Biology subjects

Emsley, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Emsley, R..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

ATF-4 and hydrogen sulfide signalling mediate longevity from inhibition of translation or mTORC1

Inhibition of the master growth regulator mTORC1 (mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1) slows ageing across phyla, in part by reducing protein synthesis. Various stresses globally suppress protein synthesis through the integrated stress response (ISR), resulting in preferential translation of the transcription factor ATF-4. Here we show in C. elegans that inhibition of translation or mTORC1 increases ATF-4 expression, and that ATF-4 mediates longevity under these conditions independently of ISR signalling. ATF-4 promotes longevity by activating canonical anti-ageing mechanisms, but also by elevating expression of the transsulfuration enzyme CTH-2 to increase hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production. This H2S boost increases protein persulfidation, a protective modification of redox-reactive cysteines. The ATF-4/CTH-2/H2S pathway also mediates longevity and increased stress resistance from mTORC1 suppression. Increasing H2S levels, or enhancing mechanisms that H2S influences through persulfidation, may represent promising strategies for mobilising therapeutic benefits of the ISR, translation suppression, or mTORC1 inhibition.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2019

10Kin1day: A bottom-up neuroimaging initiative

We organized 10Kin1day, a pop-up scientific event with the goal to bring together neuroimaging groups from around the world to jointly analyze 10,000+ existing MRI connectivity datasets during a 3-day workshop. In this report, we describe the motivation and principles of 10Kin1day, together with a public release of 8,000+ MRI connectome maps of the human brain.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Genome-wide association analysis of excessive daytime sleepiness identifies 42 loci that suggest phenotypic subgroups

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) affects 10-20% of the population and is associated with substantial functional deficits. We identified 42 loci for self-reported EDS in GWAS of 452,071 individuals from the UK Biobank, with enrichment for genes expressed in brain tissues and in neuronal transmission pathways. We confirmed the aggregate effect of a genetic risk score of 42 SNPs on EDS in independent Scandinavian cohorts and on other sleep disorders (restless leg syndrome, insomnia) and sleep traits (duration, chronotype, accelerometer-derived sleep efficiency and daytime naps or inactivity). Strong genetic correlations were also seen with obesity, coronary heart disease, psychiatric diseases, cognitive traits and reproductive ageing. EDS variants clustered into two predominant composite phenotypes - sleep propensity and sleep fragmentation - with the former showing stronger evidence for enriched expression in central nervous system tissues, suggesting two unique mechanistic pathways. Mendelian randomization analysis indicated that higher BMI is causally associated with EDS risk, but EDS does not appear to causally influence BMI.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2016

Genome-wide association analyses of sleep disturbance traits identify new loci and highlight shared genetics with neuropsychiatric and metabolic traits

Chronic sleep disturbances, associated with cardio-metabolic diseases, psychiatric disorders and all-cause mortality1,2, affect 25-30% of adults worldwide3. While environmental factors contribute importantly to self-reported habitual sleep duration and disruption, these traits are heritable4-9, and gene identification should improve our understanding of sleep function, mechanisms linking sleep to disease, and development of novel therapies. We report single and multi-trait genome-wide association analyses (GWAS) of self-reported sleep duration, insomnia symptoms including difficulty initiating and/or maintaining sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness in the UK Biobank (n=112,586), with discovery of loci for insomnia symptoms (near MEIS1, TMEM132E, CYCL1, TGFBI in females and WDR27 in males), excessive daytime sleepiness (near AR/OPHN1) and a composite sleep trait (near INADL and HCRTR2), as well as replication of a locus for sleep duration (at PAX-8). Genetic correlation was observed between longer sleep duration and schizophrenia (rG=0.29, p=1.90x10-13) and between increased excessive daytime sleepiness and increased adiposity traits (BMI rG=0.20, p=3.12x10-09; waist circumference rG=0.20, p=2.12x10-07).

genetics↗