精神分裂症易感基因GULP1与中国人群大脑容量的相关性研究

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GULP1基因的两个SNP（rs2004888和rs4522565）与精神分裂症显著相关。为了研究这两个精神分裂症易感的SNP是否也符合神经发育假说,我们检测了791个正常人的这两个SNP的基因型并测量它们的脑容量,相关性分析发现这两个SNP和脑容量无关,说明GULP1的精神分裂症易感性存在更加复杂的机制。     

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.     

通过目标区域测序寻找新的自身免疫性甲状腺疾病候选基因及相关位点

自身免疫性甲状腺疾病(autoimmune thyroid disease, AITD)是一种主要由T细胞介导的器官特异性自身免疫性疾病,包括格雷夫斯病(Graves disease, GD)和桥本甲状腺炎(Hashimoto thyroiditis, HT),其发病率与遗传因素紧密相关。本研究旨在确定与AITD相关的易感基因及位点。本研究通过对100例AITD(51例HT和49例GD)患者和50例健康体检者的基因组进行目标区域测序,并对基因多态性与AITD之间的相关性进行了统计学分析,进一步进行连锁分析找到易感基因及相关位点。本研究发现了BACH2基因的5个单核苷酸多态性(single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP)位点(rs12205059、 rs62408219、 rs7742121、 rs7756574、 rs12204886)完全连锁,ARID5B基因10个SNP位点(rs12778514、 rs3740354、 rs3740353、 rs9633555、 rs9633557、 rs9633534、 rs3740352、 rs2393730、 rs...     

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.     

泛肽相关蛋白基因UBAP1单核苷酸多态及与鼻咽癌的相关研究

UBAP1基因是在鼻咽癌9p最小共同缺失区内新克隆的鼻咽癌候选抑瘤基因,通过采用病例-对照研究方法,对105例鼻咽癌患者和183例正常人UBAP1基因的5个单核苷酸多态(SNPs)用测序法进行了分型,在实验过程中,偶然发现了一个新的SNP位点,并已登录至dbSNP（登录号：rs3135929）.经相关分析发现,位于UBAP1基因第6外显子中的SNP rs1049557与鼻咽癌发病存在显著相关性,基因型GG和GC的相对危险度分别为1.64和1.31.实验结果进一步支持了UBAP1基因与鼻咽癌的发生发展可能存在密切关系,SNP rs1049557由于处在UBAP1基因下游3′非翻译区,其多态类型可能在某种程度上影响UBAP1基因的表达调控,从而与鼻咽癌发病相关.     

ORMDL3基因多态性与哮喘的相关性

哮喘是一种非常复杂的表型异质性疾病,是受遗传和环境因素双重影响的多基因遗传病,通过全基因组关联研究显示,1 7号染色体ORMDL3基因是迄今为止发现的与哮喘关联最有充分证据的基因,而SNP(rs7216389)是哮喘最显著的相关标记。本综述将概述ORMDL3基因、ORMDL3基因产物功能、ORMDL3基因多态性与哮喘的相关性,及哮喘主要相关位点SNP(rs7216389)和SNP(rs1051740)等方面的研究成果。     

NGX6基因单核苷酸多肽及与鼻咽癌的相关性

NGX6基因是本研究室在鼻咽癌9p最小共同缺失区内新克隆的鼻咽癌候选抑瘤基因,通过采用病例－对照研究方法,利用动态等位基因杂交（DASH）技术对105例鼻咽癌患者和183例正常人NGX6基因的2个单核苷酸多态（SNP）进行了分型,经相关分析发现,位于NGX6基因上游调控区的SNP rs879284与鼻咽癌发病存在显著相关性,基因型CT和TT的相对危险度分别为3．93和2．27,实验结果进一步支持了NGX6基因与鼻咽癌的发生发展可能存在密切关系,SNP rs879284由于处在NGX6基因上游调控区域,其多态类型可能在某种程度上影响NGX6基因的表达调控,从而与鼻咽癌发病相关。     

