Sex-Specific Molecular Changes in Depression

Transcriptional profiling of postmortem brain tissue provides detailed insight into the molecular and cellular basis of psychiatric illnesses that cannot be achieved in living patients. A recent large-scale analysis of cortical gene transcriptome profiles across five major psychiatric diseases revealed pathways of molecular convergence and specificity (1). Interestingly, bipolar disorder had more transcriptional overlap with schizophrenia than major depressive disorder (MDD). Furthermore, while autism spectrum disorder showed some genetic overlap with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, it showed its own module-level differential expression of microglial genes.
Source: Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research