Purpose: To infer the prognostic value of simultaneous androgen receptor () and profiling in liquid biopsies from patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) starting a new line of signaling inhibitors (ARSi). Between March 2014 and April 2017, we recruited patients with mCRPC ( = 168) prior to ARSi in a cohort study encompassing 10 European centers. Blood samples were collected for comprehensive profiling of CellSearch-enriched circulating tumor cells (CTC) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRobust statistical, genetic and functional evidence supports a role for in the aetiology of major mental illness. Furthermore, many of its protein-binding partners show evidence for involvement in the pathophysiology of a range of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Copy number variants (CNVs) are suspected to play an important causal role in these disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Dysfunction of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is one of the most consistent findings in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. The potential role of genes related to HPA axis function has been investigated extensively in major depression. However, in bipolar disorder (BPD) such studies are scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cancer genomes display characteristic patterns of chromosomal imbalances, often with diagnostic and prognostic relevance. Therefore assays for genome-wide copy number screening and simultaneous detection of copy number alterations in specific chromosomal regions are of increasing importance in the diagnostic work-up of tumors.
Results: We tested the performance of Multiplex Amplicon Quantification, a newly developed low-cost, closed-tube and high-throughput PCR-based technique for detection of copy number alterations in regions with prognostic relevance for neuroblastoma.
Context: Neuregulin 1 (NRG1), a growth factor involved in neurodevelopment, myelination, neurotransmitter receptor expression, and synaptic plasticity, first joined the list of candidate genes for schizophrenia when a 7-marker haplotype at the 5' end of the gene (Hap(ICE)) was shown to be associated with the disorder in the Icelandic population. Since then, more genetic and functional evidence has emerged, which supports a role for NRG1 in the development of schizophrenia.
Objective: To determine the contribution of NRG1 to susceptibility for schizophrenia in a northern Swedish isolated population.
Through active reuptake of serotonin into presynaptic neurons, the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) plays an important role in regulating serotonin concentrations in the brain, and it is the site of binding for tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Therefore it has been hypothesized that this transporter is involved in the etiology of bipolar (BP) disorder. Inconsistent association study results for the SLC6A4 gene encoding 5-HTT reported in literature emphasize the need for more systematic and detailed analyses of this candidate gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe possibility that gene copy number variations play a role in the development of complex disorders is a topic of considerable interest. Recent reports have highlighted the large number of such variations that exist and that their occurrence varies considerably between populations. A recent report has suggested that copy number variations in four genes (GRIK3, EFNA5, AKAP5 and CACNG2) may be associated with schizophrenia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Tryptophan hydroxylase is the rate-limiting enzyme in the serotonin (5-HT) biosynthetic pathway responsible for the regulation of serotonin levels. Tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) was found to be solely expressed in the brain and therefore considered an important susceptibility gene in psychiatric disorders.
Objective: To determine the role of the brain-specific TPH2 gene in unipolar (UP) disorder and bipolar (BP) disorder in a northern Swedish, isolated population.
Most genetic association studies in bipolar disorder have focussed on genes involved in major neurotransmitter systems or brain development. Functional polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR), catechol-O-methyltransferase (Val158Met) and dopamine D3 receptor (Ser9Gly) genes have all been associated with bipolar disorder. We aimed at investigating whether these functional variants contribute to the genetic etiology of bipolar disorder in a northern Swedish isolated population.
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