Gene research for Bipolar Disorder

A new study has turned up two genes that may give new insights into the cause of bipolar disorder. The study took data from more than 4,000 people from American, British and Irish decent with bipolar disorder and analyzed their genomes by a gene chip. This gene chip notices genetic changes along the genome and finds common variations of DNA units – known Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs), pronounced ‘snips’. Some scientists believe that SNPs may predispose people to disease.

The scientists took this SNP information and compared it to the SNPs of a large group of people who were not affected by bipolar disorder. Their goal was to see if there were any SNPs that have a strong involvement with the disorder. What they found was two genes that stood out in a few cases of bipolar disorder, leading them to believe that they may have some information about the biology of the disease.

The researchers, led by Nick Craddock of Crardiff University in Wales and Pamela Klar of the Massachusetts General Hospital, used graphs and visuals to show their results. The results were shown online at Nature Genetics on August 17th, 2008. In their graphs it shows the two SNPs that topped the graph at the level of significance. There was another third SNP that came close, but did not rank as high as the other two.

The researchers studied the genes that the SNPs occurred in and found the first to be an obscure gene named Ankyrin-G. It helps anchor proteins in the cell membrane. The second SNP was from a gene that is part of the ion channel which allows calcium to go in and out of the nerve cells.

The study also proved that there are no genes that have a huge affect in the disease, since these two SNPs were barely ranked in the ‘significance’ category. Due to this, there are plans for another larger study. They are hoping to identify enough common genes to help discover major biological pathways leading to the disorder. If possible, they may be able to create new treatments to help those suffering from bipolar disorder.




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