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Akihisa Akahane

Publications and source records attributed to Akihisa Akahane.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

[Analysis of the fyn kinase gene in Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia].

Reelin is a protein which plays an important role in cell construction and proliferation of neurons during the development of the central nervous system. Several lines of evidence suggest a possible role for reelin-related genes in the etiology of neurodevelopmental as well as neurodegenerative diseases. It is possible that variations in reelin-related genes (Reelin, VLDLR, FYN, CNRs, a3b1INTEGRIN, mDAB1) may be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. We have been conducting a systematic survey of the association of reelin-related gene polymorphisms with these disorders. Previously, we examined the association of the triplet repeats of the reelin and VLDLR gene with schizophrenia. We found no significant association of schizophrenia with the trinucleotide repeat polymorphism of the reelin nor VLDLR genes (Akahane et al. 2002). In this study, we performed an allelic association analysis in Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia with three polymorphisms of the fyn gene reported by Ishiguro et al (2000). Diagnosis was based on DSM-IV and NINCDS-ADRDA. We found no significant differences in genotype distribution or allelic frequency between patient and control groups. Thus, it is unlikely that these polymorphisms play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease or schizophrenia.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Association analysis of polymorphic CGG repeat in 5' UTR of the reelin and VLDLR genes with schizophrenia.

Several lines of evidence suggest a possible role for reelin in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental diseases, particularly schizophrenia. Genes encoding reelin and proteins involved in the signal pathway of reelin are thus candidate genes for schizophrenia. We examined the polymorphic CGG repeat in the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of the reelin gene, which was recently found to be associated with autistic disorder, and the CGG repeat in the 5' UTR region of the very low density protein receptor (VLDLR) gene, which was reported to be associated with sporadic Alzheimer's disease, for allelic association with schizophrenia. The subjects consisted of 150 patients and 150 controls matched for sex, age and ethnicity (Japanese). We found no significant association of schizophrenia with the trinucleotide repeat polymorphism of the reelin or VLDLR genes, suggesting that these polymorphisms do not have a major role in the pathogenesis of the disease.

5' Flanking Region↗
PubMed2002

Novel polymorphisms in the promoter region of the neurotrophin-3 gene and their associations with schizophrenia.

Based on the neurodevelopmental hypothesis in the etiology of schizophrenia, neurotrophic factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of the illness. We searched for polymorphisms in the promoter region of the neurotrophin-3 (NTF3) gene by using denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found. When these polymorphisms were examined for association with schizophrenia, a weakly significant difference was observed in the genotype distribution of the G/- 3004/A polymorphism between 184 schizophrenics and 185 controls (P < 0.05), although no statistically significant association was detected in a family-based sample of 50 trios (schizophrenics and their parents). With respect to the other polymorphisms, there was no significant association with schizophrenia. The G/- 3004/A polymorphism was in linkage disequilibrium with the CA repeat polymorphism in the first intron of the NTF3 gene. When haplotype-based analysis was performed, an increased frequency of the haplotype containing the G(- 3004) and the "A3" ([CA]23) alleles was observed for the schizophrenics compared to controls. Our results suggest that the G(- 3004)-A3 haplotype has a modest effect of giving susceptibility to schizophrenia.

Adult↗