Profiling nonhuman primate germline RNA to understand the legacy of early life stress

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Elyse L. Morin, Yerkes National Primate Research Center; Kristie M. Garza, Yerkes National Primate Research Center; Hadj Aoued, Yerkes National Primate Research Center; Soma Sannigrahi, Yerkes National Primate Research Center; Erin R. Siebert, Yerkes National Primate Research Center; Brittany R. Howell, Yerkes National Primate Research Center; Hasse Walum, Emory University; Mar Sanchez, Emory University; Brian Dias, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-09-09
• Publisher: WILEY
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jez.2501
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART A-ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
• Volume: 337
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 15
• End Page: 23
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by NIH funding from NIDA grant DA038588 and NIMH grant MH078105, as well as from the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs/OD grant OD11132 (YNPRC Base grant, formerly RR000165), and a Yerkes Pilot Research Program Grant (Yerkes NPRC Base Grant, P51‐OD011132). The funders had no role in review design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the NIMH or the NIH. The YNPRC is fully accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, AAALAC, International.
• Keywords: PUBLICATION BIAS; sperm; Science & Technology; BEHAVIOR; RNA; GENE-REGULATION; MATERNAL-CARE; adolescence; infant maltreatment; INFANT ABUSE; RISK-FACTORS; early life stress; VULNERABILITY; nonhuman primate; Zoology; TRAUMA EXPOSURE; DISORDER; INHERITANCE; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Biology, Genetics; Biology, Zoology; Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

Exposure to stress is a risk factor for perturbed mental health, including impoverished regulation of emotional and physiological responses that accompany anxiety and mood disorders, substance abuse and behavioral disorders. Such disruptions to well-being could be triggered by discrete environmental events or pervasive early life stress (ELS) resulting for example from adverse caregiving. Recent data mostly collected from rodents exposed to anthropogenic stressors suggest that one way via which the detrimental effects of such stress extend beyond the exposed population to future offspring is via stress-induced alterations of RNA found in the paternal germline. In contrast, less attention has been paid to how naturally occurring stress in males might influence offspring biology and behavior. In this study, we used a translational nonhuman primate model of ELS caused by naturally occurring adverse caregiving of infant macaques to (1) profile total RNA in the adolescent male germline, and (2) identify how those RNA profiles are affected by exposure to ELS. Our findings that the top 100 transcripts identified correspond to transcripts related to germline biology and reproduction demonstrate the validity and feasibility of profiling RNA in the germline of rhesus macaques. While our small sample sizes precluded definitive assessment of stress-induced alterations of RNA in the male germline of rhesus macaques that experienced ELS, our study sets the foundation for future investigations of how early adversity might alter the male germline, across species and in experimental protocols that involve anthropogenic vs natural stressors.