A Role for the Transcription Factor Nk2 Homeobox 1 in Schizophrenia: Convergent Evidence from Animal and Human Studies.

ABSTRACT: Schizophrenia is a highly heritable disorder with diverse mental and somatic symptoms. The molecular mechanisms leading from genes to disease pathology in schizophrenia remain largely unknown. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have shown that common single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with specific diseases are enriched in the recognition sequences of transcription factors that regulate physiological processes relevant to the disease. We have used a "bottom-up" approach and tracked a developmental trajectory from embryology to physiological processes and behavior and recognized that the transcription factor NK2 homeobox 1 (NKX2-1) possesses properties of particular interest for schizophrenia. NKX2-1 is selectively expressed from prenatal development to adulthood in the brain,

SUBMITTER: Malt EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4811959 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature