Scientists have identified a section of DNA that ‘turns on’ key genes in parts of the brain affecting anxiety levels.
- “Genes need to be activated in the right cells and at the right time to ensure good health and, when they are not activated correctly, they can contribute to disorders such as anxiety,” according to the authors.
- In the study, they removed “conserved” switches in mice, which tell genes where and when to turn on, using CRISPR technology.
- An “activator” called “BE5.1” of the BDNF gene modulated anxiety-like behavior in rodents and humans.
Worldwide, the number of people suffering from anxiety disorders has been steadily increasing since the Covid-19 pandemic. Recently, researchers at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) identified a genetic “switch” for anxiety. To reach this conclusion, they conducted a study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Anxiety: When genes “are not activated correctly, they can contribute to disorders”
“We already know that 95% of genetic differences associated with disease lie outside of protein-coding genes. This part of the genome, known as the ‘non-coding genome,’ has not been well explored because we didn’t have the tools to do this. We also know that the non-coding genome contains information in the form of gene switches that tell genes where and when to turn on. This is important, because genes need to be activated in the right cells and at the right time to ensure good health and, when not activated correctly, they can contribute to disorders such as anxiety, depression and addiction. These are the areas of the non-coding genome that we study in our laboratory”, has explained Alasdair Mackenzieco-author of the research.
As part of their work, the team used CRISPR technology to understand the role of the non-coding genome in anxiety, addiction and obesity. According to scientists, the number of switches has remained virtually unchanged or conserved for hundreds of millions of years and is present in both humans and mice. In previous research, they discovered other highly conserved switches that reduced anxiety as well as appetite and alcohol consumption when deleted from the rodent genome.
The “BE5.1” activator controls the BDNF gene which modulates anxiety
In the new study, they removed the “conserved” switches in the animals using the technology they used, then analyzed their role in mood, food intake and alcohol preference. In detail, the scientists focused on an “activator” called “BE5.1”. It controls the BDNF gene, which increased anxiety levels in female mice. According to them, this suggests that “BE5.1” is a key element of the complex genome machinery in the brain that modulates anxiety.
“To understand the basis of complex human diseases, including mental illness and other conditions such as obesity, depression and drug addiction, it is equally important to understand the mechanisms that ensure adequate protein production in the right cells than to understand the proteins themselves. We will only achieve this if we better understand the non-coding genome in health and disease, and the function and role of the thousands of enigmatic genetic switches that lurk in its depths “, concluded Andrew McEwan, who led the work.