The study found new genes associated with alcohol dependence

Liu a key laboratory researcher at the Ministry of Metabolic Molecular Medicine at Fudan University's School of Basic Medicine, in collaboration with Tomas J. Ekstrom, a professor at the Karolinska School of Medicine in Sweden, discovered the new gene DLGAP2, which is associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence, by systematically studying genetic and metagenetic variations in human brain tissue samples and blood, and combining human brain imaging data, biogenic cells and mouse models. The study was published online in Molecular Psychiatry.
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic relapsed brain disease characterized by compulsive drinking, impaired control of drinking behavior, and an alcohol withdrawal response. Alcohol dependence is one of the AUDs. The development of alcohol dependence is considered to be the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In recent years, scientists have conducted a number of genetic studies related to alcohol abuse and dependence, screening a range of susceptible genes for alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, but still do not explain the role of environmental factors in susceptible to alcohol dependence.
to this end, the researchers tested methylation levels in human brain tissue samples and conducted an observational genetic group association study (EWAS) to screen the differential methylation region (DMR) associated with alcohol dependence, where DMR-DLGAP2 is located upstream of the DLGAP2 gene. DMR-DLGAP2 methylation levels in alcohol-dependent patients were significantly lower than in normal people. It is reported that DLGAP2 is mainly expressed in the nervous system, and autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease and other mental disorders.
researchers found that methylation levels of DMR-DLGAP2 were regulated by genotypes. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, the researchers screened 13 groups of brain regions that were positively related to DMR-DLGAP2 methylation levels and negatively related to the frequency of intoxication, the largest of which were located in the frontal wedge.
further studies have found that DMR-DLGAP2 has the pre-metric genetic characteristics of enhancers, and its ability to regulate gene expression is influenced by DNA methylation levels. (Source: Huang Xin, China Science Journal)
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