Replicating risk genes in bipolar disorder

A new genetic study in Biological Psychiatry

2012-10-15

(Press-News.org) Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2012 – One of the biggest challenges in psychiatric genetics has been to replicate findings across large studies.

Scientists at King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry have now performed one of the largest ever genetic replication studies of bipolar affective disorder, with 28,000 subjects recruited from 36 different research centers. Their findings provide compelling evidence that the chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains a common genetic risk for bipolar disorder, the PBRM1 gene.

The locus at 3p21.1 has also been previously associated with depression and schizophrenia. Using a separate dataset of over 34,000 subjects, they did not confirm association of this same variant with schizophrenia.

Thus, they replicated the association of the marker with bipolar disorder, but not with schizophrenia. This is an interesting finding, in that it distinguishes the heritable risk for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It contrasts with the majority of studies that have found that schizophrenia risk genes also contribute to the risk for bipolar disorder.

"This study adds to the recent rapid progress in identifying genes for mental illness. The last few years have seen the identification of about two dozen genetic loci for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia," commented first author Evangelos Vassos. "About half of these are shared between these two disorders, indicating they share some, but not all, genetic causes."

Due to the conflicting results, it is clear that more work is needed to determine the role this locus plays in psychosis, but the evidence seems solid that it is associated with bipolar disorder.

PBRM1, the gene implicated in this study, codes for a protein that is involved in chromatin remodeling or "epigenetics", meaning that it influences the ability of a variety of environmental exposures to influence the expression of a range of genes. It has also been previously implicated in the risk for a form of renal cancer.

"There is growing interest in epigenetic mechanisms that might contribute to the development of bipolar disorder. The implication of a gene involved in chromatin remodeling in bipolar disorder risk adds fuel to this fire," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.

Vassos concluded that "future studies may be able to use this information to develop new treatments for these disorders."

### The article is "Replication Study and Meta-Analysis in European Samples Supports Association of the 3p21.1 Locus with Bipolar Disorder" by Evangelos Vassos, Stacy Steinberg, Sven Cichon, Gerome Breen, Engilbert Sigurdsson, Ole A. Andreassen, Srdjan Djurovic, Gunnar Morken, Maria Grigoroiu-Serbanescu, Carmen C. Diaconu, Piotr M. Czerski, Joanna Hauser, Gulja Babadjanova, Lilia I. Abramova, Thomas W. Mühleisen, Markus M. Nöthen, Marcella Rietschel, Peter McGuffin, David St. Clair, Omar Gustafsson, Ingrid Melle, Olli P.H. Pietiläinen, Mirella Ruggeri, Sarah Tosato, Thomas Werge, Roel A. Ophoff, GROUP Consortium, Dan Rujescu, Anders D. Børglum, Ole Mors, Preben B. Mortensen, Ditte Demontis, Mads V. Hollegaard, Ruud van Winkel, Gunter Kenis, Marc De Hert, János M. Réthelyi, István Bitter, I. Alex Rubino, Vera Golimbet, Lambertus A. Kiemeney, Leonard H. van den Berg, Barbara Franke, Erik G. Jönsson, Anne Farmer, Hreinn Stefansson, Kari Stefansson, and David A. Collier (doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.02.040). The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 72 Issue 8 (October 15, 2012), published by Elsevier.

Notes for editors Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Rhiannon Bugno at +1 214 648 0880 or Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Seil Collins at +44 (0) 207 848 5377 or seil.collins@kcl.ac.uk.

The authors' affiliations, and disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available in the article.

John H. Krystal, M.D., is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and a research psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. His disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available here.

About Biological Psychiatry Biological Psychiatry is the official journal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, whose purpose is to promote excellence in scientific research and education in fields that investigate the nature, causes, mechanisms and treatments of disorders of thought, emotion, or behavior. In accord with this mission, this peer-reviewed, rapid-publication, international journal publishes both basic and clinical contributions from all disciplines and research areas relevant to the pathophysiology and treatment of major psychiatric disorders.

The journal publishes novel results of original research which represent an important new lead or significant impact on the field, particularly those addressing genetic and environmental risk factors, neural circuitry and neurochemistry, and important new therapeutic approaches. Reviews and commentaries that focus on topics of current research and interest are also encouraged.

Biological Psychiatry is one of the most selective and highly cited journals in the field of psychiatric neuroscience. It is ranked 5th out of 129 Psychiatry titles and 16th out of 243 Neurosciences titles in the Journal Citations Reports® published by Thomson Reuters. The 2011 Impact Factor score for Biological Psychiatry is 8.283.

About Elsevier Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact Rhiannon Bugno, Editorial Office
+1 214 648 0880
Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Soccer scores a health hat trick for hypertensive men

2012-10-15

Playing soccer (football) could be the best way for people with high blood pressure, known as hypertension, to improve their fitness, normalise their blood pressure and reduce their risk of stroke. Research from Universities of Exeter and Copenhagen, and Gentofte University Hospital in Denmark, published today (Monday 15 October 2012) in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, suggests that soccer training prevents cardiovascular disease in middle-aged men with hypertension and is more effective than healthy lifestyle advice currently prescribed by GPs. After ...

Programs for treating addiction in doctors pose ethical issues

2012-10-15

Philadelphia, Pa. (October 15, 2012) – State physician health programs (PHPs) play a key role in helping doctors with substance abuse problems. But the current PHP system is inconsistent and prone to potential conflicts of interest and ethical issues, according to a review available as publish ahead of print content from the December 2012 issue of Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part ofWolters Kluwer Health. In the article, Drs J. Wesley Boyd ...

'Treasure trove' of film records unlocks history of British Cinema

2012-10-15

A film historian at Queen Mary, University of London has been uncovering the secret past of British cinema in a private collection of production records for thousands of films, including such iconic titles as Dr No, The African Queen, and Zulu. The unique production archive is owned by Film Finances Ltd, underwriters of many major British films made since the 1950s. The company has kept complete documentation for every production it has guaranteed, including letters, telegrams, shooting schedules, scripts, storyboards and even doctors' certificates. In 2009, Film Finances ...

New techniques stretch carbon nanotubes, make stronger composites

2012-10-15

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new techniques for stretching carbon nanotubes (CNT) and using them to create carbon composites that can be used as stronger, lighter materials in everything from airplanes to bicycles. By stretching the CNT material before incorporating it into a composite for use in finished products, the researchers straighten the CNTs in the material, which significantly improves its tensile strength – and enhances the stiffness of the composite material and its electrical and thermal conductivity. State-of-the-art ...

Aggregation of proteins in cells may result in diseases

2012-10-15

Many diseases are caused by proteins losing their natural three-dimensional structure and thus their function. In most cases, the damaged proteins are degraded by different systems in the cells, but in some cases, the proteins begin to aggregate and form very well-organised rope-like structures called fibrils. These structures have now been linked to many different diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes and corneal dystrophies (opaqueness in the cornea). It has long been known that corneal dystrophy is caused by a mutation of a protein called TGFBIp ...

The Romans used Greek myths in their mosaics as symbols of civilization

2012-10-15

This press release is available in Spanish.This line of research, coordinated by Luz Neira, who is a professor in the Department of Humanities: History, Geography and Art, as well as a researcher in UC3M's Institute for Culture and Technology (Instituto de Cultura y Tecnología), continues on the path established by previous studies that examined the images of women and certain legends in Roman mosaics. "We had previously shown the memory and conscious, self-interested reuse of myths, but this new volume also examines the possibility that there is a subliminal message regarding ...

Protein could be key for drugs that promote bone growth

2012-10-15

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Georgia Health Sciences University researchers have developed a mouse that errs on the side of making bone rather than fat, which could eventually lead to better drugs to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Drugs commonly used to treat those types of conditions – called glucocorticoids – work by turning down the body's anti-inflammatory response, but simultaneously turn on other pathways that lead to bone loss. The result can lead to osteoporosis and an accumulation of marrow fat, says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the GHSU ...

Antibiotic contamination a threat to humans and the environment

2012-10-15

Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, spend August in Sisimiut on the west coast of Greenland studying the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and the effects of antibiotic emissions on communities of bacteria living in marine sediments. More specifically, they were investigating how communities of bacteria in sediment and clay on the seabed are affected by exposure to antibiotics. "We know very little about what happens to antibiotics that end up in the ocean, but several substances can accumulate in sediments where biodegradation occurs extremely slowly," ...

U-M, other universities launch Great Lakes protection project

2012-10-15

ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan and 20 other U.S. and Canadian universities will join forces to propose a set of long-term research and policy priorities to help protect and restore the Great Lakes and to train the next generation of scientists, attorneys, planners and policy specialists who will study them. The Great Lakes Futures Project of the Transborder Research University Network will use a cross-disciplinary, cross-sector approach to outlining alternative Great Lakes futures through science-based scenario analysis. "With the recent release of the revised ...

Space station and space flight gravity influence immune system development

2012-10-15

New research findings recently published in The FASEB Journal, show that immune system development is affected by gravity changes, as reported by researchers from the University of Lorraine and University of Luxembourg. Astronauts are exposed to stresses, during launch and landing, which disrupts their body's natural defenses against infection. Changes to the immune system need to be investigated before astronauts undergo longer space missions. Researchers looked at how antibody production is affected when animal development occurs onboard a space station and which ...

Replicating risk genes in bipolar disorder

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: