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Advanced paternal age has sex-specific effects on fetal brain gene expression, mouse study suggests

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Advanced paternal age has sex-specific effects on fetal brain gene expression, mouse study suggests

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When genes are "expressed," it is like reading an instruction manual to create things the body needs—such as proteins or RNA. It is an important process in regulating normal cellular functions. Understanding more about gene expression can reveal insights into the biological processes behind different conditions.

One of those conditions is autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties in social communication, alongside restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Epidemiological studies have linked advanced paternal age to an increased risk of ASD in offspring. However, the mechanisms underlying this association remain poorly understood.

Theorizing that gene expression may reveal key clues about the link between paternal age and ASD risk, a research team from the Department of Developmental Neuroscience at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine investigated gene expression in the brains of mouse embryos conceived from young (3-month-old) or aged (19-month-old) fathers.

They found that the effects of paternal aging on gene expression in the embryonic brain may differ between the sexes. Notably, female embryos conceived by aged fathers exhibited a distinct gene expression profile and a tendency toward increased gene expression levels. These findings provide a foundation for investigating how paternal aging may influence early brain development in a sex-dependent manner.

Using RNA sequencing, the team analyzed the telencephalon (the region that gives rise to structures including the cerebral cortex), examining male and female embryos separately.


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