@phdthesis{Lueffe2023, author = {L{\"u}ffe, Teresa Magdalena}, title = {Behavioral and pharmacological validation of genetic zebrafish models for ADHD}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-25716}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-257168}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder described in psychiatry today. ADHD arises during early childhood and is characterized by an age-inappropriate level of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and partially emotional dysregulation. Besides, substantial psychiatric comorbidity further broadens the symptomatic spectrum. Despite advances in ADHD research by genetic- and imaging studies, the etiopathogenesis of ADHD remains largely unclear. Twin studies suggest a heritability of 70-80 \% that, based on genome-wide investigations, is assumed to be polygenic and a mixed composite of small and large, common and rare genetic variants. In recent years the number of genetic risk candidates is continuously increased. However, for most, a biological link to neuropathology and symptomatology of the patient is still missing. Uncovering this link is vital for a better understanding of the disorder, the identification of new treatment targets, and therefore the development of a more targeted and possibly personalized therapy. The present thesis addresses the issue for the ADHD risk candidates GRM8, FOXP2, and GAD1. By establishing loss of function zebrafish models, using CRISPR/Cas9 derived mutagenesis and antisense oligonucleotides, and studying them for morphological, functional, and behavioral alterations, it provides novel insights into the candidate's contribution to neuropathology and ADHD associated phenotypes. Using locomotor activity as behavioral read-out, the present work identified a genetic and functional implication of Grm8a, Grm8b, Foxp2, and Gad1b in ADHD associated hyperactivity. Further, it provides substantial evidence that the function of Grm8a, Grm8b, Foxp2, and Gad1b in activity regulation involves GABAergic signaling. Preliminary indications suggest that the three candidates interfere with GABAergic signaling in the ventral forebrain/striatum. However, according to present and previous data, via different biological mechanisms such as GABA synthesis, transmitter release regulation, synapse formation and/or transcriptional regulation of synaptic components. Intriguingly, this work further demonstrates that the activity regulating circuit, affected upon Foxp2 and Gad1b loss of function, is involved in the therapeutic effect mechanism of methylphenidate. Altogether, the present thesis identified altered GABAergic signaling in activity regulating circuits in, presumably, the ventral forebrain as neuropathological underpinning of ADHD associated hyperactivity. Further, it demonstrates altered GABAergic signaling as mechanistic link between the genetic disruption of Grm8a, Grm8b, Foxp2, and Gad1b and ADHD symptomatology like hyperactivity. Thus, this thesis highlights GABAergic signaling in activity regulating circuits and, in this context, Grm8a, Grm8b, Foxp2, and Gad1b as exciting targets for future investigations on ADHD etiopathogenesis and the development of novel therapeutic interventions for ADHD related hyperactivity. Additionally, thigmotaxis measurements suggest Grm8a, Grm8b, and Gad1b as interesting candidates for prospective studies on comorbid anxiety in ADHD. Furthermore, expression analysis in foxp2 mutants demonstrates Foxp2 as regulator of ADHD associated gene sets and neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) overarching genetic and functional networks with possible implications for ADHD polygenicity and comorbidity. Finally, with the characterization of gene expression patterns and the generation and validation of genetic zebrafish models for Grm8a, Grm8b, Foxp2, and Gad1b, the present thesis laid the groundwork for future research efforts, for instance, the identification of the functional circuit(s) and biological mechanism(s) by which Grm8a, Grm8b, Foxp2, and Gad1b loss of function interfere with GABAergic signaling and ultimately induce hyperactivity.