Association of NEDD4 gene polymorphisms with schizophrenia and its clinical characteristics in Chinese Han population / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the association of neural precursor cell expressed developmentally down-regulated 4 (NEDD4) with schizophrenia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the NEDD4 gene were genotyped by TaqMan SNP genotyping assay in an independent sample of 464 individuals with schizophrenia and 487 healthy controls from eastern Han Chinese population. Clinical data were collected with a general information questionnaire and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Frequencies of rs3088077 (allelic: χ2=18.024, P=0.000; genotypic: χ2=16.634, P=0.000), rs7162435 (allelic: χ2=6.771, P=0.009; genotypic: χ2=7.352, P=0.025) and rs2303579 (allelic: χ2=11.253, P=0.001; genotypic: χ2=12.248, P=0.002) were found to be significant different between the two groups. Moreover, TT of rs7162435 was significantly correlated with scores of factors of excitement and hostility (14.53±3.925, F=3.551, P=0.029).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>rs3088077, rs7162435 and rs2303579 of the NEDD4 gene may be associated with schizophrenia. Moreover, the TT genotype of rs7162435 may increase the severity of excitement and hostility. Our results may provide a clue for delineating the connection between the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia and ubiquitination.</p>

Protective effect of rhG-CSF on cognitive function of Alzheimer disease model rats induced by Aβ1-42 / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of rhG-CSF on the improvement of cognitive impairment and anti-apoptosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) induced by Aβ1-42 in rat. Methods Healthy male Wistarirats were randomly assigned to the Aβ group, treatment group and sham operation group. Aβ1-42 (10μg) was injected into bilateral hippocampus to create the rat model of AD. Rats in rhG-CSF group were subcutaneously subjected to 50μg/(kg · d) rhG-CSF for 5 days, while rats in Aβ group were subjected to normal saline. Morris water maze tests were done and expressions of caspase-3 protein were determined by immunohistochemical method on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day after administration. Results (1) The avoiding latent periods of rhG-CSF group ( ( 34. 33 ±6. 47 ) s, (42. 08 ± 6. 36 ) s, (46. 88 ± 7. 66 ) s, respectively ) were shorter than that of Ap group ((49.79 ±4.87)s, (50.25 ±6.81 )s, (51. 33 ±6.90)s, respectively). The percentages of swimming distances in the target quadrant in rhG-CSF group ( (41.00 ±7.62)% ,(43.33 ±8. 16)% ,(44. 67 ±8.07)% ,respectively) were increased comparing with Ap group((25.33 ±6.89)% , (23. 83 ±4.67)% ,(21.50 ±4.64)% ,respectively). The differences were all statistically significant (P<0.05). (2) Compared with sham operation group,the positive rate of caspase-3 protein in rat's hippocampus of Ap group significantly increased after injecting Aβ1-42 The positive rates of caspase-3 protein in rhG-CSF group on the 7th, 14th day ( (7. 93 ±6. 33) and (8. 83 ±5. 94) were lower than Aβ group ( ( 10.43 ±7. 16) and ( 11. 34 ± 5. 17 ) . The differences were statistically significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion RhG-CSF can improve the cognitive impairment of Alzheimer Disease (AD) induced by Aβ1-42 in rat, decrease the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons and delay the decline of its learning and memory ability to some extent.