Transcriptome profiling in adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2020 Dec:41:160-166. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2020.11.005. Epub 2020 Nov 19.

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with an estimated heritability of around 70%. Although the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis on ADHD identified independent loci conferring risk to the disorder, the molecular mechanisms underlying the genetic basis of the disorder remain to be elucidated. To explore ADHD biology, we ran a two-step transcriptome profiling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 143 ADHD subjects and 169 healthy controls. Through this exploratory study we found eight differentially expressed genes in ADHD. These results highlight promising candidate genes and gene pathways for ADHD and support the use of peripheral tissues to assess gene expression signatures for ADHD.

Keywords: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); Gene-expression signatures; Transcriptomic assays.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / diagnosis*
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / genetics*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling / methods*
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease / genetics*
  • Genome-Wide Association Study / methods*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Young Adult