Results from a preliminary US study show that expression of the delta-6 desaturase gene (FADS2) is elevated in the prefrontal cortex of individuals with bipolar disorder.

The findings suggest that elevated FADS2 expression may contribute to the dysregulated central polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) biosynthesis implicated in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder

Writing in the Journal of Psychiatry Research, Robert McNamara and Yanhong Liu from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio explain: “Although evidence suggests that a dysregulation in PUFA homeostasis may contribute to the patho-etiology of bipolar disorder, there is currently nothing known about the expression of genes that mediate long-chain PUFA biosynthesis in bipolar disorder patients.”

To investigate, the researchers studied postmortem prefrontal cortex tissue samples from 12 patients with bipolar disorder and 12 mentally healthy controls.

They used real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to assess the samples for messenger (m)RNA expression of the principal genes involved in long-chain PUFA and monounsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis: delta-5 desaturase (FADS1), FADS2, elongase (HELO1), peroxisome (PEX19) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD).

The activity of corresponding enzyme products was estimated from product/precursor ratios.

Analysis revealed that FADS2 mRNA expression was a significant 27% greater in tissue samples from bipolar patients compared with samples from controls.

Indices of delta-6 desaturase activity were also increased in samples from bipolar patients compared with those from controls, but the differences were not significant.

There were no significant differences between samples from bipolar patients and controls regarding FADS1, HELO1, PEX19, and SCD mRNA expression, or indices of corresponding enzyme activity, the researchers note.

McNamara and Liu conclude: “This case-control study found that FADS2 mRNA expression, but not expression of other key lipid biosynthetic genes, is significantly elevated in the postmortem prefrontal cortex of medicated bipolar disorder patients.”

They add: “Together these findings suggest that FADS2 may represent a novel bipolar disorder susceptibility gene warranting further investigation.”

MedWire (www.medwire-news.md) is an independent clinical news service provided by Current Medicine Group, a trading division of Springer Healthcare Limited. © Springer Healthcare Ltd; 2011

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