scholarly journals Gene-Environment Interactions in Schizophrenia: A Literature Review

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1850
Author(s):  
Marah H. Wahbeh ◽  
Dimitrios Avramopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Immigrant Status ◽  
Complex Disorders ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Increase Risk ◽  
High Heritability ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Genetic Makeup

Schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness with a strong genetic component that is the subject of extensive research. Despite the high heritability, it is well recognized that non-genetic factors such as certain infections, cannabis use, psychosocial stress, childhood adversity, urban environment, and immigrant status also play a role. Whenever genetic and non-genetic factors co-exist, interaction between the two is likely. This means that certain exposures would only be of consequence given a specific genetic makeup. Here, we provide a brief review of studies reporting evidence of such interactions, exploring genes and variants that moderate the effect of the environment to increase risk of developing psychosis. Discovering these interactions is crucial to our understanding of the pathogenesis of complex disorders. It can help in identifying individuals at high risk, in developing individualized treatments and prevention plans, and can influence clinical management.

scholarly journals Shorter Adult Stature Increases the Impact of Risk Factors for Cognitive Impairment: A Comparison of Two Nordic Twin Cohorts

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 544-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venla S. Laitala ◽  
Jacob Hjelmborg ◽  
Markku Koskenvuo ◽  
Ismo Räihä ◽  
Juha O. Rinne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Adult Stature

We analyzed the association between mean height and old age cognition in two Nordic twin cohorts with different childhood living conditions. The cognitive performance of 4720 twin individuals from Denmark (mean age 81.6 years, SD = 4.59) and Finland (mean age 74.4 years, SD = 5.26) was measured using validated cognitive screens. Taller height was associated with better cognitive performance in Finland (β-estimates 0.18 SD/10cm, p value < .001, for men and 0.13 SD, p = .008, for women), but this association was not significant in Denmark (β-estimates 0.0093 SD, p value = .16, for men and 0.0075 SD, p value = .016, for women) when adjusted for age and education/social class. Among Finnish participants higher variability of cognitive performance within shorter height quintiles was observed. Analysis using gene-environment interaction models showed that environmental factors exerted a greater impact on cognitive performance in shorter participants, whereas in taller participants' it was explained mainly by genetic factors. Our results suggest that shorter participants with childhood adversity are more vulnerable to environmental risk factors for cognitive impairment.

Evidence of gene–environment correlation for peer difficulties: Disruptive behaviors predict early peer relation difficulties in school through genetic effects

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Boivin ◽  
Mara Brendgen ◽  
Frank Vitaro ◽  
Nadine Forget-Dubois ◽  
Bei Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Disruptive Behaviors ◽  
Teacher Ratings ◽  
Peer Relation ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Early School ◽  
Peer Nominations ◽  
Peer Difficulties

AbstractEarly disruptive behaviors, such as aggressive and hyperactive behaviors, known to be influenced by genetic factors, have been found to predict early school peer relation difficulties, such as peer rejection and victimization. However, there is no consensus regarding the developmental processes underlying this predictive association. Genetically informative designs, such as twin studies, are well suited for investigating the underlying genetic and environmental etiology of this association. The main goal of the present study was to examine the possible establishment of an emerging gene–environment correlation linking disruptive behaviors to peer relationship difficulties during the first years of school. Participants were drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study of twins who were assessed with respect to their social behaviors and their peer relation difficulties in kindergarten and in Grade 1 through peer nominations measures and teacher ratings. As predicted, disruptive behaviors were concurrently and predictively associated with peer relation difficulties. Multivariate analyses of these associations indicate that they were mainly accounted for by genetic factors. These results emphasize the need to adopt an early and persistent prevention framework targeting both the child and the peer context to alleviate the establishment of a negative coercive process and its consequences.

Influence of genetic factors and institutional environment on entrepreneurial activity: evidence from a twin study in Italy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Zunino
Keyword(s):  
Twin Study ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment

Abstract Genetic factors influence entrepreneurial activity, but we know little about how genetic factors influence entrepreneurial activity when the institutional environment is favorable. Two theories from behavioral genetics explain the gene–environment interaction. One theory argues that a favorable environment favors the development of genetic factors and their influence. An alternative theory posits that unfavorable environment triggers the development of genetic factors and their influence. I test these two competing theories with a twin study based in Italy. I compare the influence of genetic factors in provinces where the institutional environment favors entrepreneurial activity with provinces where the institutional environment is unfavorable to entrepreneurial activity. I found consistent evidence that genetic factors exert a larger influence in favorable institutional environments, suggesting that favorable institutional environments complement genetic factors.

