species, they have also seen a number of genes are expressed selectively more abundantly in human microglia”

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Authors
Miller, J. A., Horvath, S., & Geschwind, D. H.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • Departments of cHuman Genetics and
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2010-06-25
Volume
107
Issue
28
Pages
12698-12703
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2139511828
Cited by
480
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 47 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 33
FWCI
11.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (HL028481)
  • National Institute on Aging (F31AG031649, U01AG016976, R01 AG26938-05, R01AG026938)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (P01HL028481)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R37MH060233, R37 MH 60233-09S1)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U19AI063603)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, gene co-expression network, cell type markers, glial cells, microglia, oligodendrocytes, presenilin 1, network hubs
MeSH terms
Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Brain, Humans, Male, Gene Expression Profiling, Systems Biology, Mice, Gene Regulatory Networks, Presenilin-1

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