ZNF804A Gene Variants Have a Cross-diagnostic Influence on Psychosis and Treatment Improvement in Mood Disorders

ANK3 rs10994336 and ZNF804A rs7597593 polymorphisms: genetic interaction for emotional and behavioral symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome

OBJECTIVE

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a complex condition associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), characterized by significant variations in symptom severity among patients. The psychological and emotional symptoms accompanying AWS significantly contribute to withdrawal distress and relapse risk. Despite the importance of neural adaptation processes in AWS, limited genetic investigations have been conducted. This study primarily focuses on exploring the single and interaction effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the ANK3 and ZNF804A genes on anxiety and aggression severity manifested in AWS. By examining genetic associations with withdrawal-related psychopathology, we ultimately aim to advance understanding the genetic underpinnings that modulate AWS severity.

METHODS

The study involved 449 male patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder. The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) were used to assess emotional and behavioral symptoms related to AWS. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood, and genotyping was performed using PCR.

RESULTS

Single-gene analysis revealed that naturally occurring allelic variants in ANK3 rs10994336 (CC homozygous vs. T allele carriers) were associated with mood and behavioral symptoms related to AWS. Furthermore, the interaction between ANK3 and ZNF804A was significantly associated with the severity of psychiatric symptoms related to AWS, as indicated by MANOVA. Two-way ANOVA further demonstrated a significant interaction effect between ANK3 rs10994336 and ZNF804A rs7597593 on anxiety, physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. Hierarchical regression analyses confirmed these findings. Additionally, simple effects analysis and multiple comparisons revealed that carriers of the ANK3 rs10994336 T allele experienced more severe AWS, while the ZNF804A rs7597593 T allele appeared to provide protection against the risk associated with the ANK3 rs10994336 mutation.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the gene-gene interaction between ANK3 and ZNF804A, which plays a crucial role in modulating emotional and behavioral symptoms related to AWS. The ANK3 rs10994336 T allele is identified as a risk allele, while the ZNF804A rs7597593 T allele offers protection against the risk associated with the ANK3 rs10994336 mutation. These findings provide initial support for gene-gene interactions as an explanation for psychiatric risk, offering valuable insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in AWS.

rs1344706 polymorphism of zinc finger protein 804a (ZNF804a) gene related to the integrity of white matter fiber bundle in schizophrenics

Genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia (SZ), and the zinc finger protein 804a (ZNF804a) gene has been considered to be a risk gene for schizophrenia. In the present study, the correlation between rs1344706 polymorphism of ZNF804a gene and the integrity of white matter in schizophrenic cases was explored. A total of 60 SZ patients and 100 healthy controls (HC) were included to undergo head MRI. According to the genotyping of rs1344706 in ZNF804a, the subjects in each group were divided into a normal allele and risk allele-carrying group. The imaging data were preprocessed by PANDA software, and thefractional anisotropy (FA) of each subject was calculated. With SPM8 software, age and years of education were considered as covariates, and diagnosis as well as genotype (AA, GG/AG) were considered as intergroup factors. Four groups of FA images were analyzed by two-factor analysis of variance. The FA value of the right posterior radiocrown in the patient group was lower than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant. The FA value of the right lower frontal occipital tract and the right upper radiocrown in the G allele carrier group was lower than that in the A allele homozygous group. There was detection of an interaction between the FA value of the splenium of corpus callosum, the body part of the corpus callosum and the right cingulate tract. In the present study, it was demonstrated that the rs1344706 GG/AG genotype of the ZNF804a gene locus in SZ patients suffered from abnormal structure in a specific region of the brain. This finding indicated that the rs1344706 single nucleotide polymorphism of the ZNF804a gene may affect the integrity of the white matter of the brain in SZ patients and may be involved in the pathophysiological mechanism of SZ.