Major Depression and Generalised Anxiety Disorder

1996 ◽  
Vol 168 (S30) ◽  
pp. 68-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth S. Kendler
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Major Depression ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Environmental Risk Factors ◽  
Generalised Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Increase Risk ◽  
Twin Models ◽  
One Year

In both clinical and epidemiological samples, major depression (MD) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) display substantial comorbidity. In a prior analysis of lifetime MD and GAD in female twins, the same genetic factors were shown to influence the liability to MD and to GAD. A follow-up interview in the same twin cohort examined one-year prevalence for MD and GAD (diagnosed using a one-month minimum duration of illness). Bivariate twin models were fitted using the program Mx. High levels of comorbidity were observed between MD and GAD. The best-fitting twin models, when GAD was diagnosed with or without a diagnostic hierarchy, found a genetic correlation of unity between the two disorders. The correlation in environmental risk factors was +0.70 when GAD was diagnosed non-hierarchically, but zero when hierarchical diagnoses were used. Our findings provide further support for the hypothesis that in women, MD and GAD are the result of the same genetic factors. Environmental risk factors that predispose to ‘pure’ GAD episodes may be relatively distinct from those that increase risk for MD.

scholarly journals Twin studies for the investigation of the relationships between genetic factors and brain abnormalities in bipolar disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Squarcina ◽  
C. Fagnani ◽  
M. Bellani ◽  
C. A. Altamura ◽  
P. Brambilla
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
High Heritability ◽  
The Relationship

The pathogenesis of bipolar disorder (BD) is to date not entirely clear. Classical genetic research showed that there is a contribution of genetic factors in BD, with high heritability. Twin studies, thanks to the fact that confounding factors as genetic background or family environment are shared, allow etiological inferences. In this work, we selected twin studies, which focus on the relationship between BD, genetic factors and brain structure, evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging. All the studies found differences in brain structure between BD patients and their co-twins, and also in respect to healthy controls. Genetic effects are predominant in white matter, except corpus callosum, while gray matter resulted more influenced by environment, or by the disease itself. All studies found no interactions between BD and shared environment between twins. Twin studies have been demonstrated to be useful in exploring BD pathogenesis and could be extremely effective at discriminating the neural mechanisms underlying BD.

GWAS-associated variants, non-genetic factors, and transient transcriptome in Multiple Sclerosis etiopathogenesis: a colocalization analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Umeton ◽  
Gianmarco Bellucci ◽  
Rachele Bigi ◽  
Silvia Romano ◽  
Maria Chiara Buscarinu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Data Resource ◽  
Complex Disorders ◽  
Barr Virus ◽  
Epstein Barr ◽  
Risk Protection ◽  
Genomic Regions

A clinically actionable understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) etiology goes through GWAS interpretation, prompting research on new gene regulatory models. Our previous works on these topics suggested a stochastic etiologic model where small-scale random perturbations could eventually reach a threshold for MS onset and progression. A new sequencing technology has mapped the transient transcriptome (TT), including intergenic RNAs, and antisense intronic RNAs. Through a rigorous colocalization analysis, here we show that genomic regions coding for the TT were significantly enriched for both MS-associated GWAS variants, and DNA binding sites for molecular transducers mediating putative, non-genetic, etiopathogenetic factors for MS (e.g., vitamin D deficiency, Epstein Barr virus latent infection, B cell dysfunction). These results suggest a model whereby TT-coding regions are hotspots of convergence between genetic ad non-genetic factors of risk/protection for MS (and plausibly for other complex disorders). Our colocalization analysis also provides a freely available data resource at www.mscoloc.com for future research on transcriptional regulation in MS.

Neurodevelopmental plasticity and psychiatric vulnerability

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (S2) ◽  
pp. S70-S70
Author(s):  
A. Dayer
Keyword(s):  
Life Stress ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Methylation Status ◽  
Early Life Stress ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Serotonin System ◽  
Increase Risk

The early developmental period is characterized by a high degree of plasticity and, consequently, is very sensitive to environmental factors, such as early life stressors (ELS). Exposure to ELS is known to increase risk to psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety disorders later in life . At a cellular level, alterations in the migration and integration of GABAergic interneurons (INs) in cortical circuits have emerged as a key processes involved in the vulnerability to psychiatric disorders . In humans and rodents, ELS interacts with genes regulating the serotonin system to increase risk to stress-related disorders . In addition, ELS is associated to a variety of epigenetic methylation changes in blood DNA from patients displaying a high loading of ELS . Here, we aimed to investigate the role of the ionotropic serotonin 3A receptor (5-HT3AR) at a genetic and epigenetic level in rodent and human models of early-life stress. We will first present data indicating that the 5-HT3AR is specifically expressed in a subset of cortical INs derived from the caudal ganglionic eminence (CGE) and controls early steps of cortical circuit assembly . Interestingly, the migration, transcriptional programs and positioning of 5-HT3AR expressing interneuron subtypes were found to be dysregulated in pathological models of early-life serotonin dysregulation. At a behavioral level, we found that ELS interacts with the 5-HTR3A to modulate social behaviors. Finally, we will present human data indicating that childhood adversity significantly impacts the methylation status of the promoter region of the human 5-HT3AR in an allele-specific manner. Taken together, this presentation will highlight the importance of the serotonin system in early life development and psychopathology with a special focus on the role of the 5-HT3AR in cortical interneuron development.

