RESUMEN
The oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) regulates the genesis of oligodendrocytes, the brain cells responsible for axonal myelination. Although it has been associated with psychiatric and neurological disorders, the impact of this gene on white matter integrity has never been investigated in humans. Using diffusion tensor imaging, we examined the effect of a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1059004) in OLIG2 previously associated with reduced gene expression, and with psychiatric disorders on fractional anisotropy in 78 healthy subjects. We found that the risk allele (A) was associated with reduced white matter integrity in the corona radiata bilaterally. This is consistent with evidence that it is a schizophrenia susceptibility gene, and suggests that it may confer increased risk through an effect on neuroanatomical connectivity.
Asunto(s)
Factores de Transcripción con Motivo Hélice-Asa-Hélice Básico/genética , Encéfalo/citología , Fibras Nerviosas Mielínicas/ultraestructura , Proteínas del Tejido Nervioso/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Imagen de Difusión Tensora , Femenino , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad , Genotipo , Humanos , Procesamiento de Imagen Asistido por Computador , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Factor de Transcripción 2 de los Oligodendrocitos , Polimorfismo de Nucleótido Simple , Factores de Riesgo , Esquizofrenia/genética , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
The normal pattern of cerebral asymmetry may be altered in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Babies born very preterm have an increased risk of brain damage, and brain abnormalities which persist into adolescence. This study aimed to ascertain whether preterm birth affects the development of fronto-occipital asymmetry. Structural MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans from 14 year old individuals born very preterm (n = 61; mean age 14 years 11 months; 29 male) and age-matched full-term controls (n = 49; mean age 14 years 11 months; 31 male) underwent morphometric analysis, using well-validated stereological methods. Measurements of right and left prefrontal, premotor, sensorimotor and occipitoparietal regional volumes were made and asymmetry indices calculated. These factors underwent a reductive factor analysis. There were no significant between-group differences in fronto-occipital asymmetry between the preterm adolescents and their full-term counterparts. It seems unlikely, therefore, that preterm birth per se deviates the development of normal fronto-occipital asymmetry. Neonatal periventricular haemorrhage with ventricular dilatation revealed by ultrasound may be associated with reversal of asymmetry in the sensorimotor area.