基于核心家系的EGR3基因与精神分裂症的关联研究

研究表明位于染色体8p21.3区域的EGR3(Early growth response 3)是精神分裂症(Schizophrenia)的重要易感基因,然而,仍有两个病例-对照研究未能验证上述发现。为了研究EGR3基因在我国患者中是否与疾病关联,文章在中国汉族的核心家系中选择EGR3基因座位上的5个SNPs位点(rs1996147、rs1877670、rs3750192、rs35201266和rs7009708)进行基因分型和传递不平衡检验(Transmission disequilibrium test,TDT)。结果表明遗传标记rs1996147和rs3750192分别显示出显著的传递不平衡(2>4.40,P<0.05)。在连锁不平衡分析中,由2个(rs3750192和rs35201266)、3个(rs1877670、rs3750192和rs7009708)以及4个(rs1996147、rs1877670、rs3750192和rs7009708)SNPs位点构建的单倍型均显示与精神分裂症显著性关联(2>7.10,整体P<0.05)。总之,EGR3基因与中国汉族人群精神分裂症遗传易感性相关,后续关于EGR3基因进一步的功能研究将会更好的帮助我们了解该基因在疾病病理学机制中的作用。     

基于核心家系的EGR3基因与精神分裂症的关联研究

研究表明位于染色体8p21.3区域的EGR3(Early growth response 3)是精神分裂症(Schizophrenia)的重要易感基因, 然而, 仍有两个病例-对照研究未能验证上述发现。为了研究EGR3基因在我国患者中是否与疾病关联, 文章在中国汉族的核心家系中选择EGR3基因座位上的5个SNPs位点(rs1996147、rs1877670、rs3750192、rs35201266和rs7009708)进行基因分型和传递不平衡检验(Transmission disequilibrium test, TDT)。结果表明遗传标记rs1996147和rs3750192分别显示出显著的传递不平衡(c²>4.40, P<0.05)。在连锁不平衡分析中, 由2个(rs3750192和rs35201266)、3个(rs1877670、rs3750192和rs7009708)以及4个(rs1996147、rs1877670、rs3750192和rs7009708)SNPs位点构建的单倍型均显示与精神分裂症显著性关联(c²>7.10, 整体P<0.05)。总之, EGR3基因与中国汉族人群精神分裂症遗传易感性相关, 后续关于EGR3基因进一步的功能研究将会更好的帮助我们了解该基因在疾病病理学机制中的作用。     

激光显微切割分选少量胃癌细胞中PSCA基因的SNP分析

随着基因组关联分析方法的应用,越来越多与胃癌相关的易感基因被发现．易感基因的多态性检测已逐步进入胃癌临床诊断和研究．然而,利用少量胃粘膜细胞开展单核苷酸多态性（SNP）分析对胃癌进行早期诊断常遇下述困难,一是少量胃癌细胞混杂在多种细胞中,异常信号常易被淹没,二是细胞量极少,因此获得的基因组DNA量微,进行多位点或全基因组分析存在困难. 本文利用激光显微切割技术分选少量胃癌细胞,结合全基因组放大技术,进行胃癌相关的前列腺干细胞抗原基因(PSCA)的SNP分析．通过聚合酶链反应-限制性片段长度多态性(PCR-RFLP)和克隆测序方法分析,在分选的胃癌细胞中检测到PSCA的rs2976392位点胃癌相关的“A”等位与rs2294008位点胃癌相关的“T”等位．研究结果表明,所采用的全基因组放大方法保真性高,经过分选的胃癌细胞中SNP位点的检测灵敏度和可靠性大为提高．所建立的少量细胞基因多位点检测方法将同样应用于其它肿瘤和组织的少量细胞研究中,全基因组放大产物也可进行高通量的基因芯片和第二代测序研究．     

Neurexin-1 and frontal lobe white matter: an overlapping intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders

