New Gene-Expression Patterns Linked to Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder, New Study Shows
22 May 2024 - 5:32PM
Business Wire
Psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and
depression have a strong genetic signature. Through advanced
transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS), researchers can
identify unique gene expression profiles to identify new drug
targets to treat these disorders. Today, results from a study
published by researchers at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical
Research and King’s College London in Nature Communications reveal
new gene expression patterns linked to common mental health
disorders, providing a roadmap for future therapeutic research.
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Douglas F. Nixon, MD, PhD, researcher at
the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and co-senior author
of the new paper.
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are non-coding sequences
that make up about eight percent of the human genome. They
originated from ancient retrovirus infections that infected our
lineage hundreds of thousands to millions of years ago and are
thought to regulate nearby genes and have other biological
functions. HERVs have been linked to psychiatric conditions, but
their exact role has been unclear.
“Our study suggests that some HERVs play a role in predisposing
to psychiatric disorders,” said Douglas F. Nixon, MD, PhD,
researcher at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and
co-senior author of the paper. “This and future studies, including
further translational research and clinical studies, could lead to
potential new ways for treating psychiatric disorders.”
The research, partly-funded by the United Kingdom National
Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the United States
National Institutes of Health (NIH), focused on neurological HERV
expression and found unique patterns associated with genetic risk
for major psychiatric disorders. The team also found co-expression
networks connecting well-established genes with HERVs, helping to
understand their functions better. It’s still unclear how HERVs are
involved in psychiatric disorders. Previous research suggests that
differences in HERV expression in psychiatric cases could be due to
immune responses against current or past infections, that can
trigger inflammation. However, this new study found that some HERV
expression signatures are genetically regulated, meaning that they
may directly contribute to the cause of these disorders rather than
being a response to infections or environmental factors.
“Dr. Nixon’s groundbreaking research opens a new vista in
finding new treatments for disease,” said Kevin J. Tracey, MD,
president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes and Karches Family
Distinguished Chair in Medical Research. “By probing the so-called
‘dark genome,’ Dr. Nixon is shining a new light on the mystery and
giving a source of hope for patients with psychiatric disorders who
lack sufficient effective therapies.”
Research reported in this press release was supported by the NIH
under award number R21HG011513. The content is solely the
responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent
the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About the Feinstein Institutes
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the
research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care
provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50
research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000
researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard
of medical innovation through its five institutes of behavioral
science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, and
molecular medicine. We make breakthroughs in genetics, oncology,
brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and are the global
scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – a new field of
science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more
information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit
http://feinstein.northwell.edu and follow us on LinkedIn.
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Matthew Libassi 631-793-5325 mlibassi@northwell.edu