The role of the CNR1 gene in schizophrenia: a systematic review including unpublished data

Objective: Schizophrenia is a multifactorial disorder. It is known that a combination of extensive multiple common alleles may be involved in its etiology, each contributing with a small to moderate effect, and, possibly, some rare alleles with a much larger effect size. We aimed to perform a systematic review of association studies between schizophrenia (and its subphenotypes) and polymorphisms in the CNR1 gene, which encodes cannabinoid receptors classically implicated in schizophrenia pathophysiology, as well as to present unpublished results of an association study in a Brazilian population. Methods: Two reviewers independently searched for eligible studies and extracted outcome data using a structured form. Papers were retrieved from PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge using the search term schizophrenia in combination with CNR1 or CB1 or cannabinoid receptor. Twenty-four articles met our inclusion criteria. We additionally present data from a study of our own comparing 182 patients with schizophrenia and 244 healthy controls. Results: No consistent evidence is demonstrated. Conclusion: Some seemingly positive association studies stress the need for further investigations of the possible role of endocannabinoid genetics in schizophrenia.Fundacao de Amparo e Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [2010/08968-6, 2011/50740-5, 2011/00030-1]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)FAPESPCNPqCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Fundacao SafraFundacao ABADSUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Psiquiatria, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Lab Interdisciplinar Neurociencias Clin LiNC, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilIrmandade Santa Casa Misericordia Sao Paulo, Dept Psiquiatria, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Morfol & Genet, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Psiquiatria, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Lab Interdisciplinar Neurociencias Clin LiNC, Sao Paulo, SP, BraziWeb of Scienc

Frequency of 22q11.2 microdeletion in children with congenital heart defects in western poland

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome (22q11.2 deletion syndrome -22q11.2DS) refers to congenital abnormalities, including primarily heart defects and facial dysmorphy, thymic hypoplasia, cleft palate and hypocalcaemia. Microdeletion within chromosomal region 22q11.2 constitutes the molecular basis of this syndrome. The 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome occurs in 1/4000 births. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of 22q11.2 microdeletion in 87 children suffering from a congenital heart defect (conotruncal or non-conotruncal) coexisting with at least one additional 22q11.2DS feature and to carry out 22q11.2 microdeletion testing of the deleted children's parents. We also attempted to identify the most frequent heart defects in both groups and phenotypic traits of patients with microdeletion to determine selection criteria for at risk patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The analysis of microdeletions was conducted using fluorescence <it>in situ </it>hybridization (FISH) on metaphase chromosomes and interphase nuclei isolated from venous peripheral blood cultures. A molecular probe (Tuple) specific to the <it>HIRA (TUPLE1, DGCR1</it>) region at 22q11 was used for the hybridisation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Microdeletions of 22q11.2 region were detected in 13 children with a congenital heart defect (14.94% of the examined group). Microdeletion of 22q11.2 occurred in 20% and 11.54% of the conotruncal and non-conotruncal groups respectively. Tetralogy of Fallot was the most frequent heart defect in the first group of children with 22q11.2 microdeletion, while ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect/ventricular septal defect were most frequent in the second group. The microdeletion was also detected in one of the parents of the deleted child (6.25%) without congenital heart defect, but with slight dysmorphism. In the remaining children, 22q11.2 microdeletion originated <it>de novo</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patients with 22q11.2DS exhibit wide spectrum of phenotypic characteristics, ranging from discreet to quite strong. The deletion was inherited by one child. Our study suggests that screening for 22q11.2 microdeletion should be performed in children with conotruncal and non-conotruncal heart defects and with at least one typical feature of 22q11.2DS as well as in the deleted children's parents.</p

Applying polygenic risk scoring for psychiatric disorders to a large family with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder

Psychiatric disorders are thought to have a complex genetic pathology consisting of interplay of common and rare variation. Traditionally, pedigrees are used to shed light on the latter only, while here we discuss the application of polygenic risk scores to also highlight patterns of common genetic risk. We analyze polygenic risk scores for psychiatric disorders in a large pedigree (n similar to 260) in which 30% of family members suffer from major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. Studying patterns of assortative mating and anticipation, it appears increased polygenic risk is contributed by affected individuals who married into the family, resulting in an increasing genetic risk over generations. This may explain the observation of anticipation in mood disorders, whereby onset is earlier and the severity increases over the generations of a family. Joint analyses of rare and common variation may be a powerful way to understand the familial genetics of psychiatric disorders

Genetic variants associated with longitudinal changes in brain structure across the lifespan

Human brain structure changes throughout the lifespan. Altered brain growth or rates of decline are implicated in a vast range of psychiatric, developmental and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we identified common genetic variants that affect rates of brain growth or atrophy in what is, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide association meta-analysis of changes in brain morphology across the lifespan. Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging data from 15,640 individuals were used to compute rates of change for 15 brain structures. The most robustly identified genes GPR139, DACH1 and APOE are associated with metabolic processes. We demonstrate global genetic overlap with depression, schizophrenia, cognitive functioning, insomnia, height, body mass index and smoking. Gene set findings implicate both early brain development and neurodegenerative processes in the rates of brain changes. Identifying variants involved in structural brain changes may help to determine biological pathways underlying optimal and dysfunctional brain development and aging

Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia has a heritability of 60-80%1, much of which is attributable to common risk alleles. Here, in a two-stage genome-wide association study of up to 76,755 individuals with schizophrenia and 243,649 control individuals, we report common variant associations at 287 distinct genomic loci. Associations were concentrated in genes that are expressed in excitatory and inhibitory neurons of the central nervous system, but not in other tissues or cell types. Using fine-mapping and functional genomic data, we identify 120 genes (106 protein-coding) that are likely to underpin associations at some of these loci, including 16 genes with credible causal non-synonymous or untranslated region variation. We also implicate fundamental processes related to neuronal function, including synaptic organization, differentiation and transmission. Fine-mapped candidates were enriched for genes associated with rare disruptive coding variants in people with schizophrenia, including the glutamate receptor subunit GRIN2A and transcription factor SP4, and were also enriched for genes implicated by such variants in neurodevelopmental disorders. We identify biological processes relevant to schizophrenia pathophysiology; show convergence of common and rare variant associations in schizophrenia and neurodevelopmental disorders; and provide a resource of prioritized genes and variants to advance mechanistic studies

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe

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