Schizophrenia is a complex disease with variable presentations, and the diverse nature of this mental health disorder has made understanding the mechanisms that cause the disease, and subsequently developing effective treatments, especially challenging. In a new study, published May 23 is Science , a team led by McLean Hospital researchers used comprehensive genetic and cellular analyses to shed new light on the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying schizophrenia. Their new work provides a map for how the genes known to increase risk of schizophrenia affect specific cells within the brain.
We discovered which cell types express genes associated with schizophrenia risk differently, which biological functions are impacted within those cells, and which transcription factors are important for these changes. This understanding will allow future treatments to be tailored to specific genes and cell types, as well as individuals with schizophrenia." W.
Brad Ruzicka MD, PhD, lead and co-corresponding author, director of the Laboratory for Epigenomics in Human Psychopathology at McLean Hospital Schizophrenia affects approximately 24 million people, or 1 in 300 people, worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. For the new study, a multi-center team of researchers conducted a comprehensive single-cell analysis of transcriptomic changes in human prefrontal cortex, examining postmortem brain tissue from 140 individuals across two independent cohorts. Their analyses include.
