common DNA methylation search of postmortem brain of individuals with schizophrenia and perinatal asphyxia-exposed rat model

2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24659542
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: Hamamatsu University School of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: TAKEI noriyoshi 浜松医科大学, 子どものこころの発達研究センター, 教授 (80206937)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MATSUZAKI Hideo 福井大学, 子どものこころの発達研究センター, 教授 (00334970) ; IWATA Keiko 福井大学, 子どものこころの発達研究センター, 特命助教 (30415088) ; WAKUDA Tomoyasu 浜松医科大学, 医学部附属病院, 助教 (80444355)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): HATA Kenichiro 国立成育医療研究センター, 周産期病態研究部, 部長 (60360335)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
• Keywords: 統合失調症 / エピジェネティクス / 仮死モデル

Research Abstract

Epidemiological studies suggest that perinatal complications increase the risk of schizophrenia. Recent genetic studies have identified several putative susceptibility genes. It can be postulated therefore that birth complications that cause hypoxia in the fetal brain may be associated with a dysregulation in the expression of schizophrenia susceptibility genes. To test this, we used an animal model of perinatal asphyxia, and examined the expression of mRNA of five susceptibility genes by real-time quantitative PCR in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus at 6 and 12 weeks after birth. The expression of NRG1 mRNA was significantly decreased in the mPFC, but not in the hippocampus. In addition, a significant increase in COMT mRNA expression was observed in the mPFC. These results suggest that perinatal asphyxia may lead to disturbances in the PFC, which in turn may exert a long-lasting influence on the expression of specific genes, such as NRG1 and COMT.

Research Products

• [Presentation] Effect of Perinatal Asphyxia on Protein Expression in Rat Prefrontal Cortex during Postnatal Development (2014)
  • Author(s): Lam S, Wakuda T, Li Q, Wei R, Zhang X, Sham PC, Wang Y, Chua SE, Takei N and McAlonan GM
  • Organizer: International Meeting for Autism Research
  • Place of Presentation: Marriott Marquis Atlanta,GA, USA
  • Year and Date: 20140500