Studies of co-expression gene networks of the orbitofrontal cortex and striatum (postmortem study) of patients with OCD and controls

• Grant number: 14/00591-1
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2014
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Cooperation agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Helena Paula Brentani
• Grantee: Bianca Cristina Garcia Lisboa
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 11/21357-9 - Research on neural circuits and biological markers involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder using behavioral paradigms of fear and anxiety, AP.TEM

Abstract

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions with a worldwide prevalence of 1% to 3%. Functional neuroimaging studies indicate that OCD is a heterogeneous disorder; the neuronal systems activated the orbitofrontal cortex, the cingulate cortex and the striatum. Genetic and epidemiological studies identified environment as well as genetic components in the pathogenesis of OCD. The fact that complete concordance in twin studies is not found demonstrates the important role of the environment in the disease etiology. More than 60 candidate genes were studied in association with OCD however results were inconclusive. Recently, a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) revealed SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism) marginally associated with OCD, from which several were characterized as eQTLs (expression quantitative trait loci) in brain regions. The study of the transcriptiome may be an indirect way of observing the alterations influenced by the environment. Numerous studies have been demonstrating that a gene can participate in the etiology of several diseases as well as that several diseases share the same susceptibility genes. Genes do not encode diseases, but sets of genes form regulatory networks that can result in different behaviors. Using the wide complexity of phenotypic dimensions of OCD will help us to understand the gene interaction networks of specific areas of the brain. The objectives of this study are: (1) to compare the transcriptome of the frontal cortex (orbitofrontal) of cases OCD/OSC and controls (postmortem) and (2) to compare the cortico-striatal co-expression between cases and controls by gene networks co-expression and protein-protein (PPI) interaction networks using the transcriptome data of the striatum from the project in progress "Investigação de Circuitos Neuronais e Marcadores Biológicos Envolvidos no Transtorno Obsessivo-Compulsivos por meio de Paradigmas Comportamentais de Medo e Ansiedade" (FAPESP 2011/21357-9) and the data of the frontal cortex proposed in this project. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TAHIRA, ANA CAROLINA; BARBOSA, ANDRE ROCHA; FELTRIN, ARTHUR SANT'ANNA; GASTALDI, VINICIUS DAGUANO; CALEGARI DE TOLEDO, VICTOR HUGO; DE CARVALHO PEREIRA, JOSE GERALDO; GARCIA LISBOA, BIANCA CRISTINA; DE SOUZA REIS, VIVIANE NERI; FEIO DOS SANTOS, ANA CECILIA; MASCHIETTO, MARIANA; BRENTANI, HELENA. Putative contributions of the sex chromosome proteins SOX3 and SRY to neurodevelopmental disorders. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS PART B-NEUROPSYCHIATRIC GENETICS, v. 180, n. 6, SI, p. 390-414, SEP 2019. Web of Science Citations: 1.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

LISBOA, Bianca Cristina Garcia. Studies of gene co-expression networks of the frontal cortex and striatum (post mortem study) of individuals with OCD and controls. 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina São Paulo.