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Related Experiment Videos

Association between complement component 4A expression, cognitive performance and brain imaging measures in UK

Kevin S O'Connell1, Ida E Sønderby1,2, Oleksandr Frei1

  • 1NORMENT, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, & Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Psychological Medicine
|March 3, 2021
PubMed
Summary

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This summary is machine-generated.

Altered complement component C4A gene expression is linked to cognitive deficits and brain structure variations. This study reveals C4A

Area of Science:

  • Neurogenetics
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Psychiatric Genetics

Background:

  • Altered complement component C4A (C4A) gene expression is a known schizophrenia risk factor.
  • Predicted brain C4A expression is associated with memory function, suggesting relevance for cognitive and behavioral traits.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between predicted brain C4A and C4B gene expression and cognitive performance.
  • To examine the relationship between predicted C4A/C4B expression and brain imaging measures.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized genetic and cognitive data from up to 329,773 UK Biobank participants.
  • Imputed C4 structural variation and predicted brain C4A/C4B expression using MHC region genotypes.
  • Employed linear regression to analyze associations with cognitive tasks and MRI-derived brain measures.
Keywords:
Cognitionimmune systemmajor histocompatibility complexmental healthpsychiatric disorderschizophrenia

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Main Results:

  • Identified significant negative associations between predicted C4A expression and performance on specific cognitive tests.
  • Found significant associations between predicted C4A expression and MRI-based cortical thickness and surface area in select brain regions.
  • Observed inconsistent partial mediation of cognitive performance by brain structure measures.

Conclusions:

  • The C4 gene locus is associated with central endophenotypes of cognitive performance and brain morphology.
  • These associations are evident independently of other genetic risk factors and in individuals without diagnosed mental or neurological disorders.