A gene that signals Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a horrible mental illness that affects 12 in 1000 people. Around 1.5 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with schizophrenia this year.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness with various symptoms of hallucinations and delusions.

Schizophrenia is 80% genetic (meaning 80% of cases diagnosed have been genetic), or can be caused by previous stress or trauma.

Genes

There are 10 genes that we look out for when diagnosing schizophrenia. NRG1, DTNBP1, DAOA, COMT, DISC1, PDE4B, DARPP-32, GRM3, NOS1AP and RGS4. I’m going to make little gene fact cards for them below!

Name : NRG1, neuregulin-1
Role in the body : Regulates cell-cell signaling and helps the development of some organ systems.
Diseases linked to : Cancer, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia

Name : DTNBP1, Dystrobrevin-Binding Protein 1
Role in the body : Helps with biogenesis in melanosomes, platelet dense granules, and lysosomes.
Diseases linked to : Schizophrenia

Name : DAOA, D-Amino Acid Oxidase Activator
Role in the body : Encodes a protein that works as a D-amino acid oxidase activator.
Diseases linked to : Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Name : COMT, Catechol-O-Methyltransferase
Role in the body : Speeds up the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to catecholamine
Diseases linked to : Schizophrenia and panic disorder

Name : DISC1, DISC1 Scaffold Protein
Role in the body : Encodes a protein that has coil motifs located in the cytoplasm, nucleus, and mitochondria.
Diseases linked to : Schizophrenia, schizophrenia 9

Name : PDE4B, Phosphodiesterase 4B
Role in the body : Encodes a protein that helps regulate the cellular concentrations of cyclic nucleotides.
Diseases linked to : Ocular hypotension and schizophrenia 1.

Name : DARPP-32, Protein Phosphatase 1 Regulatory Subunit 1B
Role in the body : Encodes a bifunctional signal transduction molecule.
Diseases linked to : Heart disease and schizophrenia

Name : GRM3, Glutamate Metabotropic Receptor 3
Role in the body : Is a large excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
Diseases linked to : Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Name : NOS1AP, Nitric Oxide Synthase 1 Adaptor Protein
Role in the body : Encodes a cytosolic protein that binds to neuronal nitric oxide synthase.
Diseases linked to : Long qt syndrome, schizophrenia and long qt syndrome 1.

Name : RGS4, Regulator Of G Protein Signaling 4
Role in the body : Part of a family of regulatory molecules that act as GTPase activating proteins.
Diseases linked to : Schizophrenia and psychotic disorder.

(credit to https://www.genecards.org/ for all the information)

There’s one gene we’ll focus on today. Can you guess?

“Hm, Nina. I don’t know… is it the bolded one?”

Wow, thanks for that sarcasm. It’s called PDE4B, or phosphodiesterase 4B.

PDE4B

This is the catalytic domain of this gene. Catalytic domains are the area of a protein chain where the catalyzed chemical reaction takes place. They’re essentially an active site and are a vital part of protein creation.

Let me talk to you about the parts of this. First, the helices. Helices are the curvy spiral-like green curls you probably saw first. This is essentially a spiral chain of atoms (they’re typically in nucleic acids, proteins, or some polymeric molecule).

Then, there are three types of atoms:

• The magenta one — A magnesium ion
• The big violet one — Arsenic
• The small teal-type one—A zinc ion

They’re all essential to the catalytic domain and they help make the molecular structure up!

Impact

Catalytic domains are essential for protein chains, as it is where the protein-making reactions take place! This is an integral part of the protein-making process.

This gene itself is one of the main indicators of schizophrenia (if there are genetic variances or mutations), then it’s a bit more likely that the patient might have schizophrenia.

Key Takeaways

• Schizophrenia is a horrible mainly genetic mental illness that causes hallucination and delusions.
• There are 10 target genes: NRG1, DTNBP1, DAOA, COMT, DISC1, PDE4B, DARPP-32, GRM3, NOS1AP, and RGS4.
• The model shown was the catalytic domain of PDE4B.
• There were many helices and zinc, arsenic, and magnesium ions.
• This has a colossal impact on schizophrenia and the protein-making process.

Thank you for reading my article! If you liked it, check out my other articles!