BDNF rs6265 differentially influences neurometabolites in the anterior cingulate of healthy and bipolar disorder subjects

AbstractBrain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the most abundant brain neurotrophin and plays a critical role in neuronal growth, survival and plasticity, implicated in the pathophysiology of Bipolar Disorders (BD). The single-nucleotide polymorphism in theBDNF gene (BDNF rs6265) has been associated with decreased hippocampal BDNF secretion and volume inmet carriers in different populations, although theval allele has been reported to be more frequent in BD patients. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a key center integrating cognitive and affective neuronal connections, where consistent alterations in brain metabolites such as Glx (Glutamate  + Glutamine) and N-acetylaspartate (NAA) have been consistently reported in BD. However, little is known about the influence ofBDNF rs6265 on neurochemical profile in the ACC of Healthy Controls (HC) and BD subjects. The aim of this study was to assess the influence ofBDNF rs6265 on ACC neurometabolites (Glx, NAA and total creatine- Cr) in 124 euthymic BD type I patients and 76 HC, who were genotyped forBDNF rs6265 and underwent a 3-Tesla proton magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy scan (1 H-MRS) using a PRESS ACC single-voxel (8cm3) sequence.BDNF rs6265 polymorphism showed a significant two-way interaction (diagnosis × genotype) in relation to NAA/Cr and total Cr. Whilemet carriers presented increased NAA/Cr in HC, BD-I subjects with theval allele revealed higher total Cr, denoting an enhanced ACC metabolism likel...
Source: Brain Imaging and Behavior - Category: Neurology Source Type: research