Subtraction libraries for the molecular characterization of gene-environmental interactions in bipolar disorder

Objectives: We endeavoured to identify gene-environmental interactions related to bipolar disorder. Methods: We generated subtraction libraries from the frontal cortex of brains obtained postmortem from individuals with bipolar disorder and age- and sex-matched unaffected controls. Results: There are a number of RNA transcripts which are apparently up-regulated or down-regulated in the frontal cortex of individuals with bipolar disorder as compared with the controls. Many of these transcripts are involved in processes crucial to brain function. Several are also related to pathways involved in infections or the inflammatory response in environmental stimuli. Conclusions: Bipolar disorder may involve a complex set of interactions between genes which affect brain function and infections which control the expression of these genes.