bipolar disorder: a new genetic link
Barrett and his
colleagues (Evidence that a single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter of the
G-protein-receptor kinase 3 gene is associated with bipolar disorder, Mol.
Psychiatry 8, 546-557, 2003) propose that alterations in
expression of the gene for the G-protein-receptor kinase 3 (GRK3) might result
in an increased susceptibility to bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder.
GRK3 is involved in the
desensitization of G-protein-coupled receptors. Barrett and his co-workers
looked for GRK3 alterations in people suffering from bipolar syndromes and
found a suggestive link with a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the 5’
untranslated region (the promoter) of the GRK3 gene.