精神分裂症易感基因DKK4与中国人群大脑容量的相关性

精神分裂症是一种复杂的精神疾病,全世界约有1%的人患有这种疾病。以往的研究发现,精神分裂症患者的脑容量比正常人小,且一些精神分裂症易感基因的DNA序列多态性也同时与脑的结构异常有关,这与精神分裂症的神经发育假说是吻合的。最近研究发现,人的DKK4基因的SNP(rs2073665)与精神分裂症显著相关。为了研究DKK4精神分裂症易感SNP是否与脑发育相关,本文检测了961个正常人rs2073665的基因型并测量了他们的脑容量。相关性分析发现,rs2073665在加性模型下和显性模型下都与脑容量存在显著相关性,这为精神分裂症易感基因同时能影响脑容量提供了证据,同时也为精神分裂症的神经发育异常假说提供了佐证。     

精神分裂症易感基因

精神分裂症是一类遗传倾向性较高的多基因疾病。近年来,随着遗传学和分子生物学为主的多学科研究技术的快速发展,不断有新的易感基因报道;一些重要易感基因的生物学功能及其在该疾病发病机制中的作用研究也取得了一定进展。     

精神分裂症易感基因的研究进展

精神分裂症迄今病因未明,家系研究、双生子与寄养子的研究显示了精神分裂症的遗传倾向,各国学者开展了许多寻找其致病基因的研究工作。已经有大量关于精神分裂症易感基因的报道,有些结果也在后续试验中取得了较好的重复性。本文主要就精神分裂症易感基因的研究近况做一综述。     

神经调节素1基因与103例精神分裂症患者相关性

目的:探讨神经调节素1(NRG1)基因多态性与精神分裂症的相关性.方法:利用基于适配器连接介导的等位基因特异性扩增法.对精神分裂症易感基因NRG1进行多重SNP分析.选择NRG1基因中的rs2919391,rs2954041,rs2919392,rs7838692,rs2919394和rs2919393共六个SNP位点,检测了101个正常人样本和103个精神分裂症患者样本.结果:分析的5个SNP位点基因频率与基因型分布在正常人与精神分裂症患者之间未显示显著差异.结论:5个研究的SNP位点显示NRG1基因与所研究的精神分裂症患者不存在相关性.     

中国人群肝癌的易感基因研究

以单核苷酸多态性（single nucleotide polymorphism,SNP）为遗传标记的遗传关联研究是近年来鉴定复杂疾病易感基因的主要策略之一.尤其是新近发展成熟的全基因组关联研究（genome-wide association study,GWAS）,已被公认是行之有效的系统搜寻重大疾病易感基因的研究方法.军事医学科学院与国内同行合作开展的HBV相关肝癌GWAS结果表明,1p36.22的UBE4B-KIF1B-PGD区域是一个全新的肝癌易感基因区域,证明了遗传易感性在肝癌发生发展中的病因学意义.肝癌易感基因的发现,不仅为深入阐明肝癌的发生机制开辟了新的研究方向,而且为肝癌的风险预测和早期预警研究提供了理论依据;同时,也为后续开发新型的治疗药物奠定了基础.     

Ⅱ型糖尿病易感基因研究的进展

Ⅱ型糖尿病是由基因和环境共同作用所引起的多基因遗传病,随着人类基因组计划的完成和单核苷酸多态性(single-nu-clcotide polymorphisms,SNP)扫描技术的发展,许多SNP位点被证实与Ⅱ型糖尿病相关,因此易感基因的检测是未来糖尿病预防和治疗的关键.本文主要介绍了目前Ⅱ型糖尿病易感基因的检测策略、方法、研究进展及今后的研究方向.     

