Synaptic Processes and Immune-Related Pathways Implicated in Tourette Syndrome

    January 2021 in “ Translational Psychiatry ”
    Fotis Tsetsos, Dongmei Yu, Jae Hoon Sul, Alden Huang, Cornelia Illmann, Lisa Osiecki, Sabrina M. Darrow, Matthew E. Hirschtritt, Erica Greenberg, Kirsten Müller-Vahl, Manfred Stuhrmann, Yves Dion, Guy A. Rouleau, H.N. Aschauer, M. Stamenkovic, Monika Schlögelhofer, Paul Sandor, Cathy L. Barr, Marco A. Grados, Harvey S. Singer, Markus M. Nöthen, Johannes Hebebrand, Anke Hinney, Robert A. King, Thomas Fernandez, Csaba Barta, Zsanett Tárnok, Péter Nagy, Christel Depienne, Yulia Worbe, Andreas Hartmann, Cathy L. Budman, Renata Rizzo, Gholson J. Lyon, William M. McMahon, James R. Batterson, Daniëlle C. Cath, Irene A. Malaty, Michael S. Okun, Cheston M. Berlin, Douglas W. Woods, Paul C. Lee, Joseph Jankovic, Mary M. Robertson, Donald L. Gilbert, Lawrence W. Brown, Barbara J. Coffey, Andrea Dietrich, Pieter J. Hoekstra, Samuel Kuperman, Samuel H. Zinner, Michael Wagner, James A. Knowles, A. Jeremy Willsey, Jay A. Tischfield, Gary A. Heiman, Nancy J. Cox, Nelson B. Freimer, Benjamin M. Neale, Lea K. Davis, Giovanni Coppola, Carol A. Mathews, Jeremiah M. Scharf, Peristera Paschou, Roger Kurlan, James F. Leckman, Jan Smit, Gilles de la Tourette Gwas Replication Initiative, Anastasios Konstantinidis, Tomasz Wolańczyk, Keun‐Ah Cheon, Blanca García-Delgar, Dorothy E. Grice, Julie Hagstrøm, Tammy Hedderly, Isobel Heyman, Chaim Huyser, Young Key Kim, Young-Shin Kim, Yun-Joo Koh, Sodahm Kook, Bennett L. Leventhal, Marcos Madruga‐Garrido, Pablo Mir, Àstrid Morer, Alexander Münchau, Kerstin Jessica Plessen, Veit Roessner, Eun‐Young Shin, Dong-Ho Song, Jihyun Song
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    TLDR The research suggests that Tourette syndrome is linked to both brain signaling and immune system pathways.
    The study by Tsetsos et al. analyzed genome-wide genotypic data from 3,581 individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) and 7,682 controls to identify genetic pathways involved in TS. They used two gene set analysis methods, SBA and MAGMA, and found three significant gene sets: ligand-gated ion channel signaling, lymphocytic, and cell adhesion and trans-synaptic signaling. The study highlighted the involvement of the FLT3 gene in the lymphocytic gene set, suggesting a neuroinflammatory element in TS pathogenesis. It also reinforced the role of GABA in TS and the importance of adhesion molecules in neuropsychiatric disorders. The findings suggest synaptic processes and immune-related pathways are implicated in TS, with emphasis on genes involved in ion channel signaling and neuroimmune interactions. Conflicts of interest were disclosed, indicating some authors' involvement with pharmaceutical and medical organizations.
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