FUNCTIONAL GENETIC VARIANTS AND MENTAL DISORDERS : Single nucleotide polymorphisms and their effects in genes involved in mental disorders

ISBN-13: 9783639166453 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 140 str.

Ying Zhang

Opis

Mental disorders are complex diseases with strong genetic components. Clinical studies have demonstrated the associations of genetic variants in candidate genes with susceptibility to several common mental diseases such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorders, and drug addiction, but little was known about the underlying mechanisms. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), naturally occurring nucleotide substitutions in DNA sequence, are the most common genetic variants, which can modulate gene expression at the level of mRNA and protein by affecting transcription, mRNA processing, pre-mature RNA splicing, mRNA stability, or translation. My studies examined the extent and nature of SNPs in mu opioid receptor and D2 dopamine receptor genes, which provided a foundation for clinical association studies by clarifying the functional relevance of these SNPs with susceptibility to mental disorders. My work should be especially useful to professionals in neuroscience, psychiatry, and genetics or anybody who are interested in understanding the genetic mechanisms of mental disorders.

O autorze

Ying Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., studied genetic mechanisms of mental
disorders at the Ohio State University in U.S.A., now a research
scientist at Yale University