中国汉族人群中RELN基因rs7341475位点与精神分裂症的相关性分析

精神分裂症是一种常见的复杂精神疾病.大量的实验证据表明,遗传因素在精神分裂症的发生中起到了重要的作用.截至目前,有报道称至少100个基因与精神分裂症相关,但它们在不同人群中的重复性不好.在这些基因中,RELN在多个人群中都被证实与精神分裂症相关,表明它可能是一个真实的易感基因.目前,在RELN基因上有很多个单核苷酸多态性位点被证实与精神分裂症相关,其中研究最多的是通过全基因组关联分析发现的在RELN基因第四个内含子中的单核苷酸多态性位点rs7341475,它被证明与精神分裂症的发生相关.为了验证该位点在中国人群中是否与精神分裂症相关,作者对来自中国玉溪的病例——对照样本(400位患者和400位正常人)进行了遗传分析.结果显示,在该样本中rs7341475与精神分裂症不相关,这表明rs7341475在中国人群中可能不是致病多态性位点.     

肿瘤易感基因BRCA1

ＢＲＣＡ１为一新的肿瘤易感基因,定位在１７ｑ２１,其ｃＤＮＡ可转录７．８ｋｂｍＲＮＡ,编码含１８６３个氨基酸残基的长多态,在遣传性乳腺卵巢癌中有高频率的ＢＲＣＡ１基因杂合性丢失,同时有多形式多位点的基因突变,符合肿瘤抑制基因特点。     

中国人群中抗结核药物引发肝损伤的易感基因标记研究

为系统性研究中国人群中抗结核药物引发肝损伤的易感基因标记,本研究以41例抗结核药物引发肝损伤的病人和39例健康对照为研究对象,采用Haloplex捕获测序的方法对其基因组中药物代谢、转运和免疫相关通路的109个基因进行靶向测序。用Plink软件对DNA突变位点与肝损伤的发生进行关联分析,以千人基因组计划东亚人群作为对照组,对显著性位点进行验证,并用SIFT和Polyphen2软件对预测显著关联的位点进行功能预测。结果发现UGT1A4 rs2011404(X^2=4.6809,P=0.0305)是抗结核药物引发的肝损伤的易感基因标记,且rs2011404突变可能引起UGT1A4蛋白的功能障碍。本研究为临床上对抗结核药物的合理用药提供了有益的参考。     

OPRK1基因SNP与梅花鹿昼间行为性状的相关性

采用目标动物取样法(Focal Animal Sampling)对江苏省扬州市平山堂养殖场及扬州市动物园48只梅花鹿(Cervus nippon)的昼间行为进行观察,以Kappa阿片受体(Kappa Opoioid Receptor 1,OPRKl)为目的基因,采用单核苷酸多态性(Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms,SNPs)方法,利用引物P-5和P-9获得OPRK1基因的不同基因型,并将二者进行最小二乘均值的多重比较,以确定OPRK1基因SNP与梅花鹿昼间行为的相关性.结果表明,引物P-5各基因型间与修饰行为两两差异显著(P＜0.05),其它行为EE型和FF型差异显著(P＜0.05),而另外5种行为性状在各个基因型中没有检测到显著差异;引物P-9各基因型间卧息行为GG型和GH型个体行为之间存在极显著差异(P＜0.01),观望行为GG型、HH型和GH型3种基因型个体两两之间差异显著(P＜0.05),修饰行为HH型和另外两者差异显著(P＜0.05).研究表明,OPRK1基因多态性和梅花鹿昼间行为性状存在一定相关.     

Adaptor protein GULP is involved in stabilin-1-mediated phagocytosis

The clearance of apoptotic cells is critical during cellular homeostasis as well as inflammation resolution. Recently, we found that stabilin-1 is a phagocytic receptor that is involved in the clearance of apoptotic cells. However, the downstream signaling pathway of stabilin-1-mediated phagocytosis remains to be investigated. Here we identify that GULP is able to specifically interact with the NPxF/Y motif of stabilin-1 cytoplasmic region. The PTB domain of GULP is necessary for interaction with stabilin-1. GULP is enriched around PS-coated beads for phagocytosis and co-localized with stabilin-1. Downregulation of endogenous GULP expression decreased stabilin-1-mediated phagocytosis. Thus, these results indicate that GULP functions as an adaptor protein for stabilin-1-mediated phagocytosis.     

