Altered Expression of a Unique Set of Genes Reveals Complex Etiology of Schizophrenia.

Background

The etiology of schizophrenia is extensively debated, and multiple factors have been contended to be involved. A panoramic view of the contributing factors in a genome-wide study can be an effective strategy to provide a comprehensive understanding of its causality. Materials and

Methods

GSE53987 dataset downloaded from GEO-database, which comprised mRNA expression data of post-mortem brain tissue across three regions from control (C) and age-matched subjects (T) of schizophrenia (N = Hippocampus [HIP]: C-15, T-18, Prefrontal cortex [PFC]: C-15, T-19, Associative striatum [STR]: C-18, T-18). Bio-conductor-affy-package used to compute mRNA expression, and further t-test applied to investigate differential gene expression. The analysis of the derived genes performed using the PANTHER Classification System and NCBI database. Further, a protein interactome analysis of the derived gene set was performed using STRING v10 database (https://string-db.org/)

Results

A set of 40 genes showed significantly altered (p < 0.01) expression across all three brain regions. The analyses unraveled genes implicated in biological processes and events, and molecular pathways relating basic neuronal functions.

Conclusions

The aberrant expression of genes maintaining basic cell machinery explains compromised neuronal processing in SCZ.