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Molecular Pharmacology and Genomics in Psychiatry

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 10744

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Masaki Kato

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Guest Editor

Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kansai Medical University, Osaka 573-1191, Japan
Interests: pharmacogenetics in psyhiatry; pharmacogenomics in psyhiatry; major depressive disorder; bipolar disorder; psychopharmacology; precision medicine in psychiatry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The course of treatment for psychiatric disorders varies greatly among individuals, and one of the reasons for this is that there are no objective biomarkers that can be used as a basis for diagnosis and treatment selection. In addition to genetic background, it is also important to accumulate evidence of the influence of epigenomic factors such as methylation and miRNAs, because the course of treatment of psychiatric disorders is likely to be influenced by the environment during childhood and the prenatal period. This is evident from the fact that GWAS studies using large samples have not yet yielded useful results at the clinical level. In this Special Issue, we would like to focus on genomic factors (genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome) related to the course of treatment and drug response in psychiatric disorders to answer the unmet needs of psychiatric treatment.

Dr. Masaki Kato
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

pharmacogenomics
precision medicine
genome
epigenome
miRNA
translational
treatment response
depression
bipolar disorder
schizophrenia
psychiatry
course of symptoms

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 3140 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multiple Pre-Treatment miRNAs Levels in Untreated Major Depressive Disorder Patients Predict Early Response to Antidepressants and Interact with Key Pathways

by Masaki Kato, Haruhiko Ogata, Hidetoshi Tahara, Akira Shimamoto, Yoshiteru Takekita, Yosuke Koshikawa, Keiichiro Nishida, Shinpei Nonen, Koichiro Higasa and Toshihiko Kinoshita

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(7), 3873; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms23073873 - 31 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2525

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a life-impairing disorder, and early successful treatment is important for a favorable prognosis. However, early response to antidepressants differs widely among individuals, and is difficult to predict pre-treatment. As miRNAs have been reported to play important roles in depression, identification of miRNAs associated with antidepressant treatment responses and their interacting genes and pathways will be beneficial in understanding the predictors and molecular mechanisms of depression treatment. This randomized control trial examined miRNAs correlated with the early therapeutic effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs; paroxetine or sertraline) and mirtazapine monotherapy. Before medication, we comprehensively analyzed the miRNA expression of 92 depressed participants and identified genes and pathways interacting with miRNAs. A total of 228 miRNAs were significantly correlated with depressive symptoms improvements after 2 weeks of SSRIs treatment, with miR-483.5p showing the most robust correlation. These miRNAs are involved in 21 pathways, including TGF-β, glutamatergic synapse, long-term depression, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. Using these miRNAs enabled us to predict SSRI response at week 2 with a 57% difference. This study shows that pre-treatment levels of miRNAs could be used to predict early responses to antidepressant administration, a knowledge of genes, and an identification of genes and pathways associated with the antidepressant response. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Pharmacology and Genomics in Psychiatry)

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18 pages, 21424 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Molecular Consequences of Depression Treatment: A Potential In Vitro Mechanism for Antidepressants-Induced Reprotoxic Side Effects

by Przemysław Sołek, Jennifer Mytych, Anna Tabęcka-Łonczyńska and Marek Koziorowski

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(21), 11855; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms222111855 - 01 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2606

Abstract

The incidence of depression among humans is growing worldwide, and so is the use of antidepressants. However, our fundamental understanding regarding the mechanisms by which these drugs function and their off-target effects against human sexuality remains poorly defined. The present study aimed to determine their differential toxicity on mouse spermatogenic cells and provide mechanistic data of cell-specific response to antidepressant and neuroleptic drug treatment. To directly test reprotoxicity, the spermatogenic cells (GC-1 spg and GC-2 spd cells) were incubated for 48 and 96 h with amitriptyline (hydrochloride) (AMI), escitalopram (ESC), fluoxetine (hydrochloride) (FLU), imipramine (hydrochloride) (IMI), mirtazapine (MIR), olanzapine (OLZ), reboxetine (mesylate) (REB), and venlafaxine (hydrochloride) (VEN), and several cellular and biochemical features were assessed. Obtained results reveal that all investigated substances showed considerable reprotoxic potency leading to micronuclei formation, which, in turn, resulted in upregulation of telomeric binding factor (TRF1/TRF2) protein expression. The TRF-based response was strictly dependent on p53/p21 signaling and was followed by irreversible G2/M cell cycle arrest and finally initiation of apoptotic cell death. In conclusion, our findings suggest that antidepressants promote a telomere-focused DNA damage response in germ cell lines, which broadens the established view of antidepressants’ and neuroleptic drugs’ toxicity and points to the need for further research in this topic with the use of in vivo models and human samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Pharmacology and Genomics in Psychiatry)

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Review

Jump to: Research

18 pages, 935 KiB

Open AccessReview

Mapping miRNA Research in Schizophrenia: A Scientometric Review

by Mengyu Lim, Alessandro Carollo, Michelle Jin Yee Neoh and Gianluca Esposito

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 436; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms24010436 - 27 Dec 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2896

Abstract

Micro RNA (miRNA) research has great implications in uncovering the aetiology of neuropsychiatric conditions due to the role of miRNA in brain development and function. Schizophrenia, a complex yet devastating neuropsychiatric disorder, is one such condition that had been extensively studied in the realm of miRNA. Although a relatively new field of research, this area of study has progressed sufficiently to warrant dozens of reviews summarising findings from past to present. However, as a majority of reviews cannot encapsulate the full body of research, there is still a need to synthesise the diversity of publications made in this area in a systematic but easy-to-understand manner. Therefore, this study adopted bibliometrics and scientometrics, specifically document co-citation analysis (DCA), to review the literature on miRNAs in the context of schizophrenia over the course of history. From a literature search on Scopus, 992 papers were found and analysed with CiteSpace. DCA analysis generated a network of 13 major clusters with different thematic focuses within the subject area. Finally, these clusters are qualitatively discussed. miRNA research has branched into schizophrenia, among other medical and psychiatric conditions, due to previous findings in other forms of non-coding RNA. With the rise of big data, bioinformatics analyses are increasingly common in this field of research. The future of research is projected to rely more heavily on interdisciplinary collaboration. Additionally, it can be expected that there will be more translational studies focusing on the application of these findings to the development of effective treatments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Pharmacology and Genomics in Psychiatry)

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17 pages, 4742 KiB

Open AccessReview

Key Characteristics and Development of Psychoceuticals: A Review

by Genaro Herrera Cano, Jordan Dean, Samuel Padilla Abreu, Amanda Hernández Rodríguez, Cyrena Abbasi, Madison Hinson and Brandon Lucke-Wold

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(24), 15777; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms232415777 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1597

Abstract

Psychoceuticals have brought benefits to the pharmacotherapeutic management of central nervous system (CNS) illnesses since the 19th century. However, these drugs have potential side effects or lack high response rates. This review covers twenty drugs’ biochemical mechanisms, benefits, risks, and clinical trial reports. For this study, medications from seven psychoceutical organizations were reviewed and evaluated. Nineteen drugs were chosen from the organizations, and one was selected from the literature. The databases used for the search were Pubmed, Google Scholar, and NIH clinical trials. In addition, information from the organizations’ websites and other sources, such as news reports, were also used. From the list of drugs, the most common targets were serotonergic, opioid, and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. These drugs have shown promise in psychiatric illnesses such as substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and neuroinflammation. Some of these drugs, however, are still early in development, so their therapeutic significance cannot be determined. These twenty drugs have promising benefits, but their clinical usage and efficacy must still be explored. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Pharmacology and Genomics in Psychiatry)

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