Schizophrenia Biology
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A multi-institution team of researchers has discovered that the primary gene linked to the development of schizophrenia controls the birth of new neurons in developing and adult mouse brains.
Variants in a gene called disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC 1) have been linked to the development of schizophrenia and other mental disorders in humans. The gene was previously known to play a key role in the integration of new neurons into the circuits of the brain.
The new findings suggest that suppression of DISC 1 expression reduces the proliferation of neural progenitor cells in brains of embryonic mice and also hampers proliferation of progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus of the adult mouse brain (Mao Y et al. Cell. 2009;136[6]:1017-1031).
Additionally, the researchers found that DISC 1 mediates the birth of new neurons by regulating the enzyme GSK3β and the amount of β-catenin in the brains of adult mice. …
