Multiple mental disorders have overlapping genes

Release date: 2018-02-11

Most medical conditions have well-defined physical characteristics observed in tissues, organs, and body fluids. In contrast, psychiatric disorder is not defined by this pathological feature, but by behavior.

In a new study, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, and China Central South University found that autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder have some of the same physical characteristics at the molecular level, especially the brain. The pattern of gene expression in . They also identified important differences in gene expression in these mental disorders. The results of the study were published in the February 9th issue of Science, entitled "Shared molecular neuropathology across major psychiatric disorders parallels polygenic overlap."

Daniel Geschwind, author of the paper, director of the Center for Autism Research and Therapy at UCLA, professor of neurology, professor of psychiatry, and professor of human genetics, said: "These findings provide the molecular and pathological features of these mental disorders. A big step forward. The main challenge today is to understand how these changes are produced."

These researchers understand that certain changes in genetic material put people at risk of developing mental disorders, but DNA itself does not tell. Every cell in the body contains the same DNA; on the other hand, RNA molecules play a role in gene expression in different parts of the body by "reading" the instructions contained in the DNA.

Geschwind and the first author of the paper, Michael Gandal, concluded that careful study of RNA in human brain tissue provides molecular features of these mental disorders.

The researchers analyzed RNA from 700 tissue samples from the brains of deceased subjects with autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, or alcohol abuse disorders, and Samples of mentally disordered brains were compared.

Molecular pathology analysis showed significant genetic overlap between different mental disorders (such as autism and schizophrenia), but they also showed specificity, such as major depression showed no observation in other mental disorders The molecular changes to.

"We have confirmed that these molecular changes in the brain are related to underlying genetic causes," Geschwind said. "But we don't understand the mechanisms by which these genetic factors cause these changes. So, even though we now have some understanding of genetic causes, and this New research shows the results of these changes, but in order to develop ways to change these results, we must understand the mechanisms that lead to these changes."

Source: Bio Valley