Expression map of 78 brain-expressed mouse orphan GPCRs provides a translational resource for neuropsychiatric research

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 1; no. 1; p. 102
• Main Authors: Ehrlich, Aliza T., Maroteaux, Grégoire, Robe, Anne, Venteo, Lydie, Nasseef, Md. Taufiq, van Kempen, Leon C., Mechawar, Naguib, Turecki, Gustavo, Darcq, Emmanuel, Kieffer, Brigitte L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-01-2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 38/39; 38/47; 631/154/436/2387; 631/208/199; 631/378/340; 64/60; 692/699/476/1414; Animal models; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brain mapping; Brain research; Cognitive ability; DNA probes; G protein-coupled receptors; Gene mapping; Hybridization; Life Sciences; Mental disorders; Neurobiology; Neurons and Cognition
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-018-0106-7

Orphan G-protein-coupled receptors (oGPCRs) possess untapped potential for drug discovery. In the brain, oGPCRs are generally expressed at low abundance and their function is understudied. Expression profiling is an essential step to position oGPCRs in brain function and disease, however public databases provide only partial information. Here, we fine-map expression of 78 brain-oGPCRs in the mouse, using customized probes in both standard and supersensitive in situ hybridization. Images are available at
http://ogpcr-neuromap.douglas.qc.ca
. This searchable database contains over 8000 coronal brain sections across 1350 slides, providing the first public mapping resource dedicated to oGPCRs. Analysis with public mouse (60 oGPCRs) and human (56 oGPCRs) genome-wide datasets identifies 25 oGPCRs with potential to address emotional and/or cognitive dimensions of psychiatric conditions. We probe their expression in postmortem human brains using nanoString, and included data in the resource. Correlating human with mouse datasets reveals excellent suitability of mouse models for oGPCRs in neuropsychiatric research.
Aliza Ehrlich et al. report the fine-mapping of orphan GPCR (oGPCR) transcripts in the mouse brain using in situ hybridization and provide a public resource for data mining. The authors also mapped 25 selected oGPCRs in human brains, identifying oGPCRs with high correlation between species and potential roles in neuropsychiatric disorders.