PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Ancient viral DNA in the human genome linked to major psychiatric disorders.

2024-05-22
(Press-News.org) New research led by King’s College London has found that thousands of DNA sequences originating from ancient viral infections are expressed in the brain, with some contributing to susceptibility for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression.

Published in Nature Communications, the study was part-funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

About eight percent of our genome is comprised of sequences called Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs), which are products of ancient viral infections that occurred hundreds of thousands of years ago. Until recently, it was assumed that these ‘fossil viruses’ were simply junk DNA, with no important function in the body. However, due to advances in genomics research, scientists have now discovered where in our DNA these fossil viruses are located, enabling us to better understand when they are expressed and what functions they may have.

This new study builds upon these advances and is the first to show that a set of specific HERVs expressed in the human brain contribute to psychiatric disorder susceptibility, marking a step forward in understanding the complex genetic components that contribute to these conditions.

Dr Timothy Powell, co-senior author on the study and Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, said: “This study uses a novel and robust approach to assess how genetic susceptibility for psychiatric disorders imparts its effects on the expression of ancient viral sequences present in the modern human genome. Our results suggest that these viral sequences probably play a more important role in the human brain than originally thought, with specific HERV expression profiles being associated with an increased susceptibility for some psychiatric disorders”.

The study analysed data from large genetic studies involving tens of thousands of people, both with and without mental health conditions, as well as information from autopsy brain samples from 800 individuals, to explore how DNA variations linked to psychiatric disorders affect the expression of HERVs.

Although most genetic risk variants linked to psychiatric diagnoses impacted genes with well-known biological functions, the researchers found that some genetic risk variants preferentially affected the expression of HERVs. The researchers reported five robust HERV expression signatures associated with psychiatric disorders, including two HERVs that are associated with risk for schizophrenia, one associated with risk for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and one associated with risk for depression.

Dr Rodrigo Duarte, first author and Research Fellow at the IoPPN, King’s College London, said: “We know that psychiatric disorders have a substantial genetic component, with many parts of the genome incrementally contributing to susceptibility. In our study, we were able to investigate parts of the genome corresponding to HERVs, which led to the identification of five sequences that are relevant to psychiatric disorders. Whilst it is not clear yet how these HERVs affect brain cells to confer this increase in risk, our findings suggest that their expression regulation is important for brain function.”

Dr Douglas Nixon, co-senior author on the study and and researcher at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health, in the US, said: “Further research is needed to understand the exact function of most HERVs, including those identified in our study. We think that a better understanding of these ancient viruses, and the known genes implicated in psychiatric disorders, have the potential to revolutionise mental health research and lead to novel ways to treat or diagnose these conditions”.

‘Integrating human endogenous retroviruses into transcriptome-wide association studies highlights novel risk factors for major psychiatric conditions’ by Duarte, R.R.R. et al. is published in Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48153-z

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Excavation reveals ‘major’ ancient migration to Timor Island

Excavation reveals ‘major’ ancient migration to Timor Island
2024-05-22
The discovery of thousands of stone artefacts and animal bones in a deep cave in Timor Island has led archaeologists to reassess the route that early humans took to reach Australia. Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU), Flinders University, University College London (UCL) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage dated and analysed the artefacts and sediment at the Laili rock shelter in central-north Timor-Leste, north of Australia, to pinpoint the arrival ...

Gene cluster expression index and potential indications for targeted therapy and immunotherapy for lung cancers

2024-05-22
Background and objectives About 30% of lung cancer patients are accessible to targeted therapy or immunotherapy based on the current criteria. In this study, a novel gene cluster expression analysis was introduced with a goal to potentially expand the treatments to more patients based on the proposed criteria.   Methods Selected gene expression omnibus data sets were downloaded, normalized, and analyzed. A univariate recurrence prediction model was built based on the receiver operating characteristic, for which an optimal cutoff was determined to set abnormality status, called ...

FRONTIERS Residency program awards grants to seven European journalists

2024-05-22
Javier Pérez Barbuzano, Aisling Irwin, Ruairi Mackenzie, Jacopo Pasotti, Samuel Schlaefli, Vedrana Simičević, and Zuzana Vitková are the chosen candidates for the inaugural round of the FRONTIERS Residency Program. This ERC-supported initiative will finance journalists to spend 3 to 5 months at a European research institution. Originating from Spain, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, and Croatia, the selected journalists will develop their journalistic projects, during their residencies in scientific institutions. The initiative will award a monthly ...

