Alterations in sperm long RNA contribute to the epigenetic inheritance of the effects of postnatal trauma

Katharina Gapp; Gretchen van Steenwyk; Pierre‐Luc Germain; Wayo Matsushima; Konrad L M Rudolph; Francesca Manuella; Martin Roszkowski; Grégoire Vernaz; Tanay Ghosh; Paweł Pelczar; Isabelle M. Mansuy; Eric Alexander Miska

doi:10.1038/s41380-018-0271-6

Developmental BiologyMolecular PsychiatryOct 26, 2018

Peer-reviewed journal article

Alterations in sperm long RNA contribute to the epigenetic inheritance of the effects of postnatal trauma

Katharina Gapp iD, Gretchen van Steenwyk iD, Pierre‐Luc Germain iD, Wayo Matsushima iD, Konrad L M Rudolph iD, Francesca Manuella iD, Martin Roszkowski iD, Grégoire Vernaz iD, Tanay Ghosh iD, Paweł Pelczar iD, Isabelle M. Mansuy iD, Eric Alexander Miska iD

Abstract

Psychiatric diseases have a strong heritable component known to not be restricted to DNA sequence-based genetic inheritance alone but to also involve epigenetic factors in germ cells 1,2. Initial evidence suggested that sperm RNA is causally linked 2,3 to the transmission of symptoms induced by traumatic experiences. Here we show that alterations in long RNA in sperm contribute to the inheritance of specific trauma symptoms. Injection of long RNA fraction from sperm of males exposed to postnatal trauma recapitulates the effects on food intake, glucose response to insulin and risk-taking in adulthood whereas the small RNA fraction alters body weight and behavioral despair. Alterations in long RNA are maintained after fertilization, suggesting a direct link between sperm and embryo RNA.

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