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Peters2023, author = {Peters, Katharina}, title = {Biological Substrates of Waiting Impulsivity in Children and Adolescents with and without ADHD}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-24636}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-246368}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Focus of the present work were the questions whether and how the concept of waiting impulsivity (WI), defined as the ability to regulate a response in anticipation of reward and measured by the 4-choice serial reaction time task (4-CSRTT), may contribute to our understanding of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its neurobiological underpinnings. To address this topic, two studies were conducted: in a first study, the relationship be-tween 4-CSRTT behavioral measures, neural correlates and ADHD symptom domains, i.e. inattention (IA) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (H/I) was explored in a pooled sample of 90 children and adolescents with (n=44) and without (n=46) ADHD diagnosis. As ex-pected, IA was associated with dorsolateral prefrontal brain regions linked with executive functions and attentional control, which was evident on the structural and the functional level. Higher levels of both IA and H/I covaried with decreased activity in the right ven-trolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), a central structure for response inhibition. Moderation analyses revealed that H/I-related decreased activation in this region did not map linearly on difficulties on the behavioral level: brain activation was a significant predictor of task accuracy only, when H/I symptoms were low/absent but not for clinically relevant ADHD symptoms. Further, H/I was implicated in dysfunctional top-down control of reward eval-uation. Both symptom domains correlated positively with hippocampus (HC) activity in anticipation of reward. In addition, for high H/I symptoms, greater activation in the HC was found to correlate with higher motivation on the behavioral level, indicating that rein-forcement-learning and/or contingency awareness may contribute to altered reward pro-cessing in ADHD patients. In a second study, the possible serotonergic modulation of WI and the ADHD-WI relation-ship was addressed in a sub-sample comprising 86 children and adolescents of study I. The effects of a functional variant in the gene coding for the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of brain serotonin on behavior and structure or function of the WI-network was investigated. Moderation analyses revealed that on the behavioral level, a negative corre-lation between accuracy and IA was found only in GG-homozygotes, whereas no signifi-cant relationship emerged for carriers of the T-allele. This is in line with previous reports of differential effects of serotonergic modulation on attentional performance depending on the presence of ADHD symptoms. A trend-wise interaction effect of genotype and IA for regional volume of the right middle frontal gyrus was interpreted as a hint towards an involvement of the PFC in this relationship, although a more complex mechanism includ-ing developmental effects can be assumed. In addition, interaction effects of genotype and IA were found for brain activation in the amygdala (AMY) und HC during perfor-mance of the 4-CSRTT, while another interaction was found for H/I symptoms and geno-type for right AMY volume. These findings indicate a serotonergic modulation of coding of the emotional value of reward during performance of the 4-CSRTT that varies de-pending on the extent of psychopathology-associated traits. Taken together, it was shown that the 4-CSRTT taps distinct domains of impulsivity with relevance to ADHD symptomatology: (proactive) response inhibition difficulties in relation with anticipation of reward. Furthermore, the two symptom domains, IA and H/I, contrib-ute differently to WI, which emphasizes the need to distinguish both in the research of ADHD. The results of study II emphasized the relevance of serotonergic transmission especially for attentional control and emotional processing. Although the present findings need replication and further refinement in more homogenous age groups, the use of the 4-CSRTT with a dimensional approach is a very promising strategy, which will hopefully extend our understanding of impulsivity-related mental disorders in the future.}, subject = {Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-Syndrom}, language = {en} } @article{FernandezCastilloCabanaDominguezKappeletal.2021, author = {Fern{\`a}ndez-Castillo, No{\`e}lia and Cabana-Dom{\´i}nguez, Judit and Kappel, Djenifer B. and Torrico, B{\`a}rbara and Weber, Heike and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Lao, Oscar and Reif, Andreas and Cormand, Bru}, title = {Exploring the contribution to ADHD of genes involved in Mendelian disorders presenting with hyperactivity and/or inattention}, series = {Genes}, volume = {13}, journal = {Genes}, number = {1}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes13010093}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-252346}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, and/or inattention, which are symptoms also observed in many rare genetic disorders. We searched for genes involved in Mendelian disorders presenting with ADHD symptoms in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database, to curate a list of new candidate