Gene expression analysis in blood of ultra-high risk subjects compared to first-episode of psychosis patients and controls

Author(s):Show less -

Santoro, Marcos Leite ^{[1, 2]} ; Gadelha, Ary ^{[2, 3]} ; Ota, Vanessa K. ^{[1, 2]} ; Cunha, Graccielle R. ^[3] ; Asevedo, Elson ^[3] ; Noto, Cristiano S. ^{[4, 3]} ; Spindola, Leticia M. ^{[1, 2]} ; Pan, Pedro M. ^{[2, 3]} ; Talarico, Fernanda ^[1] ; Mansur, Rodrigo B. ^{[2, 3]} ; Silva, Patricia N. ^{[1, 2]} ; Brietzke, Elisa ^{[2, 3]} ; Cordeiro, Quirino ^[4] ; Bressan, Rodrigo A. ^{[2, 3]} ; Belangero, Sintia Iole ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Morphol & Genet, Div Genet, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, LiNC Interdisciplinary Lab Clin Neurosci, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, PRISMA Program Recognit & Intervent Subjects At R, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Irmandade Santa Casa Misericordia Sao Paulo, Dept Psychiat, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: WORLD JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY; v. 16, n. 6, p. 441-446, 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 6

Abstract

Objectives. This study aimed to investigate peripheral blood gene expression in ultra-high-risk subjects (UHR) compared to first-episode psychosis individuals (FEP) and healthy controls (HC). Methods. We enrolled 22 UHR, 66 FEP and 67 HC and investigated the expression of 12 genes using Taqman assays. We used the Univariate General Linear Model, as well as Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Results. We found that UFD1L (ubiquitin fusion degradation 1 like (yeast)) gene was upregulated in UHR group compared to HC and FEP (P = 3.44 x 10(-6); P = 9.41 x 10(-6)). MBP (myelin basic protein) was downregulated in UHR compared to FEP (P = 6.07 x 10(-6)). DISC1 (disrupted in schizophrenia 1) was also upregulated in UHR compared to FEP but lost statistical significance when corrected for age. Conclusions. These genes are directly related to neurodevelopmental processes and have been associated to schizophrenia. Recent findings described that DISC1 overexpression can disrupt MBP expression, thus, we think that these alterations in UHR individuals could be associated with a common process. UFD1L showed a different pattern of expression only for UHR group, suggesting that they can be under an acute endoplasmatic reticulum stress, demanding elevated levels of Ufd1. Further studies can improve knowledge on disease progression and putative targets to preventive strategies. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/08968-6 - Investigation of genetic and epigenetic markers: a translational approach for schizophrenia treatment
• Grantee: Síntia Iole Nogueira Belangero
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 12/12686-1 - Potential genetic markers in early phases of schizophrenia
• Grantee: Marcos Leite Santoro
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 11/50740-5 - Prevention in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder from neuroscience to the community: a multiphase, multimodal and translational platform for research and intervention
• Grantee: Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 10/19176-3 - Gene expression and DNA methylation analysis in drug-naive first episode of psychosis patients
• Grantee: Vanessa Kiyomi Ota Kuniyoshi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate