| 1 | Am. J. Med. Genet. A 2013 Dec 161A: 2931-7 |
|---|---|
| PMID | 24039187 |
| Title | The AKT genes and their roles in various disorders. |
| Abstract | AKT (AK mouse plus Transforming or Thymoma) is a common oncogene expressed in most tissues. Both AKT2 and AKT3, although important, have more limited distributions. The regulation of all three genes depends on two receptors-a receptor tyrosine kinase with a growth factor ligand, and a G protein coupled receptor, also with a ligand together with an explanation of how their downsteam components function. AKT2 is amplified or overexpressed in cancer with a higher frequency than those found with AKT1. AKT1 is cardioprotective to the heart by supporting its physiological growth and function. AKT2 is closely linked to Type II diabetes and the implications of various types of mutations are discussed. Various AKT3 mutations are important in neurological disorders, such as microcephaly, hemimegalencephaly, and megalencephaly syndromes. Finally, a reduced level of AKT1 in the frontal cortex has been found during post-mortem brain studies of schizophrenic patients in the populations of many countries. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic |
| 2 | J ECT 2015 Dec 31: 234-7 |
| PMID | 25807342 |
| Title | Microarray Analysis of Human Blood During Electroconvulsive Therapy. |
| Abstract | Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is currently regarded as a significant treatment option for intractable psychiatric disorders, such as catatonic schizophrenia or treatment-resistant depression; however, the underlying molecular mechanism for its therapeutic effect remains obscure. Employing microarray analysis (Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 Array; Affymetrix, United States) of cDNA derived from the peripheral blood of patients with catatonic schizophrenia (n = 5), we detected a significant change in 145 genes (0.68%) before and after modified ECT (mECT). Moreover, we performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction validation of genes that had previously been suggested to be functionally related to schizophrenia. Of 4 genes examined (AKT3, TCF7, PPP3R1, and GADD45B), only TCF7 was increased during the mECT procedure (P = 0.0025). This study describes the first attempt to uncover the molecular mechanism of mECT using a microarray assay of mRNA derived from peripheral blood, and our results suggest that the TCF family may play a role in the functional mechanism of mECT. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic |