| 1. |
- Dong, Li, et al.
(author)
-
Effects of the Circadian Rhythm Gene Period 1 (Per1) on Psychosocial Stress-Induced Alcohol Drinking
- 2011
-
In: American Journal of Psychiatry. - : American Psychiatric Association Publishing. - 0002-953X .- 1535-7228. ; 168:10, s. 1090-1098
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Circadian and stress-response systems mediate environmental changes that affect alcohol drinking. Psychosocial stress is an environmental risk factor for alcohol abuse. Circadian rhythm gene period 1(Per1) is targeted by stress hormones and is transcriptionally activated in corticotropin releasing factor-expressing cells. The authors hypothesized that Per1 is involved in integrating stress response and circadian rhythmicity and explored its relevance to alcohol drinking. Method: In mice, the effects of stress on ethanol intake in mPer1-mutant and wild-type mice were assessed. In humans, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in hPer1 were tested for association with alcohol drinking behavior in 273 adolescents and an adult case-control sample of 1,006 alcohol-dependent patients and 1,178 comparison subjects. In vitro experiments were conducted to measure genotype-specific expression and transcription factor binding to hPer1. Results: The mPer1-mutant mice showed enhanced alcohol consumption in response to social defeat stress relative to their wild-type littermates. An association with the frequency of heavy drinking in adolescents with the hPer1 promoter SNP rs3027172 and with psychosocial adversity was found. There was significant interaction between the rs3027172 genotype and psychosocial adversity on this drinking measure. In a confirmatory analysis, association of hPer1 rs3027172 with alcohol dependence was shown. Cortisol-induced transcriptional activation of hPer1 was reduced in human B-lymphoblastoid cells carrying the risk genotype of rs3027172. Binding affinity of the transcription factor Snail1 to the risk allele of the hPer1 SNP rs3027172 was also reduced. Conclusions: The findings indicate that the hPer1 gene regulates alcohol drinking behavior during stressful conditions and provide evidence for underlying neurobiological mechanisms.
|
|
| 2. |
- Schunkert, Heribert, et al.
(author)
-
Large-scale association analysis identifies 13 new susceptibility loci for coronary artery disease
- 2011
-
In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 43:4, s. 153-333
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We performed a meta-analysis of 14 genome-wide association studies of coronary artery disease (CAD) comprising 22,233 individuals with CAD (cases) and 64,762 controls of European descent followed by genotyping of top association signals in 56,682 additional individuals. This analysis identified 13 loci newly associated with CAD at P < 5 x 10(-8) and confirmed the association of 10 of 12 previously reported CAD loci. The 13 new loci showed risk allele frequencies ranging from 0.13 to 0.91 and were associated with a 6% to 17% increase in the risk of CAD per allele. Notably, only three of the new loci showed significant association with traditional CAD risk factors and the majority lie in gene regions not previously implicated in the pathogenesis of CAD. Finally, five of the new CAD risk loci appear to have pleiotropic effects, showing strong association with various other human diseases or traits.
|
|
| 3. |
- Van Schijndel, Jessica E., et al.
(author)
-
Dual association of a TRKA polymorphism with schizophrenia
- 2011
-
In: Psychiatric Genetics. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0955-8829 .- 1473-5873. ; 21:3, s. 125-131
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: An interaction between predisposing genes and environmental stressors is thought to underlie the neurodevelopmental disorder schizophrenia. In a targeted gene screening, we previously found that the minor allele of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs6336 in the neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor 1 (NTRK1/TRKA) gene is associated with schizophrenia as a risk factor.METHODS: We genotyped the TRKA SNP in a total of eight independent Caucasian schizophrenia case-control groups.RESULT: Remarkably, although in five of the groups a higher frequency of the risk allele was indeed found in the patients compared with the controls, in the three other groups the SNP acted as a protective factor.CONCLUSION: An intriguing possibility is that this dual character of the TRKA SNP is caused by its interaction with endophenotypic and/or epistatic factors.
|
|
