The paper shows that neonatal brain alignment with sex-typical functional connectivity patterns predicts psychiatric symptoms in toddlers, with different outcomes for female- and male-typical patterns.

bioRxiv · Oct 1, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

The obesity associated BDNF intron-3 cis-regulatory element, BE5.1, modulates the effects of early-life stress on weight gain, anxiety and gene expression in a sex dependent manner.

Andrew R. McEwan, Joseph Morgan, Greg Hutchings, Alexander Rattray, Elaina Collie-Duguid, Jude Al-Jishi, Zeynab Heidari, Grace Ritchie, Louie N. van de Lagemaat, Chris Murgatroyd, Alasdair MacKenzie

The paper investigates how the BDNF intron-3 cis-regulatory element BE5.1 influences the effects of early-life stress on weight gain, anxiety, and gene expression, showing sex-dependent differences.

bioRxiv · Sep 14, 2026 · PreprintMolecular Biology

SKA2 regulated hyperactive secretory autophagy drives neuroinflammation-induced neurodegeneration

Jakob Hartmann, Thomas Bajaj, Joy Otten, Claudia Klengel, Tim Ebert, Anne‐Kathrin Gellner, Ellen Junglas, Kathrin Hafner, Elmira A. Anderzhanova, Fiona Tang, Galen Missig, Lindsay Rexrode, Daniel T. Trussell, Katelyn X. Li, Max L. Pöhlmann, , Nils C. Gassen

This study shows that SKA2-regulated hyperactive secretory autophagy contributes to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

Nature Communications · Mar 25, 2024Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

The anxiety and ethanol intake controlling GAL5.1 enhancer is epigenetically modulated by, and controls preference for, high fat diet

Andrew R. McEwan, Johanna Celene Erickson, Connor Davidson, Jenny Heijkoop, Yvonne D. Turnbull, Mirela Delibegović, Chris Murgatroyd, Alasdair MacKenzie

The paper investigates how maternal high-fat diet modulates DNA methylation in the GAL5.1 enhancer, affecting offspring's high-fat diet intake and anxiety-related behaviors.

Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences · Dec 12, 2020Peer-reviewedGenetics

CRISPR disruption and UK Biobank analysis of a highly conserved polymorphic enhancer suggests a role in male anxiety and ethanol intake.

Andrew R. McEwan, Connor Davidson, Elizabeth A. Hay, Yvonne D. Turnbull, Johanna Celene Erickson, Pietro Marini, Dana Wilson, Andrew Mark McIntosh, Mark J. Adams, Chris Murgatroyd, Perry Barrett, Mirela Delibegović, Toni‐Kim Clarke, Alasdair MacKenzie

The paper identifies a conserved enhancer variant in the GAL gene associated with male anxiety and ethanol intake using human data and CRISPR mouse models.

Molecular Psychiatry · Mar 13, 2020Peer-reviewedGenetics

Discrimination Exposure and DNA Methylation of Stress-Related Genes in Latina Mothers

Hudson Pires de Oliveira Santos Junior, Benjamin C. Nephew, Arjun Bhattacharya, Xianming M. Tan, Laura Smith, Reema Abdulrahman S. Alyamani, Elizabeth M. Martin, Krista M. Perreira, Rebecca C. Fry, Chris Murgatroyd

This study examines the relationship between discrimination and DNA methylation of stress-related genes in Latina mothers, finding negative associations with methylation at specific CpG sites in NR3C1, BDNF, and FKBP5.

Psychoneuroendocrinology · Dec 1, 2018Peer-reviewedGenomics

Maternal depression and child behaviours: sex-dependent mediation by glucocorticoid receptor gene methylation in a longitudinal study from pregnancy to age 5 years

Jonathan Hill, Andrew R. Pickles, Nicola Wright, John Peter Quinn, Chris Murgatroyd, Helen M. Sharp

The paper examines how maternal depression affects child behavior, finding sex-dependent mediation by NR3C1 methylation in a longitudinal study from pregnancy to age 5.

bioRxiv · Sep 21, 2017 · PreprintGenetics