WIKIMEDIA, ABOGOMAZOVA
Schizophrenia and fragile X syndrome both can involve problems with cognitive function, and two studies published in Nature Neuroscience earlier this week (August 4) identify a gene that may underlie the neurodevelopmental problems associated with the diseases. The gene, topoisomerase 3β (TOP3β), encodes an enzyme that interacts with FMRP, a protein that causes fragile X syndrome when mutated, and the researchers suspect that the proteins’ interactions promote normal cognitive development.
“They add a plausible mechanism and additional support to the growing understanding of the role of fragile X in a broad range of neurodevelopmental diseases,” said Richard McCombie, a geneticist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory who was not involved in the study.
Nelson Freimer, a geneticist and psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles, ...
