Dysregulated Gene Expression: A Candidate Mechanism for Anxiety Disorders-Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science-CSCIED科技核心评价数据库-手机版

Dysregulated Gene Expression: A Candidate Mechanism for Anxiety Disorders

Dysregulated Gene Expression: A Candidate Mechanism for Anxiety Disorders

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DOI	10.20900/jpbs.20250004
刊名	Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science JPBS
年，卷(期)	2025, 10(3)
作者	Dimitri Traenkner*,Mary Steinmann,
作者单位	Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA ;
摘要	Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent and debilitating mental illnesses worldwide. While environmental factors such as early-life stress contribute to their etiology, genetics also plays a crucial role, with a family history increasing susceptibility. Unlike Mendelian traits driven by single gene variants, anxiety disorders appear to follow polygenic inheritance in which multiple genetic variants collectively shape risk. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous loci linked to anxiety, yet individual variants have small effect sizes and leave much of the heritability unexplained. A clue to resolving this conundrum may lie in the fact that most GWAS hits reside in non-coding regions with characteristics of gene-regulatory elements. This observation raises the possibility that altered expression of otherwise normal genes contributes to susceptibility. Gene-regulatory elements control when and where genes are expressed. Disruption of these elements may contribute to anxiety disorders by subtly altering neuronal signaling and stress-response pathways. Unraveling the role of gene regulation in anxiety disorders presents a promising avenue for improved diagnosis and targeted treatments. This review explores recent advances in the field and their potential for understanding the genetic architecture of anxiety disorders.
Abstract	Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent and debilitating mental illnesses worldwide. While environmental factors such as early-life stress contribute to their etiology, genetics also plays a crucial role, with a family history increasing susceptibility. Unlike Mendelian traits driven by single gene variants, anxiety disorders appear to follow polygenic inheritance in which multiple genetic variants collectively shape risk. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous loci linked to anxiety, yet individual variants have small effect sizes and leave much of the heritability unexplained. A clue to resolving this conundrum may lie in the fact that most GWAS hits reside in non-coding regions with characteristics of gene-regulatory elements. This observation raises the possibility that altered expression of otherwise normal genes contributes to susceptibility. Gene-regulatory elements control when and where genes are expressed. Disruption of these elements may contribute to anxiety disorders by subtly altering neuronal signaling and stress-response pathways. Unraveling the role of gene regulation in anxiety disorders presents a promising avenue for improved diagnosis and targeted treatments. This review explores recent advances in the field and their potential for understanding the genetic architecture of anxiety disorders.
关键词	anxiety disorders; gene regulation; Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS); dysregulated gene expression; polygenic traits; heritability; cis-regulatory elements; epigenetics; comorbidity; neurobiological mechanisms
KeyWord	anxiety disorders; gene regulation; Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS); dysregulated gene expression; polygenic traits; heritability; cis-regulatory elements; epigenetics; comorbidity; neurobiological mechanisms
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引用本文

Dimitri Traenkner*,Mary Steinmann. Dysregulated Gene Expression: A Candidate Mechanism for Anxiety Disorders [J]. Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science. 2025; 10; (3). - .

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