Single-nucleus chromatin accessibility profiling identifies cell types and functional variants contributing to major depression

Abstract

Genetic variants associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) are enriched in the regulatory genome. Here, we investigate gene-regulatory mechanisms underlying MDD compared to neurotypical controls by combining single-cell chromatin accessibility with gene expression in over 200,000 cells from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of 84 individuals. MDD-associated alterations in chromatin accessibility were prominent in deep-layer excitatory neurons characterized by transcription factor (TF) motif accessibility and binding of NR4A2, an activity-dependent TF reactive to stress. The same neurons were enriched for MDD-associated genetic variants, disrupting TF binding sites linked to genes that likely affect synaptic communication. Furthermore, a gray matter microglia cluster exhibited decreased accessibility in individuals with MDD at binding sites bound by TFs known to regulate immune homeostasis. Finally, we identified gene-regulatory effects of MDD-risk variants using sequence-based accessibility predictions, donor-specific genotypes and cell-based assays. These findings shed light on the cell types and regulatory mechanisms through which genetic variation may increase the risk of MDD.