25-year longitudinal study shows mothers’ empathy for teens may predict teens’ empathy for friends and future parenting

2024-05-22
A new Child Development study from researchers at the University of Virginia provides the first long-term, longitudinal evidence for the transmission of empathic care across three generations: from mother to teen to child.  The findings suggest that interactions with close friends in adolescence may provide a “training ground” in which teens can practice providing care in their peer relationships and pay forward the empathy they experience from their mothers, which may help strengthen their future parenting skills. For families and service providers, ...

One in two children with ADHD experience emotional problems, study finds

2024-05-22
Cambridge scientists have shown that problems regulating emotions – which can manifest as depression, anxiety and explosive outbursts – may be a core symptom of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In research published in Nature Mental Health, the team found that as many as one in two children with ADHD show signs of emotional dysregulation, and that Ritalin – the commonly-prescribed drug to help the condition – appears to be less effective at treating this symptom. ADHD affects around ...

Dermatologists find ultraviolet irradiation increases appetite but prevents body weight gain

Dermatologists find ultraviolet irradiation increases appetite but prevents body weight gain
2024-05-22
Philadelphia, May 22, 2024 – Obesity and metabolic disorders are increasingly significant global public health issues. In a novel study, a team of dermatologists evaluated the effect of ultraviolet (UV) exposure on appetite and weight regulation. They found that UV exposure raises norepinephrine levels, decreases leptin levels, and induces the browning of subcutaneous fat, thereby increasing energy expenditure. These results potentially pave the way for new approaches to prevent and treat obesity and metabolic disorders. Their findings appear in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, published by Elsevier. UV ...

Babies in the womb exposed to two languages hear speech differently when born

2024-05-22
It’s well established that babies in the womb hear and learn about speech, at least in the third trimester. For example, newborns have been shown to already prefer the voice of their mother, recognize a story that had been repeatedly told to them while in the womb, and tell apart their mother’s native language. What wasn’t known until now was how developing fetuses learn about speech when their mother speaks to them in a mix of languages. Yet this is common: there are 3.3 billion bilingual people (43% of the population) worldwide, and in many countries, bilingualism or multilingualism is the norm.   “Here we show that exposure to monolingual or a bilingual speech ...

Study analyses the impact of summer heat on hospital admissions in Spain

2024-05-22
A team from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), has carried out an analysis of hospital admissions related to high summer temperatures in Spain over more than a decade. The study concludes that the causes of hospitalisation in which the heat has the most notable impact are: Metabolic disorders and obesity Renal failure Urinary tract infection Sepsis Urolithiasis Poisoning by drugs and other non-medicinal substances The research, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, included ...

Ohio State survey finds half of Americans feel unprepared to help in a life-threatening emergency

Ohio State survey finds half of Americans feel unprepared to help in a life-threatening emergency
2024-05-22
COLUMBUS, Ohio – If someone collapsed after going into cardiac arrest, would you be prepared to help? For nearly half of Americans, the answer is no. A new survey from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center finds many Americans are ill-prepared to help in emergency situations.  The national poll of 1,005 people found only 51% of Americans feel they would be able to perform hands-only CPR in an emergency. When it comes to serious bleeding, 49% said they could step in to help. And 56% of survey ...

HPV testing for cervical cancer may be safe at longer intervals than what current guidelines recommend

2024-05-22
Bottom Line: The risk of detecting cervical precancer eight years after a negative human papillomavirus (HPV) screening was found to be similar to the risk after three years (the commonly recommended screening interval) after a negative cytology screening. Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Authors: Anna Gottschlich, PhD, MPH, assistant professor at Wayne State School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Background: ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Premenstrual symptoms linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Newly discovered remains of ancient river landscapes control ice flow in East Antarctica

Newly discovered interstellar object 'may be oldest comet ever seen'

Animal-inspired AI robot learns to navigate unfamiliar terrain

Underserved youth less likely to visit emergency department for concussion in Ontario, study finds

‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger

Beetles under climate stress lay larger male eggs: Wolbachia infection drives adaptive reproduction strategy in response to rising temperature and CO₂

Groundbreaking quantum study puts wave-particle duality to work

Weekly injection could be life changing for Parkinson’s patients

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

[Press-News.org] Ancient viral DNA in the human genome linked to major psychiatric disorders.