Genetic neuroimaging of bipolar disorder: a systematic 2017-2020 update

There is evidence of genetic polymorphism influences on brain structure and function, genetic risk in bipolar disorder (BD), and neuroimaging correlates of BD. How genetic influences related to BD could be reflected on brain changes in BD has been efficiently reviewed in a 2017 systematic review. We aimed to confirm and extend these findings through a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses-based systematic review. Our study allowed us to conclude that there is no replicated finding in the timeframe considered. We were also unable to further confirm prior results of the BDNF gene polymorphisms to affect brain structure and function in BD. The most consistent finding is an influence of the CACNA1C rs1006737 polymorphism in brain connectivity and grey matter structure and function. There was a tendency of undersized studies to obtain positive results and large, genome-wide polygenic risk studies to find negative results in BD. The neuroimaging genetics in BD field is rapidly expanding.

Possible Modulatory Role of ARC Gene Variants in Mood Disorders

OBJECTIVE

The genetic background of mood disorders is gradually emerging through the use of large multicenter samples but a detailed phenotyping is complementary in elucidating the role of modulating variants.

METHODS

In the present paper we focused on the possible modulatory effects of ARC gene variants on two independent mood disorder samples of European (n = 246 bipolar disorder) and Korean (n = 132 bipolar disorder; n = 242 major depressive disorder [MDD]) ancestry.

RESULTS

No result survived Bonferroni correction, however we evidenced promising trend toward possible association between ARC gene variants and mood disorder phenotypes. In particular, we evidenced weak correlations of ARC single nucleotide polymorphisms with depressive symptoms severity (evaluated through Hamilton depression rating scale scores) in the MDD Korean (rs7465272) and European (rs11167152) samples. Additionally rs10110456 was found to be related to Family History, while rs7465272 was related to suicide risk in the Korean sample. Finally, rs7465272 was associated with body mass index in the European sample.

CONCLUSION

Overall, ARC gene variants may have a partial role in modulatory effect on treatment efficacy or phenotypes of mood disorders. Further studies, on larger samples may provide a better understanding on the role of ARC gene variants in the symptom severity and treatment outcomes in patients with mood disorders.

Neuroplasticity, Neurotransmission and Brain-Related Genes in Major Depression and Bipolar Disorder: Focus on Treatment Outcomes in an Asiatic Sample

INTRODUCTION

Mood disorders are common and disabling disorders. Despite the availability of over 100 psychotropic compounds, only one-third of patients benefit from first-line treatments. Over the past 20 years, many studies have focused on the biological factors modulating disease risk and response to treatments, but with still inconclusive data. In order to improve our current knowledge, in this study, we investigated the role of a set of genes involved in different pathways (neurotransmission, neuroplasticity, circadian rhythms, transcription factors, signal transduction and cellular metabolism) in the treatment outcome of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) after naturalistic pharmacological treatment.

METHODS

Totals of 242 MDD, 132 BD patients and 326 healthy controls of Asian ethnicity (Koreans) were genotyped for polymorphisms within 19 genes. Response and remission after 6-8 weeks of treatment with antidepressants and mood stabilizers were evaluated. In secondary analyses, genetic associations with disease risk and some disease-associated features (age of onset, suicide attempt and psychotic BD) were also tested.

RESULTS

None of the variants within the investigated genes was significantly associated with treatment outcomes. Some marginal association (uncorrected p < 0.01) was observed for HTR2A, BDNF, CHL1, RORA and HOMER1 SNPs. In secondary analyses, HTR2A (rs643627, p = 0.002) and CHL1 (rs4003413, p = 0.002) were found associated with risk for BD, HOMER1 (rs6872497, p = 0.002) with lifetime history of suicide attempt in patients, and RORA with early onset and presence of psychotic features in BD. Marginal results were also observed for ST8SIA2 and COMT.

DISCUSSION

Despite limitations linked to multiple testing on small samples, methodological shortcomings and small significance of the findings, this study may support the involvement of some candidate genes in the outcomes of treatments for mood disorders, as well as in BD risk and other disease features.