DNA RISK FACTORS IN YOUTH SUICIDE

这项提案旨在确定导致青少年自杀风险的遗传风险因素（遗传多态性）。 两种方法正在研究中，每种方法都在检测犹他州自杀者的候选基因。 方法包括单倍型相对风险分析和直接突变分析。先前的研究表明，导致自杀的因素既有环境因素，也有遗传因素。 色氨酸能系统与冲动和自杀有关，色氨酸羟化酶（TPH）是5-羟色胺合成的限速酶。 首席研究员检测到TPH基因内含子7的多态性，并在犹他州青年自杀研究的66名自杀受害者样本中进行了研究。 在这个基因中和周围的几个位点的多态性的研究似乎没有与自杀在这个人群中。现在正在寻找其他的基因座。 用于这些研究的DNA是从验尸血液或其他组织中获得的，这些组织可通过医学检查员办公室（位于大学医学中心）获得。根据另一项IRB批准的研究，从自杀受害者的先证者的系谱成员收集血液，该研究题为“犹他州青少年和年轻人自杀调查的社区方法”（IRB #5698-95）。

This proposal was designed to identify hereditary risk factors (genetic polymorphisms) that contribute to risk of youth suicide. Two methods are under study, each examining candidate genes in Utah's suicide victims. The methods include haplotype relative risk and direct mutation analysis. Previous research has indicated that factors contributing to suicide are both environmental and inherited. The serotonergic system has been implicated in impulsivity and suicidality, and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of serotonin. The Principal Investigator has detected polymorphisms in intron 7 of the TPH gene, and this was studied in a sample of 66 suicide victims from the Utah Youth Suicide Study. Studies of polymorphisms at several loci in and surrounding this gene did not appear to be associated with suicide in this population. Additional loci are now being sought. DNA for these studies is obtained from post-mortem blood or other tissues made available through the Medical Examiner's office (located at the University Medical Center). Blood from pedigree members of probands who were suicide victims is collected under another IRB-approved study, entitled "A Community Approach for Investigating Suicide Among Teenagers and Young Adults in Utah" (IRB #5698-95).