scholarly journals Adherent-Invasive E. coli: Update on the Lifestyle of a Troublemaker in Crohn’s Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélissa Chervy ◽  
Nicolas Barnich ◽  
Jérémy Denizot
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Crohn’S Disease ◽  
Crohn's Disease ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Intestinal Epithelial Cells ◽  
Intestinal Lumen ◽  
Intestinal Epithelial ◽  
E Coli ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact

Besides genetic polymorphisms and environmental factors, the intestinal microbiota is an important factor in the etiology of Crohn’s disease (CD). Among microbiota alterations, a particular pathotype of Escherichia coli involved in the pathogenesis of CD abnormally colonizes the intestinal mucosa of patients: the adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) pathobiont bacteria, which have the abilities to adhere to and to invade intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), as well as to survive and replicate within macrophages. AIEC have been the subject of many studies in recent years to unveil some genes linked to AIEC virulence and to understand the impact of AIEC infection on the gut and consequently their involvement in CD. In this review, we describe the lifestyle of AIEC bacteria within the intestine, from the interaction with intestinal epithelial and immune cells with an emphasis on environmental and genetic factors favoring their implantation, to their lifestyle in the intestinal lumen. Finally, we discuss AIEC-targeting strategies such as the use of FimH antagonists, bacteriophages, or antibiotics, which could constitute therapeutic options to prevent and limit AIEC colonization in CD patients.

Temperament and peer problems from early to middle childhood: Gene–environment correlations with negative emotionality and sociability

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (4pt1) ◽  
pp. 1089-1109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liat Hasenfratz ◽  
Maya Benish-Weisman ◽  
Tami Steinberg ◽  
Ariel Knafo-Noam
Keyword(s):  
Social Adjustment ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Negative Emotionality ◽  
Peer Problems ◽  
Early Experiences ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interpersonal Difficulties ◽  
Correlation Process

AbstractBased in a transactional framework in which children's own characteristics and the social environment influence each other to produce individual differences in social adjustment, we investigated relationships between children's peer problems and their temperamental characteristics, using a longitudinal and genetically informed study of 939 pairs of Israeli twins followed from early to middle childhood (ages 3, 5, and 6.5). Peer problems were moderately stable within children over time, such that children who appeared to have more peer problems at age 3 tended to have also more peer problems at age 6.5. Children's temperament accounted for 10%–22% of the variance in their peer problems measured at the same age and for 2%–7% of the variance longitudinally. It is important that genetic factors accounted for the association between temperament and peer problems and were in line with a gene–environment correlation process, providing support for the proposal that biologically predisposed characteristics, particularly negative emotionality and sociability, have an influence on children's early experiences of peer problems. The results highlight the need for early and continuous interventions that are specifically tailored to address the interpersonal difficulties of children with particular temperamental profiles.

Genetic evaluation of reproductive traits in Jersey crossbred heifersat an organized farm of eastern India

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anshuman Kumar ◽  
Ajoy Mandal ◽  
A. K. Gupta ◽  
Poonam Ratwan ◽  
Narendra Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Season Of Birth ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Age At First Calving ◽  
Genetic Groups ◽  
National Dairy Research Institute ◽  
High Heritability ◽  
Eastern Regional

The present study was conducted on data of reproductive traits (viz., age at first service and age at first calving) in Jersey crossbred heifers, maintained at the Eastern Regional Station of ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Kalyani, West Bengal over a period of 38 years (1977-2014) to determine the effects of genetic and non-genetic factors. The data were classified according to season of birth, period of birth of animals and distributed in eight genetic groups having different level of Jersey inheritance. The least square mean of age at first service (AFS) and age at first calving (AFC) were 750.61±12.35 and 1089.36±13.99 days respectively. Sire had highly significant (P<0.01) influence on both AFS and AFC in the present study whereas, the genetic group had only significant effect on age at first calving. The half-bred of Jersey and Tharparkar crosses (1/2 Jersey-1/2 Tharparkar) had significantly lower AFC (987.47±43.21 days) than half-bred of Jersey and Red Sindhi and other crosses in this study. Moreover, the animals having less than 50 % and more than 62.5 % Jersey inheritance had highest AFC than other crosses. On the other hand, period of birth had significant effect on both AFS and AFC; however, season of birth only influenced AFC. Heritability estimates of AFS and AFC were observed 0.46±0.19 and 0.30±0.19 respectively. Strong genetic correlation (0.81±0.19) was estimated between these traits. Since, these traits have moderate to high heritability, it indicates faster improvement of these traits through selection.

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