DNA RISK FACTORS IN YOUTH SUICIDE

这项建议旨在确定导致青少年自杀风险的遗传危险因素(基因多态)。两种方法正在研究中，每种方法都在检查犹他州自杀受害者的候选基因。方法包括单倍型、相对危险度和直接突变分析。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。5-羟色胺能系统与冲动和自杀有关，而色氨酸羟化酶(TPH)是合成5-羟色胺的限速酶。首席调查员检测到了TPH基因内含子7的多态，并对犹他州青年自杀研究的66名自杀受害者进行了研究。在这一人群中，对该基因内和周围几个基因座的多态研究似乎与自杀无关。目前正在寻找更多的基因座。这些研究的DNA是从验尸官办公室(位于大学医学中心)获得的尸检血液或其他组织中获得的。根据IRB批准的另一项题为“调查犹他州青少年和青壮年自杀的社区方法”(IRB#5698-95)的研究，收集了自杀受害者先证者的血统成员的血液。

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).