A research group including RIKEN, Juntendo University, and Fujita Health University succeeded in creating the world's first mouse model that exhibits bidirectional behavioral changes similar to the manic and depressive states seen in bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric disorder in which extreme mood swings such as a manic state in which the mood is elevated and a depressive state in which the mood is depressed are repeated. Since it did not exist, it is extremely difficult to determine the cause.On the other hand, some risk genes for bipolar disorder have been found by large-scale genetic analysis targeting the genome structure of thousands to tens of thousands of people.In particular, we focused on the FADS1 and FADS2 genes, which are involved in the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids. KO mice) were produced and their behavior was observed for about half a year.
As a result, heterozygous KO mice exhibited transient behavioral abnormalities such as sudden high activity (manic state) lasting about half a day and low activity (depressive state) lasting several weeks.Therefore, when lithium, a therapeutic drug for bipolar disorder, was administered to heterozygous KO mice, the incidence of depression was suppressed.In addition, it has been pointed out that the intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as DHA and EPA is associated with the prevalence of depression and bipolar disorder. It was also found that the administration of DHA, in particular, could suppress the frequency of depressive episodes by rearing and observing them.
Furthermore, by analyzing the lipid patterns of the brains and blood of heterozygous KO mice that exhibited bipolar disorder-like behavior, we found that the lipid patterns in the brains of heterozygous KO mice were significantly different from those of normal mice. andThese findings represent the first step toward understanding the relationship between polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and bipolar disorder.The world's first mouse model that exhibits symptoms of mania and depression is expected to be a breakthrough in bipolar disorder research.