Sulfotransferase 4A1

In this review, we highlight the physical and enzymatic properties of the novel human sulfotransferase, SULT4A1. The gene is most highly expressed in selective regions of the brain, although work to date has failed to identify any specific endogenous substrate for the enzyme. SULT4A1 shares low homology with other human sulfotransferases. Nevertheless, it is highly conserved between species. Despite the low homology, it is structurally very similar to other cytosolic sulfotransferases with a conserved substrate binding domain, dimerization site and partial cofactor binding sites. However, the catalytic cavity is much smaller, and it has been suggested that the cofactor may not be accommodated within it. A recent link between variability in the 5'UTR of the SULT4A1 gene and schizophrenia has heightened interest in the endogenous function of the enzyme and its possible role in human disease.     

RELN基因启动子区SNP位点与精神分裂症的相关性分析

目前有很多证据证明RELN基因在世界人群中是一个精神分裂症的致病基因.基于之前报道过的RELN基因在精神分裂症患者中表达下降的事实,可以推测在RELN基因启动子区可能包含影响精神分裂症发生的多态位点.该研究分析了中国西南地区病例——对照人群中(940位患者和1369位正常人)RELN基因启动子区的3个单核苷酸多态性位点与精神分裂症的相关性.研究结果显示,这些多态位点都不与精神分裂症相关,表明RELN基因的致病位点并不在其启动子区.将前人研究结果与该研究结果进行综合分析(共2843个样本),结果仍不显著.因此,该研究表明,RELN基因启动子区的单核苷酸多态性位点在中国人群中并不与精神分裂症相关.     

凡纳滨对虾TCP-1-eta基因的克隆及与耐寒性状的相关性

为研究凡纳滨对虾耐寒性状的分子机理,文章克隆了凡纳滨对虾的耐寒相关基因TCP-1-eta并对其与耐寒性状的关系进行了研究。首先,根据电子克隆所得序列设计引物,采用RT-PCR方法克隆得到长1 705 bp的TCP-1-eta基因序列,其中包括1 629 bp的完整开放阅读框,编码542个氨基酸残基。然后,运用荧光定量PCR对TCP-1-eta基因进行时空表达谱的分析:(1)组织表达分析结果显示,该基因在凡纳滨对虾肌肉组织中表达量最高;(2)不同低温处理下的表达结果显示,该基因在15℃开始呈上调表达,13℃时表达量最高;(3)13℃低温处理的表达结果显示,该基因在36 h内呈小幅上调表达,但36 h后表达量显著升高,48 h表达量达到0 h的150倍。进一步采用PCR-RFLP方法对216只凡纳滨对虾TCP-1-eta基因进行了SNP多态性检测,并将其与耐寒性状进行了关联分析。在该基因编码区第731碱基上发现C/T突变,方差分析结果表明该位点的不同基因型与耐寒力指标CDH(Cooling-degree hours)值相关(P<0.05),其中CC基因型的耐寒能力比TT基因型强。     

Association of the carboxyl-terminal PDZ ligand of neuronal nitric oxide synthase gene with schizophrenia in the Chinese Han population

Several independent linkage studies have demonstrated that the 1q22 region is likely to harbor candidate schizophrenia susceptibility genes. Recently, some genetic variants within CAPON have been reported as exhibiting significant linkage disequilibrium to schizophrenia in Canadian familial-schizophrenia pedigrees. We examined nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which span an approximately 236-kb region of CAPON, in 664 schizophrenia cases and 941 controls in the Chinese Han population. We detected a significant difference in allele distributions of SNP rs348624 (P = 0.000017). Moreover, the overall frequency of haplotypes constructed from three SNPs including rs348624 showed significant difference between cases and controls (P = 0.000025). Our findings indicate that CAPON gene may be a candidate susceptibility gene for schizophrenia in Chinese Han population, and also provide further support for the potential importance of NMDAR-mediated glutamatergic transmission in the etiology of schizophrenia.     

Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Psychiatric Disorders

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation is the major ATP-producing pathway, which supplies more than 95% of the total energy requirement in the cells. Damage to the mitochondrial electron transport chain has been suggested to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of a range of psychiatric disorders. Tissues with high energy demands, such as the brain, contain a large number of mitochondria, being therefore more susceptible to reduction of the aerobic metabolism. Mitochondrial dysfunction results from alterations in biochemical cascade and the damage to the mitochondrial electron transport chain has been suggested to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia. Bipolar disorder is a prevalent psychiatric disorder characterized by alternating episodes of mania and depression. Recent studies have demonstrated that important enzymes involved in brain energy are altered in bipolar disorder patients and after amphetamine administration, an animal model of mania. Depressive disorders, including major depression, are serious and disabling. However, the exact pathophysiology of depression is not clearly understood. Several works have demonstrated that metabolism is impaired in some animal models of depression, induced by chronic stress, especially the activities of the complexes of mitochondrial respiratory chain. Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disorder characterized by disturbed thoughts and perception, alongside cognitive and emotional decline associated with a severe reduction in occupational and social functioning, and in coping abilities. Alterations of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in schizophrenia have been reported in several brain regions and also in platelets. Abnormal mitochondrial morphology, size and density have all been reported in the brains of schizophrenic individuals. Considering that several studies link energy impairment to neuronal death, neurodegeneration and disease, this review article discusses energy impairment as a mechanism underlying the pathophysiology of some psychiatric disorders, like bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia.     

Evidence for an endogenous peptide ligand for the phencyclidine receptor

Porcine brain contained an active factor that competed with [3H]-phencyclidine (PCP) for binding to rat brain membranes. On reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography, the active material eluted between 38-42% acetonitrile. Gel filtration chromatography of the factor predicted a molecular weight of approximately 3000 daltons. The endogenous substance appeared to be selective for PCP receptors as it did not interact with either benzodiazepine, neurotensin, nor with mu, delta, or kappa opioid receptors. The active material showed a heterogenous distribution in brain, with highest concentrations found in hippocampus and cortex. It is likely to be a small peptide since various proteases eliminated or markedly reduced the potency of the compound in a [3H]-PCP binding assay. The material also possessed PCP-like activity in two bioassays. Like PCP, it induced contralateral rotational behavior after unilateral intranigral injection and depressed spontaneous cell activity after iontophoretic micropressure application in hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Thus, this small peptide is likely to be an endogenous ligand for the PCP receptor.     

Functional Characterization of 5-Oxoproline Transport via SLC16A1/MCT1

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone is a tripeptide that consists of 5-oxoproline, histidine, and proline. The peptide is rapidly metabolized by various enzymes. 5-Oxoproline is produced by enzymatic hydrolysis in a variety of peptides. Previous studies showed that 5-oxoproline could become a possible biomarker for autism spectrum disorders. Here we demonstrate the involvement of SLC16A1 in the transport of 5-oxoproline. An SLC16A1 polymorphism (rs1049434) was recently identified. However, there is no information about the effect of the polymorphism on SLC16A1 function. In this study, the polymorphism caused an observable change in 5-oxoproline and lactate transport via SLC16A1. The Michaelis constant (K_m) was increased in an SLC16A1 mutant compared with that in the wild type. In addition, the proton concentration required to produce half-maximal activation of transport activity (K_{0.5, H}⁺) was increased in the SLC16A1 mutant compared with that in the wild type. Furthermore, we examined the transport of 5-oxoproline in T98G cells as an astrocyte cell model. Despite the fact that 5-oxoproline is an amino acid derivative, Na⁺-dependent and amino acid transport systems scarcely contributed to 5-oxoproline transport. Based on our findings, we conclude that H⁺-coupled 5-oxoproline transport is mediated solely by SLC16A1 in the cells.