Assisted birth with DISC1

I-42: Do Birth Defects Increase with Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) like in vitro fertilization have enabled many infertile couples to achieve pregnancy. Although ART pregnancies have long been known to be characterized by increased rates for certain maternal complications, these complications are predictable based on the mother’s more advanced age - increased medical complications like hypertension or diabetes mellitus....

Assisted Reproduction and Preterm Birth

DISC1 Partners with GSK3β in Neurogenesis

The protein DISC1, encoded by a gene implicated in schizophrenia susceptibility, regulates the development of postmitotic neurons. Mao et al. (2009) now report that DISC1 also regulates the proliferation of embryonic and adult neural progenitor cells through the GSK3beta/beta-catenin pathway, providing new insights into how susceptibility genes may contribute to the etiology of psychiatric diso...

DISC1: A Schizophrenia Gene with Multiple Personalities

Two papers address the contribution of DISC1 to neural development and schizophrenia risk in this issue of Neuron. These complementary studies elegantly bridge the gap between genetic and cellular studies of schizophrenia, providing a level of functional validation that is often lacking in the field.

Expression of DISC1 binding partners is reduced in schizophrenia and associated with DISC1 SNPs.

DISC1 has been identified as a schizophrenia susceptibility gene based on linkage and SNP association studies and clinical data suggesting that risk SNPs impact on hippocampal structure and function. In cell and animal models, C-terminus-truncated DISC1 disrupts intracellular transport, neural architecture and migration, perhaps because it fails to interact with binding partners involved in neu...