Evidence of a role for the 5-HTTLPR genotype in the modulation of motor response to antidepressant treatment.

Rationale: Serotonergic mechanisms are thought to play an important role in the regulation of mood, motor activity and sleep patterns. Serotonin reuptake is controlled by the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and by a common functional insertion/deletion polymorphism in the corresponding gene's promoter region (5-HTTLPR). Homozygosity for the long variant may confer a favourable response to treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and to sleep deprivation.

[No association of 141C-ins/del polymorphism in the D2 dopamine receptor gene in schizophrenia].

Recently, a putative functional polymorphism (-141C Ins/Del) in the 5'-flanking region of the dopamine D2 receptor was found. An association of the Ins allele with schizophrenia has been described in a Japanese sample. In the present study this association was examined in a German schizophrenia patient population.

[No Association of the - 141C Ins/Del Polymorphism of the Dopamine D2 Receptor with Schizophrenia].

Recently, a putative functional polymorphism (- 141C Ins/Del) in the 5'-flanking region of the dopamine D (2) receptor was found. An association of the Ins allele with schizophrenia has been described in a Japanese sample. In the present study this association was examined in a German schizophrenia patient population.

The auxin-induced maize gene ZmSAUR2 encodes a short-lived nuclear protein expressed in elongating tissues.

By differential screening of a cDNA library from auxin-induced maize coleoptiles we have isolated and characterized a SAUR gene, designated ZmSAUR2, belonging to a not yet characterized subtype of the SAUR family. ZmSAUR2 encodes a 15.3-kDa protein and is specifically induced by auxin in elongating coleoptile tissue but not in primary leaves or in roots.

Association of dopamine D3-receptor gene variants with neuroleptic induced akathisia in schizophrenic patients: a generalization of Steen's study on DRD3 and tardive dyskinesia.

Neuroleptic induced akathisia is a common and distressful extrapyramidal side effect of antipsychotic treatment. A significant proportion of the variability of its development has been left unexplained and has to be attributed to individual susceptibility. Since hereditary factors have been discussed in the etiology of acute akathisia (AA), part of the individual susceptibility might be of genetic origin.

hSKCa3: no association of the polymorphic CAG repeat with bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia.

hSKCa3 is a neuronal small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel, which contains a polyglutamine tract, encoded by a polymorphic CAG repeat in the gene. Since an association between longer alleles of this CAG repeat and bipolar disorder or schizophrenia has been reported, we genotyped the polymorphic CAG repeat in 91 German family trios of patients with bipolar disorder I and used the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) to test for association. Applying a dichotomized model (< or = 19 or > 19 CAG triplets), we found no evidence for an association of longer alleles with bipolar disorder (TDT = 0.

Detection of polymorphic triplet repeats in the genomes of patients suffering from bipolar affective disorder.

Evidence for the operation of expanded trinucleotide repeats in the pathogenesis of bipolar affected disorder has recently been found at the molecular genetic level. For the screening of these repeat motifs in genomes of patients with bipolar affective disorder, we established a modified PCR-based fingerprinting technique, called triplet repeat enhanced arbitrarily primed PCR (TREAP-PCR). Using this approach, 40 patients suffering from bipolar affective disorder (ICD10: F31) and 15 healthy controls were investigated.

WIP1, a wound-inducible gene from maize with homology to Bowman-Birk proteinase inhibitors.

We have cloned and sequenced a wound-inducible cDNA clone designated WIP1 (for wound-induced protein) from maize coleoptiles. It was isolated by differential screening of a cDNA library prepared from excised maize coleoptile segments. The deduced amino acid sequence predicts a secretory, cysteine-rich protein of 102 residues with a calculated molecular mass of 11 kDa and a typical N-terminal signal sequence.