risk genes for ADHD. We explored the enrichment of functions and pathways in this gene list, and tested whether rare or common variants in these genes are associated with ADHD or with its comorbidities. We identified 139 genes, causal for 137 rare disorders, mainly related to neurodevelopmental and brain function. Most of these Mendelian disorders also present with other psychiatric traits that are often comorbid with ADHD. Using whole exome sequencing (WES) data from 668 ADHD cases, we found rare variants associated with the dimension of the severity of inattention symptoms in three genes: KIF11, WAC, and CRBN. Then, we focused on common variants and identified six genes associated with ADHD (in 19,099 cases and 34,194 controls): MANBA, UQCC2, HIVEP2, FOPX1, KANSL1, and AUH. Furthermore, HIVEP2, FOXP1, and KANSL1 were nominally associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (18,382 cases and 27,969 controls), as well as HIVEP2 with anxiety (7016 cases and 14,475 controls), and FOXP1 with aggression (18,988 individuals), which is in line with the symptomatology of the rare disorders they are responsible for. In conclusion, inspecting Mendelian disorders and the genes responsible for them constitutes a valuable approach for identifying new risk genes and the mechanisms of complex disorders.}, language = {en} } @article{ZieglerEhlisWeberetal.2021, author = {Ziegler, Georg C. and Ehlis, Ann-Christine and Weber, Heike and Vitale, Maria Rosaria and Z{\"o}ller, Johanna E. M. and Ku, Hsing-Ping and Schiele, Miriam A. and K{\"u}rbitz, Laura I. and Romanos, Marcel and Pauli, Paul and Kalisch, Raffael and Zwanzger, Peter and Domschke, Katharina and Fallgatter, Andreas J. and Reif, Andreas and Lesch, Klaus-Peter}, title = {A Common CDH13 Variant is Associated with Low Agreeableness and Neural Responses to Working Memory Tasks in ADHD}, series = {Genes}, volume = {12}, journal = {Genes}, number = {9}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes12091356}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245220}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The cell—cell signaling gene CDH13 is associated with a wide spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and major depression. CDH13 regulates axonal outgrowth and synapse formation, substantiating its relevance for neurodevelopmental processes. Several studies support the influence of CDH13 on personality traits, behavior, and executive functions. However, evidence for functional effects of common gene variation in the CDH13 gene in humans is sparse. Therefore, we tested for association of a functional intronic CDH13 SNP rs2199430 with ADHD in a sample of 998 adult patients and 884 healthy controls. The Big Five personality traits were assessed by the NEO-PI-R questionnaire. Assuming that altered neural correlates of working memory and cognitive response inhibition show genotype-dependent alterations, task performance and electroencephalographic event-related potentials were measured by n-back and continuous performance (Go/NoGo) tasks. The rs2199430 genotype was not associated with adult ADHD on the categorical diagnosis level. However, rs2199430 was significantly associated with agreeableness, with minor G allele homozygotes scoring lower than A allele carriers. Whereas task performance was not affected by genotype, a significant heterosis effect limited to the ADHD group was identified for the n-back task. Heterozygotes (AG) exhibited significantly higher N200 amplitudes during both the 1-back and 2-back condition in the central electrode position Cz. Consequently, the common genetic variation of CDH13 is associated with personality traits and impacts neural processing during working memory tasks. Thus, CDH13 might contribute to symptomatic core dysfunctions of social and cognitive impairment in ADHD.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Mortimer2021, author = {Mortimer, Niall Patrick}, title = {ADHD Genetics in Mouse and Man}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-23626}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236265}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with an estimated heritability of around 70\%. In order to fully understand ADHD biology it is necessary to incorporate multiple different types of research. In this thesis, both human and animal model research is described as both lines of research are required to elucidate the aetiology of ADHD and development new treatments. The role of a single gene, Adhesion G protein-coupled receptor L3 (ADGRL3) was investigated using a knockout mouse model. ADGRL3 has putative roles in neuronal migration and synapse function. Various polymorphisms in ADGRL3 have been linked with an increased risk of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in human