Association of the dysbindin gene with bipolar affective disorder.
OBJECTIVE
In the study of bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia, there is some evidence suggesting a phenotypic and genetic overlap between the two disorders. A possible link between bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia remains arguable, however. The authors hypothesized that dysbindin, which is a probable susceptibility gene for schizophrenia, was associated with bipolar affective disorder and tested this hypothesis using a case-control design study.


METHODS
Participants included 213 patients with bipolar I disorder and 197 comparison subjects. In each subject, 10 polymorphisms in the dysbindin gene were genotyped and assessed.


RESULTS
Two polymorphisms showed individual genotypic association with bipolar I disorder. Multiple marker haplotypes were more strongly associated, with the rarer of the two common haplotypes being overrepresented in the patients with bipolar affective disorder. A similar finding was reported in patients with schizophrenia in a previous study.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that the human dysbindin gene may play a role in the susceptibility to bipolar affective disorder, which underscores a potentially important area of etiological overlap with schizophrenia. The existence of shared genetic risk factors will, in time, lead to changes in the current nosology of major psychoses.
Breen
Gerome
G
Section of Molecular Genetics, Division of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
Prata
Diana
D
Osborne
Sarah
S
Munro
Janet
J
Sinclair
Maggie
M
Li
Tao
T
Staddon
Susan
S
Dempster
David
D
Sainz
Ricardo
R
Arroyo
Barbara
B
Kerwin
Robert W
RW
St Clair
David
D
Collier
David
D
D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000074765:Dysbindin; D049029:Dystrophin-Associated Proteins; D005819:Genetic Markers; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics
D002352:Carrier Proteins; C432416:DTNBP1 protein, human; D000074765:Dysbindin; D049029:Dystrophin-Associated Proteins; D005819:Genetic Markers