Research team discovers gene linked to suicide

Is suicide risk linked to our genes?

Discovery led an international scientific team led by the Translational Genomics Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City Hope, to show that gene expression studies can provide insight into the underlying causes of suicide, a highly complex public health problem that kills more than 800,000 people worldwide each year
.

Examination of brain tissue samples from 380 people (141 of whom died by suicide and 239 from other causes) revealed five genes that affect several areas of the brain
.

"If independent replication studies confirm our findings, they may be able to inform predictive models of suicide risk in patients affected by mental disorders," said Ignazio Piras, Ph.
D.
, a research assistant professor in TGen's Neurogenomics Division and the study's lead author
.

"Our findings support the involvement of astrocytes and microglia (cells in the brain and central nervous system), the stress response, and the immune system in suicidal behavior," Dr.
Pyras said
.

Using the Gene Expression Omnibus, run by the National Institutes of Health, the researchers focused on three areas of the brain:

• The orbital prefrontal cortex , which is involved in sensory detection, emotion, and memory;

• The prefrontal cortex , which is involved in planning complex cognitive behaviors, personality expression, decision-making, and regulating social behavior;

• D orsolateral prefrontal cortex It's about how it interacts with stimuli
  .
  

serious public health problem

According to previous research, suicide accounts for 15% of all injury deaths worldwide, a figure that may be underestimated
.

In this study, the researchers sought to increase the predictive power of risk models by integrating biological information from a wide range of brain regions in different studies
.

Mirko Manchia, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Cagliari in Italy and one of the study's senior authors, said: "Stratification of patients according to validated gene expression signatures will aid future risk assessment of suicidal behaviors.

.

The researchers found reduced expression of five key genes—KCNJ2, AGT, PMP2, VEZF1, and A2M—in samples from suicide victims, all of which may be associated with relevant alterations in molecular and cellular mechanisms
.

These molecular targets have potential for subsequent analysis and implementation of risk prediction models

"We will plan to conduct follow-up studies, including additional data sources and integrated genomic analysis methods, to validate candidate targets," said Clement Zai, Ph.

International cooperation team

Also contributing to this research: University of Ottawa (Canada), University of Barcelona (Spain), Dalhousie University (Canada), Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Canada) and Broad Institute (MIT) /Harvard University)

This study was supported by the University of Cagliari, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the CAMH Foundation, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation and the Sylvia B.

article title

A review and meta-analysis of gene expression profiles in suicide