No Association Between AKT1 Polymorphisms and Methamphetamine Addiction in Iranian Population.

Previous studies have shown a high level of heritability for most kinds of substance abuse. Certain single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or haplotypes have been shown to influence methamphetamine abuse or the related psychosis. Among the most related pathways in dependence to methamphetamine are dopaminergic system-related genes especially V-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (AKT1). In the current investigation, we genotyped two intronic variants within the AKT1 gene (rs2494743 and rs2498794) in a population of Iranian methamphetamine-dependent individuals and controls. There were no significant differences in alleles, genotypes, or haplotype frequencies of rs2494743 and rs2498794 between cases and controls. Consequently, our study excludes participation of these SNPs in susceptibility to methamphetamine dependence. However, other variants within this gene might affect this trait, so future studies are needed to assess associations between other AKT1 variants and methamphetamine dependence.

Epilepsy Is Associated With Dysregulation of Long Non-coding RNAs in the Peripheral Blood.

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a group of functional transcripts that are not translated to proteins. Recent investigations have underscored their role in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders. Methods: In the current investigation, we quantified expression levels of four lncRNAs (HOXA-AS2, SPRY4-IT1, MEG3, and LINC-ROR) in peripheral blood of epileptic patients and normal controls. Results: Expression of HOXA-AS2 was significantly higher in patients compared with controls (Posterior beta = 1.982, P = 0.001). We detected interaction effects of gender on expression of HOXA-AS2 (P = 0.012). Further analyses showed over-expression of HOXA-AS2 in male patients compared with male controls (P = 0.003), in spite of similar levels of expression between female cases and female controls (P = 0.77). Expression of SPRY4-IT1 was higher in total patients compared with total controls (Posterior beta = 1.27, P = 0.02). Such difference was only observed between male patients and male controls when dividing study participants based on their gender (P = 0.012). There was no significant difference in expression of MEG3 and LINC-ROR between patients and controls. Conclusion: Expression levels of all lncRNAs were correlated with each other with r values ranging from 0.61 to 0.76 (P < 0.0001). However, expressions of none of lncRNAs were correlated with age of study participants. The current data implies a putative role for two lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of epilepsy and warrants future functional studies to verify the observed association.