BACKGROUND: Structural variation in the neurexin-1 (NRXN1) gene increases risk for both autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia. However, the manner in which NRXN1 gene variation may be related to brain morphology to confer risk for ASD or schizophrenia is unknown. METHOD/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 53 healthy individuals between 18-59 years of age were genotyped at 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms of the NRXN1 gene. All subjects received structural MRI scans, which were processed to determine cortical gray and white matter lobar volumes, and volumes of striatal and thalamic structures. Each subject's sensorimotor function was also assessed. The general linear model was used to calculate the influence of genetic variation on neural and cognitive phenotypes. Finally, in silico analysis was conducted to assess potential functional relevance of any polymorphisms associated with brain measures. A polymorphism located in the 3' untranslated region of NRXN1 significantly influenced white matter volumes in whole brain and frontal lobes after correcting for total brain volume, age and multiple comparisons. Follow-up in silico analysis revealed that this SNP is a putative microRNA binding site that may be of functional significance in regulating NRXN1 expression. This variant also influenced sensorimotor performance, a neurocognitive function impaired in both ASD and schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that the NRXN1 gene, a vulnerability gene for SCZ and ASD, influences brain structure and cognitive function susceptible in both disorders. In conjunction with our in silico results, our findings provide evidence for a neural and cognitive susceptibility mechanism by which the NRXN1 gene confers risk for both schizophrenia and ASD.     

An Inherited Small Microdeletion at 15q13.3 in a Patient with Early- Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Copy number variations (CNVs) have been previously associated with several different neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders, such as autism, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study consisted of a pilot genome-wide screen for CNVs in a cohort of 16 patients with early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and 12 mentally healthy individuals, using array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) on 44K arrays. A small rare paternal inherited microdeletion (∼64 kb) was identified in chromosome 15q13.3 of one male patient with very early onset OCD. The father did not have OCD. The deletion encompassed part of the FMN1 gene, which is involved with the glutamatergic system. This finding supports the hypothesis of a complex network of several genes expressed in the brain contributing for the genetic risk of OCD, and also supports the glutamatergic involvement in OCD, which has been previously reported in the literature.     

Impact of the genome wide supported NRGN gene on anterior cingulate morphology in schizophrenia

Background

The rs12807809 single-nucleotide polymorphism in NRGN is a genetic risk variant with genome-wide significance for schizophrenia. The frequency of the T allele of rs12807809 is higher in individuals with schizophrenia than in those without the disorder. Reduced immunoreactivity of NRGN, which is expressed exclusively in the brain, has been observed in Brodmann areas (BA) 9 and 32 of the prefrontal cortex in postmortem brains from patients with schizophrenia compared with those in controls.

Methods

Genotype effects of rs12807809 were investigated on gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) technique in a sample of 99 Japanese patients with schizophrenia and 263 healthy controls.

Results

Although significant genotype-diagnosis interaction either on GM or WM volume was not observed, there was a trend of genotype-diagnosis interaction on GM volume in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Thus, the effects of NRGN genotype on GM volume of patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls were separately investigated. In patients with schizophrenia, carriers of the risk T allele had a smaller GM volume in the left ACC (BA32) than did carriers of the non-risk C allele. Significant genotype effect on other regions of the GM or WM was not observed for either the patients or controls.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the genome-wide associated genetic risk variant in the NRGN gene may be related to a small GM volume in the ACC in the left hemisphere in patients with schizophrenia.     

Comparison of hippocampal volumes in schizophrenia, schizoaffective and bipolar disorder

The reduction of hippocampal volume was frequently reported in schizophrenia, but not in bipolar disorder This volume reduction is associated with clinical features of schizophrenia, in particular with working and verbal memory impairments. Schizoaffective disorder, as a specific disorder sharing clinical features of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is rarely analyzed as a separate disorder in neurobiological studies. The aim of this study was to compare hippocampal volumes in separate groups of patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective and bipolar disorder. Hippocampal volumes were estimated using high resolution magnetic resonance imaging in 60 subjects, 15 subjects in each patient and one healthy volunteer (control) group. There were no significant differences in hippocampal volume between bipolar disorder and control group. Hippocampal volume was statistically significantly reduced in the group of patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, compared to either bipolar disorder or control group, thus supporting the hypothesis that hippocampal volume reduction could be considered as a possible neurobiological basis for clinical aspects of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder associated with working and verbal memory impairment.     

Methylomic profiling of human brain tissue supports a neurodevelopmental origin for schizophrenia

Background

Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder that is hypothesized to result from disturbances in early brain development. There is mounting evidence to support a role for developmentally regulated epigenetic variation in the molecular etiology of the disorder. Here, we describe a systematic study of schizophrenia-associated methylomic variation in the adult brain and its relationship to changes in DNA methylation across human fetal brain development.