studies. Adgrl3-deficient mice were examined across multiple behavioural domains related to ADHD: locomotive activity, visuospatial and recognition memory, gait impulsivity, aggression, sociability and anxiety-like behaviour. The transcriptomic alterations caused by Adgrl3-depletion were analysed by RNA-sequencing of three ADHD-relevant brain regions: prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus and striatum. Increased locomotive activity in Adgrl3-/- mice was observed across all tests with the specific gait analysis revealing subtle gait abnormalities. Spatial memory and learning domains were also impaired in these mice. Increased levels of impulsivity and sociability accompanying decreased aggression were also detected. None of these alterations were observed in Adgrl3+/- mice. The numbers of genes found to exhibit differential expression was relatively small in all brain regions sequenced. The absence of large scale gene expression dysregulation indicates a specific pathway of action, rather than a broad neurobiological perturbation. The PFC had the greatest number of differentially expressed genes and gene-set analysis of differential expression in this brain region detected a number of ADHD-relevant pathways including dopaminergic synapses as well as cocaine and amphetamine addiction. The most dysregulated gene in the PFC was Slc6a3 which codes for the dopamine transporter, a molecule vital to current pharmacological treatment of ADHD. The behavioural and transcriptomic results described in this thesis further validate Adgrl3 constitutive knockout mice as an experimental model of ADHD and provide neuroanatomical targets for future studies involving ADGRL3 modified animal models. The study of ADHD risk genes such as ADGRL3 requires the gene to be first identified using human studies. These studies may be genome based such as genome wide association studies (GWAS) or transcriptome based using microarray or RNA sequencing technology. To explore ADHD biology in humans the research described in this thesis includes both GWAS and trancriptomic data. A two-step transcriptome profiling was performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 143 ADHD subjects and 169 healthy controls. We combined GWAS and expression data in an expression-based Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) analysis in a total sample of 879 ADHD cases and 1919 controls from three different datasets. Through this exploratory study we found eight differentially expressed genes in ADHD and no support for the genetic background of the disorder playing a role in the aberrant expression levels identified. 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. This thesis illustrates how both human and animal model research is required to increase our understanding of ADHD. The animal models provide biological insight into the targets identified in human studies and may themselves provide further relevant gene targets. Only by combining research from disparate sources can we develop the thorough understanding on ADHD biology required for treatment development, which is the ultimate goal of translational science research.}, language = {en} } @article{CapetianRoessnerKorteetal.2021, author = {Capetian, Philipp and Roessner, Veit and Korte, Caroline and Walitza, Susanne and Riederer, Franz and Taurines, Regina and Gerlach, Manfred and Moser, Andreas}, title = {Altered urinary tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives in patients with Tourette syndrome: reflection of dopaminergic hyperactivity?}, series = {Journal of Neural Transmission}, volume = {128}, journal = {Journal of Neural Transmission}, issn = {0300-9564}, doi = {10.1007/s00702-020-02289-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235771}, pages = {115-121}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Tetrahydroisoquinolines (TIQs) such as salsolinol (SAL), norsalsolinol (NSAL) and their methylated derivatives N-methyl-norsalsolinol (NMNSAL) and N-methyl-salsolinol (NMSAL), modulate dopaminergic neurotransmission and metabolism in the central nervous system. Dopaminergic neurotransmission is thought to play an important role in the pathophysiology of chronic tic disorders, such as Tourette syndrome (TS). Therefore, the urinary concentrations of these TIQ derivatives were measured in patients with TS and patients with comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (TS + ADHD) compared with controls. Seventeen patients with TS, 12 with TS and ADHD, and 19 age-matched healthy controls with no medication took part in this study. Free levels of NSAL, NMNSAL, SAL, and NMSAL in urine were measured by a two-phase chromatographic approach. Furthermore, individual TIQ concentrations in TS patients were used in receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis to examine the diagnostic value. NSAL concentrations were elevated significantly in TS [434.67 ± 55.4 nmol/l (standard error of mean = S.E.M.), two-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001] and TS + ADHD patients [605.18 ± 170.21 nmol/l (S.E.M.), two-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001] compared with controls [107.02 ± 33.18 nmol/l (S.E.M.), two-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001] and NSAL levels in TS + ADHD patients were elevated significantly in comparison with TS patients (two-way ANOVA, p = 0.017). NSAL demonstrated an AUC of 0.93 ± 0.046 (S.E.M) the highest diagnostic value of all metabolites for the diagnosis of TS. Our results suggest a dopaminergic hyperactivity underlying the pathophysiology of TS and ADHD. In addition, NSAL concentrations in urine may be a potential diagnostic biomarker of TS.}, language = {en} } @article{GrimmWeberKittelSchneideretal.2020, author = {Grimm, Oliver and Weber, Heike and Kittel-Schneider, Sarah and Kranz, Thorsten M. and Jacob, Christian P. and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Reif, Andreas}, title = {Impulsivity and Venturesomeness in an Adult ADHD Sample: Relation to Personality, Comorbidity, and Polygenic Risk}, series = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, issn = {1664-0640}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2020.557160}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-219751}, year = {2020}, abstract = {While impulsivity is a basic feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), no study explored the effect of different components of the Impulsiveness (Imp) and Venturesomeness (Vent) scale (IV7) on psychiatric comorbidities and an ADHD polygenic risk score (PRS). We used the IV7 self-report scale in an adult ADHD sample of 903 patients, 70\% suffering from additional comorbid disorders, and in a subsample of 435 genotyped patients. Venturesomeness, unlike immediate Impulsivity, is not specific to ADHD. We consequently analyzed the influence of Imp and Vent also in the context of a PRS on psychiatric comorbidities of ADHD. Vent shows a distinctly different distribution of comorbidities, e.g., less anxiety and depression. PRS showed no effect on different ADHD comorbidities, but correlated with childhood hyperactivity. In a complementary analysis using principal component analysis with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition ADHD criteria, revised NEO Personality Inventory, Imp, Vent, and PRS, we identified three ADHD subtypes. These are an impulsive-neurotic type, an adventurous-hyperactive type with a stronger genetic component, and an anxious-inattentive type. Our study thus suggests the importance of adventurousness and the differential consideration of impulsivity in ADHD. The genetic risk is distributed differently between these subtypes, which underlines the importance of clinically motivated subtyping. Impulsivity subtyping might give insights into the organization of comorbid disorders in ADHD and different genetic background.}, language = {en} } @article{PalladinoChiocchettiFranketal.2020, author = {Palladino, Viola Stella and Chiocchetti, Andreas G. and Frank, Lukas and Haslinger, Denise and McNeill, Rhiannon and Radtke, Franziska and Till, Andreas and Haupt, Simone and Br{\"u}stle, Oliver and G{\"u}nther, Katharina and Edenhofer, Frank and Hoffmann, Per and Reif, Andreas and Kittel-Schneider, Sarah}, title = {Energy metabolism disturbances in cell models of PARK2 CNV carriers with ADHD}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, volume = {9}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, number = {12}, issn = {2077-0383}, doi = {10.3390/jcm9124092}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-220074}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The main goal of the present study was the identification of cellular phenotypes in attention-deficit-/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patient-derived cellular models from carriers of rare copy number variants (CNVs) in the PARK2 locus that have been previously associated with ADHD. Human-derived fibroblasts (HDF) were cultured and human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) were reprogrammed and differentiated into dopaminergic neuronal cells (mDANs). A series of assays in baseline condition and in different stress paradigms (nutrient deprivation, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazine (CCCP)) focusing on mitochondrial function and energy metabolism (ATP production, basal oxygen consumption rates, reactive oxygen species (ROS) abundance) were performed and changes in mitochondrial network morphology evaluated. We found changes in PARK2 CNV deletion and duplication carriers with ADHD in PARK2 gene and protein expression, ATP production and basal oxygen consumption rates compared to healthy and ADHD wildtype control cell lines, partly differing between HDF and mDANs and to some extent enhanced in stress paradigms. The generation of ROS was not influenced by the genotype. Our preliminary work suggests an energy impairment in HDF and mDAN cells of PARK2 CNV deletion and duplication carriers with ADHD. The energy impairment could be associated with the role of PARK2 dysregulation in mitochondrial dynamics.