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Widespread sex differences in gene expression and splicing in the adult human brain

Author

Listed:
  • Daniah Trabzuni

    (Reta Lilla Weston Laboratories, UCL Institute of Neurology
    King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre)

  • Adaikalavan Ramasamy

    (King’s College London, Guy’s Hospital)

  • Sabaena Imran

    (Reta Lilla Weston Laboratories, UCL Institute of Neurology)

  • Robert Walker

    (MRC Sudden Death Brain Bank Project, University of Edinburgh)

  • Colin Smith

    (MRC Sudden Death Brain Bank Project, University of Edinburgh)

  • Michael E. Weale

    (King’s College London, Guy’s Hospital)

  • John Hardy

    (Reta Lilla Weston Laboratories, UCL Institute of Neurology)

  • Mina Ryten

    (Reta Lilla Weston Laboratories, UCL Institute of Neurology
    King’s College London, Guy’s Hospital)

Abstract

There is strong evidence to show that men and women differ in terms of neurodevelopment, neurochemistry and susceptibility to neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease. The molecular basis of these differences remains unclear. Progress in this field has been hampered by the lack of genome-wide information on sex differences in gene expression and in particular splicing in the human brain. Here we address this issue by using post-mortem adult human brain and spinal cord samples originating from 137 neuropathologically confirmed control individuals to study whole-genome gene expression and splicing in 12 CNS regions. We show that sex differences in gene expression and splicing are widespread in adult human brain, being detectable in all major brain regions and involving 2.5% of all expressed genes. We give examples of genes where sex-biased expression is both disease-relevant and likely to have functional consequences, and provide evidence suggesting that sex biases in expression may reflect sex-biased gene regulatory structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniah Trabzuni & Adaikalavan Ramasamy & Sabaena Imran & Robert Walker & Colin Smith & Michael E. Weale & John Hardy & Mina Ryten, 2013. "Widespread sex differences in gene expression and splicing in the adult human brain," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:4:y:2013:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms3771
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3771
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    Cited by:

    1. Masato Tsuji & Takanori Kawasaki & Takeru Matsuda & Tomio Arai & Satoshi Gojo & Jun K Takeuchi, 2017. "Sexual dimorphisms of mRNA and miRNA in human/murine heart disease," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(7), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Kynon J. M. Benjamin & Ria Arora & Arthur S. Feltrin & Geo Pertea & Hunter H. Giles & Joshua M. Stolz & Laura D’Ignazio & Leonardo Collado-Torres & Joo Heon Shin & William S. Ulrich & Thomas M. Hyde &, 2024. "Sex affects transcriptional associations with schizophrenia across the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and caudate nucleus," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, December.

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