[ establishment of Iranian DNA bank for genetic and epigenetic studies in psychiatric disorders]

In most advanced countries, there are tissue, deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA] and ribonucleic acid [RNA] banks which have been made to provide samples for researchers in order to speed up genetic studies in different medical disorders. This may save time and materials in comparison to self-governing projects that usually spend months to collect samples independently. In these banks patients are cautiously diagnosed based on international diagnostic criteria. Thus, the results are more reliable than scattered studies and meta-analysis can be done with the data generated in different laboratories using the same samples. For the establishment of a DNA bank for psychiatric disorders in Iran, after clarifying the aims and signing the consent forms, 300 saliva samples were collected using Oragene DNA Kit from the patients diagnosed based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders [SCID-I]. Related data to demographics, family history, date of disorder onset, duration of disorder, drugs in use and other variables were compiled and opportunity for future contacts was set to gather more information including the course of disorders. A saliva bank for DNA extraction of 300 psychiatric patients suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, 30 ones relatives as well as 75 matched healthy control subjects for genetic and epigenetic studies was established. The opportunity for donation of DNA samples collected from Iranian psychiatric patients has been provided to be used in hundreds of national and international genetic studies

Epigenetic and genetic aberrations of the brain dopaminergic system in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: Achievements and prospective

The molecular mechanisms of the fact that more than 50% of the individuals with the same genetic make up [e.g. identical twins in schizophrenia] do not show the same psychiatric phenotype remained undefined in psychiatry. This along with the failure to find responsible genes with major effects in psychiatric disorders and lack of consistency of genetic association studies led to the current unanimous conclusion that, in addition to the genetic factors, environmental and epigenetic factors influence the functions of brain and the presentation of the symptoms in mental diseases. Here we reviewed the potential epigenetic dysregulations of genes related to dopaminergic [DAergic] system. A comprehensive genetic and epigenetic analysis of the DAergic and the interacting pathways such as serotoninergic and glutaminergic systems could help to understand the molecular bases of the differences in disease severity in individuals with similar or identical genetic make-up that can assist for the identification of novel targets with therapeutic and preventive applications