Met carriers of BDNF Val66Met genotype show increased N-acetylaspartate concentration in the anterior cingulate cortex.
Decreased levels of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) have been linked to neuronal loss and psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We previously found that BDNF serum concentration was predicted by the concentration of NAA in the ACC, indicating that neuronal integrity and vitality of a cortical region like the ACC, as reflected by a high concentration of NAA, might be related to high concentrations of BDNF in serum. Moreover, our recent finding that Val66Met genotype appears to predict the BDNF serum level in healthy human volunteers suggests the Met allele to be connected to higher concentrations of BDNF in serum. We examined absolute NAA concentrations in the ACC and hippocampus of 40 male and 42 female healthy volunteers (age: 33.3+/-9 years). We found NAA in the ACC to be significantly increased in Met carriers (F=5.2, df=1, p=0.025). On the other hand, the concentration of creatine+phosphocreatine in the hippocampus was significantly decreased in Met carriers. We hypothesize that higher NAA levels in the ACC might contribute to the protection of Met allele carriers against major psychiatric disorders as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Gallinat
Jürgen
J
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité, University Medicine Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
Schubert
Florian
F
Brühl
Rüdiger
R
Hellweg
Rainer
R
Klär
Andreas A
AA
Kehrer
Colin
C
Wirth
Christoph
C
Sander
Thomas
T
Lang
Undine E
UE
D000328:Adult; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D003401:Creatine / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006579:Heterozygote; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D014633:Valine / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D008715:Methionine; D014633:Valine; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline