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Variation in CACNA1C is Associated with Amygdala Structure and Function in Adolescents.

ABSTRACT: Genome-wide association studies have identified allelic variation in CACNA1C as a risk factor for multiple psychiatric disorders associated with limbic system dysfunction, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. The CACNA1C gene codes for a subunit of L-type voltage-gated calcium channels, which modulate amygdala function. Although CACNA1C genotype appears to be associated with amygdala morphology and function in adults with and without psychopathology, whether genetic variation influences amygdala structure and function earlier in development has not been examined.In this first investigation of the neural correlates of CACNA1C in young individuals, we examined associations between two single nucleotide polymorphisms in CACNA1C (rs1006737 and rs4765914) with amygdala volume and activation during an emotional processing task in 58 adolescents and young adults 13-20 years of age.Minor (T) allele carriers of rs4765914 exhibited smaller amygdala volume than major (C) allele homozygotes (?=-0.33, p=0.006). Furthermore, minor (A) allele homozygotes of rs1006737 exhibited increased blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the amygdala when viewing negative (vs. neutral) stimuli (?=0.29, p=0.040) and decreased BOLD signal in the amygdala when instructed to downregulate their emotional response to negative stimuli (?=-0.38, p=0.009). Follow-up analyses indicated that childhood trauma did not moderate the associations of CACNA1C variation with amygdala structure and function (ps>0.170).Findings indicate that CACNA1C-related differences in amygdala structure and function are present by adolescence. However, population stratification is a concern, given the racial/ethnic heterogeneity of our sample, and our findings do not have direct clinical implications currently. Nevertheless, these results suggest that developmentally informed research can begin to shed light on the time course by which genetic liability may translate into neural differences associated with vulnerability to psychopathology.

SUBMITTER: Sumner JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4653820 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Variation in CACNA1C is Associated with Amygdala Structure and Function in Adolescents.

Sumner Jennifer A JA Sheridan Margaret A MA Drury Stacy S SS Esteves Kyle C KC Walsh Kate K Koenen Karestan C KC McLaughlin Katie A KA

Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology 20150924 9

<h4>Objective</h4>Genome-wide association studies have identified allelic variation in CACNA1C as a risk factor for multiple psychiatric disorders associated with limbic system dysfunction, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. The CACNA1C gene codes for a subunit of L-type voltage-gated calcium channels, which modulate amygdala function. Although CACNA1C genotype appears to be associated with amygdala morphology and function in adults with and without psychopathology, wheth ...[more]

PMID: 26401721

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Project description:CONTEXT:The CACNA1C gene (alpha-1C subunit of the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel) has been identified as a risk gene for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but the mechanism of association has not been explored. OBJECTIVE:To identify the neural system mechanism that explains the genetic association between the CACNA1C gene and psychiatric illness using neuroimaging and human brain expression. DESIGN:We used blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activation in circuitries related to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia by comparing CACNA1C genotype groups among healthy subjects. We tested the effect of genotype on messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of CACNA1C in postmortem human brain. A case-control analysis was used to determine the association of CACNA1C genotype with schizophrenia. SETTING:National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. PATIENTS:Healthy men and women of white race/ethnicity participated in the fMRI study. Postmortem samples from normal human brains were used for the brain expression study. Patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects were used in the case-control analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:BOLD fMRI, mRNA levels in postmortem brain samples, and genetic association with schizophrenia. RESULTS:The risk-associated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP rs1006737) in CACNA1C predicted increased hippocampal activity during emotional processing (P = .001 uncorrected, P((false recovery rate [FDR])) = .05, z = 3.20) and increased prefrontal activity during executive cognition (P = 2.8e-05 uncorrected, P(FDR) = .01, z = 4.03). The risk-associated SNP also predicted increased expression of CACNA1C mRNA in human brain (P = .002). CACNA1C was associated with schizophrenia in our case-control sample (odds ratio, 1.77; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS:The risk-associated SNP in CACNA1C maps to circuitries implicated in genetic risk for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Its effects in human brain expression implicate a molecular and neural system mechanism for the clinical genetic association.

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Variation in CACNA1C is Associated with Amygdala Structure and Function in Adolescents.

Publications

Variation in CACNA1C is Associated with Amygdala Structure and Function in Adolescents.

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