Results

We profile methylomic variation in matched prefrontal cortex and cerebellum brain tissue from schizophrenia patients and controls, identifying disease-associated differential DNA methylation at multiple loci, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, and confirming these differences in an independent set of adult brain samples. Our data reveal discrete modules of co-methylated loci associated with schizophrenia that are enriched for genes involved in neurodevelopmental processes and include loci implicated by genetic studies of the disorder. Methylomic data from human fetal cortex samples, spanning 23 to 184 days post-conception, indicates that schizophrenia-associated differentially methylated positions are significantly enriched for loci at which DNA methylation is dynamically altered during human fetal brain development.

Conclusions

Our data support the hypothesis that schizophrenia has an important early neurodevelopmental component, and suggest that epigenetic mechanisms may mediate these effects.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-014-0483-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Genome-Wide Association Analysis with Gray Matter Volume as a Quantitative Phenotype in First-Episode Treatment-Na?ve Patients with Schizophrenia

Reduced Gray matter (GM) volume is a core feature of schizophrenia. Mapping genes that is associated with the heritable disease-related phenotypes may be conducive to elucidate the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This study aims to identify the common genetic variants that underlie the deficits of GM volume in schizophrenia. High-resolution T1 images and whole genome genotyping data were obtained from 74 first-episode treatment-naïve patients with schizophrenia and 51 healthy controls in the Mental Health Centre of the West China Hospital, Sichuan University. All participants were scanned using a 3T MR imaging system and were genotyped using the HumanHap660 Bead Array. Reduced GM volumes in three brain areas including left hOC3v in the collateral sulcus of visual cortex (hOC3vL), left cerebellar vermis lobule 10 (vermisL10) and right cerebellar vermis lobule 10 (vermisR10) were found in patients with schizophrenia. There was a group by genotype interaction when genotypes from genome-wide scan were subsequently considered in the case-control analyses. SNPs from three genes or chromosomal regions (TBXAS1, PIK3C2G and HS3ST5) were identified to predict the changes of GM volume in hOC3vL, vermisL10 and vermisR10. These results also highlighted the usefulness of endophenotype in exploring the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia although further independent replication studies are needed in the future.     

Brain tissue volumes in familial longevity: the Leiden Longevity Study

Atrophy is one of the major age‐related changes in the brain. The absence of brain atrophy in elderly individuals reflects deceleration in the process of biological aging. Moreover, results from human twin studies suggest a large genetic influence on the variance of human brain tissue volumes. To investigate the association of brain volumes with exceptional longevity, we tested whether middle‐aged to elderly offspring of nonagenarian siblings have larger brain volumes than their spouses using magnetic resonance imaging. No differences in whole brain, gray matter and white matter volume were found. These brain volumes were associated with chronological age in offspring and control subjects (all P < 0.001). Left amygdalar volume of the offspring was larger (P = 0.03) compared with control subjects [mean volume offspring (cm³) (95% confidence interval, CI) = 1.39 (1.36–1.42), mean volume control subjects (cm³) (95% CI) = 1.32 (1.29–1.35)]. Association of left amygdalar volume with familial longevity was particularly pronounced when offspring with the oldest long‐lived parent were compared with control subjects (P = 0.01). Amygdalar volumes were not associated with chronological age in both groups. Our findings suggest that the observed association of a larger left amygdalar volume with familial longevity is not caused by a relative preservation of the left amygdala during the course of aging but most likely a result of early development caused by a genetic familial trait.     

Relationship between neurophysiological indices of cognitive processes and MRI characteristics of some brain structures in healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia

The relationships between the parameters of waves of auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in the oddball paradigm and the volumes of the hippocampus, amygdala, and caudate nuclei were analyzed in healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia. The data obtained suggest that faster mental processes and stronger activation and/or synchronization of the activity of ERP wave generators in healthy subjects correspond to smaller volumes of the structures studied. The structure of the relationships in patients with schizophrenia differed from the normal one; significant correlations were observed with the volume of the caudate nuclei, and more pronounced “normalization” of neurophysiological characteristics was associated with large volumes of these structures.