Two studies have recently linked a specific gene to the development of schizophrenia. A mutated version of the DISC1 gene disrupts the growth of brain cells, according to a team of researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Maryland, US. Meanwhile, a team from the University of Edinburgh demonstrated that this gene affects the way patients are affected by treatment.
It was illustrated by the Howard Hughes researchers that DISC1 plays an essential role in “normal brain development and the growth of individual neurons” . Conversely, if a mutated version of DISC1 is carried then this process can be hazardously altered. The American team used mice to show that DISC1 was active both in adult mice brain cells and in embryonic stem cells. When these levels were reduced in adult mice, their brain cells “failed to divide, and the animals developed symptoms mimicking schizophrenia in humans.” Dr Li-Heui Tsai, lead researcher, said “We need to get a handle on the genetics of schizophrenia, but now we know how DICS1 probably contributes to the disorder, which is a big step.”
The Edinburgh team used the Human Genome Project and some of the data it has generated to show that DISC1 affects a variety of other genes that some drugs already on the market are intended to target. The Edinburgh leader, Dr William Hennah, said “We know that disorders such as schizophrenia have a genetic element and that this specific gene, DISC1, is important to that process, this research helps us to understand exactly how it affects brain development and provides clues about how to solve problems when that process goes wrong.”
However, it has been stated by a mental health charity spokesperson that while these studies are an important step in the right direction, it is only a small step, and that more research and funding is needed before scientists begin to comprehensively map the causes of schizophrenia.
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Quotes reference: Original article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7954451.stm
Picture: http://www.tricitypsychology.com/blog/new-brain-link-as-cause-of-schizophrenia/
