Dissecting the cross-trait effects of the FOXP2 GWAS hit on clinical and brain phenotypes in adults with ADHD

Meyer, Gabriela Pessin, da Silva, Bruna Santos, Bandeira, Cibele Edom, Tavares, Maria Eduarda Araujo, Cupertino, Renata Basso, Oliveira, Eduarda Pereira, Müller, Diana, Kappel, Djenifer B., Teche, Stefania Pigatto, Vitola, Eduardo Schneider, Rohde, Luis Augusto, Rovaris, Diego Luiz, Grevet, Eugenio Horacio and Bau, Claiton Henrique Dotto 2023. Dissecting the cross-trait effects of the FOXP2 GWAS hit on clinical and brain phenotypes in adults with ADHD. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 273 , pp. 15-24. 10.1007/s00406-022-01388-7

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Abstract

The Forkhead box P2 (FOXP2) encodes for a transcription factor with a broad role in embryonic development. It is especially represented among GWAS hits for neurodevelopmental disorders and related traits, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, neuroticism, and risk-taking behaviors. While several functional studies are underway to understand the consequences of FOXP2 variation, this study aims to expand previous findings to clinically and genetically related phenotypes and neuroanatomical features among subjects with ADHD. The sample included 407 adults with ADHD and 463 controls. Genotyping was performed on the Infinium PsychArray-24 BeadChip, and the FOXP2 gene region was extracted. A gene-wide approach was adopted to evaluate the combined effects of FOXP2 variants (n = 311) on ADHD status, severity, comorbidities, and personality traits. Independent risk variants presenting potential functional effects were further tested for association with cortical surface areas in a subsample of cases (n = 87). The gene-wide analyses within the ADHD sample showed a significant association of the FOXP2 gene with harm avoidance (P = 0.001; PFDR = 0.015) and nominal associations with hyperactivity symptoms (P = 0.026; PFDR = 0.130) and antisocial personality disorder (P = 0.026; PFDR = 0.130). An insertion/deletion variant (rs79622555) located downstream of FOXP2 was associated with the three outcomes and nominally with the surface area of superior parietal and anterior cingulate cortices. Our results extend and refine previous GWAS findings pointing to a role of FOXP2 in several neurodevelopment-related phenotypes, mainly those involving underlying symptomatic domains of self-regulation and inhibitory control. Taken together, the available evidence may constitute promising insights into the puzzle of the FOXP2-related pathophysiology.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG)
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	0940-1334
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	4 May 2022
Date of Acceptance:	1 February 2022
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 00:40
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/149533

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