Association of DISC1 and TSNAX genes and affective disorders in the depression case-control (DeCC) and bipolar affective case-control (BACCS) studies

Mol Psychiatry. 2010 Aug;15(8):844-9. doi: 10.1038/mp.2009.21. Epub 2009 Mar 3.

Abstract

The gene known as Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia-1, DISC1, was originally discovered in a large family, in which it also co-segregated with bipolar affective disorder (BD) and with major depressive disorder (MDD). The TSNAX (Translin-associated factor X) gene, located immediately upstream of DISC1, has also been suggested as a candidate gene in relation to psychiatric illness, as one transcript resulting from intergenic splicing encodes a novel TSNAX-DISC1 fusion protein. We explored the TSNAX-DISC1 gene region for an association with BD and MDD in a sample of 1984 patients (1469 MDD, 515 BD) and 1376 ethnically matched controls. Eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the TSNAX-DISC1 region (rs766288, rs3738401, rs2492367, rs6675281, rs12133766, rs1000731, rs7546310 and rs821597) were investigated using the SNPlex Genotyping System. We found a significant allelic and genotypic association of the TSNAX-DISC1 gene region with BD, whereas a haplotypic association was found for both BD and MDD. Therefore, our results suggest an association between the TSNAX-DISC1 region and both forms of affective disorders, and support the hypothesis that a portion of the genotypic overlap between schizophrenia and affective disorders is attributable to this gene.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Bipolar Disorder / genetics*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Depression / genetics*
  • Female
  • Gene Frequency
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  • Genome-Wide Association Study / methods
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics*
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics*

Substances

  • DISC1 protein, human
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • TSNAX protein, human