WFS1 gene as a putative biomarker for development of post-traumatic syndrome in an animal model

Mol Psychiatry. 2009 Jan;14(1):86-94. doi: 10.1038/sj.mp.4002109. Epub 2007 Oct 30.

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that may develop after the experiencing or witnessing of a life-threatening event. PTSD is defined by the coexistence of three clusters of symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal, which persist for at least 1 month in survivors of the event (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition). Using an established model of PTSD, we addressed the well-accepted clinical finding that only a minority (about 20%) of the individuals exposed to a traumatic event develop PTSD. Moreover, we followed individual rat behavior for up to a month, and then treated the PTSD-like animals with citalopram. Our data demonstrate high face (20% of rats exposed to a reminder of the stressor develop symptoms characteristic of PTSD) and predictive (response to citalopram) validities. Based on these validities we identified alterations in the Wolframin gene in the CA1 and amygdala regions, specifically in exposed PTSD-like rats, which were normalized after treatment with citalopram. We suggest the Wolframin gene as a putative biomarker for PTSD. Since Wolframin gene undergoes alternative splicing and has polymorphism in the population, it may serve a future marker for identification of the vulnerable population exposed to a traumatic event.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amygdala / drug effects
  • Amygdala / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Biomarkers
  • Citalopram / pharmacology
  • Citalopram / therapeutic use
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Freezing Reaction, Cataleptic / drug effects
  • Freezing Reaction, Cataleptic / physiology
  • Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
  • Hippocampus / drug effects
  • Hippocampus / metabolism
  • Male
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics*
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / drug therapy
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / genetics*
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / pathology
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / physiopathology*

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Membrane Proteins
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors
  • wolframin protein
  • Citalopram