The ultimate goal of biomedical research is to identify the underlying causes of human disease. Traditional approaches for identify disease-associated genes either track multiple DNA markers through large disease-affected family pedigrees, or perform large-scale genome-wide searches for loci that are differentiated between cases and controls. Despite the success of these approaches for simple disorders, identification of genetic risk factors in complex non-Mendelian diseases such as bipolar disorder remains challenging. We examined old genetics studies of human diseases and serendipitously noticed that genetic recombination appears to occur at different rates between cases and controls in the regions containing disease genes; this effect was seen in simple genetic diseases such as Huntington's disease and myotonic dystrophy, as well as in several complex diseases such as major psychosis, breast cancer, and diabetes. If real, such an effect would point to unknown biology associated with disease. Following this observation, we have developed a strategy for the systematic investigation of this phenomenon. Our hypothesis is that recombination shows localized difference at disease-associated loci in affected individuals compared to controls. As such, the main goal of this project is to map large numbers of the recombination events occurring in males affected with bipolar disorder via high throughput single cell sequencing of sperm, and compare this to the maps from unaffected subjects. The project may uncover indicators of diseases that have previously been overlooked, and therefore provide new insight into disease biology.

Public Health Relevance

Although there is general agreement that bipolar disorder is a heritable disease, identification of genetic risk factors has been slow, despite significant research efforts. In this project, we suggest an innovative strategy for detection of subtle molecular changes in the genome, which may increase the risk of developing bipolar disorder. For this, we will investigate how chromosomes interact during the formation of germ cells and identify regions that appear to behave abnormally. Identification of such regions could provide new insight into the origins of psychiatric disease.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH105409-03
Application #
9116946
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMH1)
Program Officer
Koester, Susan E
Project Start
2014-09-26
Project End
2018-07-31
Budget Start
2016-08-01
Budget End
2017-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Department
Type
DUNS #
207855271
City
Toronto
State
ON
Country
Canada
Zip Code
M5S2S1