}, language = {en} } @article{BaaderKianiBrunkhorstKanaanetal.2020, author = {Baader, Anna and Kiani, Behnaz and Brunkhorst-Kanaan, Nathalie and Kittel-Schneider, Sarah and Reif, Andreas and Grimm, Oliver}, title = {A within-sample comparison of two innovative neuropsychological tests for assessing ADHD}, series = {Brain Sciences}, volume = {11}, journal = {Brain Sciences}, number = {1}, issn = {2076-3425}, doi = {10.3390/brainsci11010036}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-220089}, year = {2020}, abstract = {New innovative neuropsychological tests in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD have been proposed as objective measures for diagnosis and therapy. The current study aims to investigate two different commercial continuous performance tests (CPT) in a head-to-head comparison regarding their comparability and their link with clinical parameters. The CPTs were evaluated in a clinical sample of 29 adult patients presenting in an ADHD outpatient clinic. Correlational analyses were performed between neuropsychological data, clinical rating scales, and a personality-based measure. Though inattention was found to positively correlate between the two tests (r = 0.49, p = 0.01), no association with clinical measures and inattention was found for both tests. While hyperactivity did not correlate between both tests, current ADHD symptoms were positively associated with Nesplora Aquarium's motor activity (r = 0.52 to 0.61, p < 0.05) and the Qb-Test's hyperactivity (r = 0.52 to 0.71, p < 0.05). Conclusively, the overall comparability of the tests was limited and correlation with clinical parameters was low. While our study shows some interesting correlation between clinical symptoms and sub-scales of these tests, usage in clinical practice is not recommended.}, language = {en} } @article{BiereKranzMaturaetal.2020, author = {Biere, Silvia and Kranz, Thorsten M. and Matura, Silke and Petrova, Kristiyana and Streit, Fabian and Chiocchetti, Andreas G. and Grimm, Oliver and Brum, Murielle and Brunkhorst-Kanaan, Natalie and Oertel, Viola and Malyshau, Aliaksandr and Pfennig, Andrea and Bauer, Michael and Schulze, Thomas G. and Kittel-Schneider, Sarah and Reif, Andreas}, title = {Risk Stratification for Bipolar Disorder Using Polygenic Risk Scores Among Young High-Risk Adults}, series = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2020.552532}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-214976}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Objective: Identifying high-risk groups with an increased genetic liability for bipolar disorder (BD) will provide insights into the etiology of BD and contribute to early detection of BD. We used the BD polygenic risk score (PRS) derived from BD genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to explore how such genetic risk manifests in young, high-risk adults. We postulated that BD-PRS would be associated with risk factors for BD. Methods: A final sample of 185 young, high-risk German adults (aged 18-35 years) were grouped into three risk groups and compared to a healthy control group (n = 1,100). The risk groups comprised 117 cases with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 45 with major depressive disorder (MDD), and 23 help-seeking adults with early recognition symptoms [ER: positive family history for BD, (sub)threshold affective symptomatology and/or mood swings, sleeping disorder]. BD-PRS was computed for each participant. Logistic regression models (controlling for sex, age, and the first five ancestry principal components) were used to assess associations of BD-PRS and the high-risk phenotypes. Results: We observed an association between BD-PRS and combined risk group status (OR = 1.48, p < 0.001), ADHD diagnosis (OR = 1.32, p = 0.009), MDD diagnosis (OR = 1.96, p < 0.001), and ER group status (OR = 1.7, p = 0.025; not significant after correction for multiple testing) compared to healthy controls. Conclusions: In the present study, increased genetic risk for BD was a significant predictor for MDD and ADHD status, but not for ER. These findings support an underlying shared risk for both MDD and BD as well as ADHD and BD. Improving our understanding of the underlying genetic architecture of these phenotypes may aid in early identification and risk stratification.}, language = {en} }