Expression profiling in monozygotic twins discordant for bipolar disorder reveals dysregulation of the WNT signalling pathway

Abstract

To identify genes dysregulated in bipolar disorder (BD1), we carried out global gene expression profiling using whole-genome microarrays. To minimize genetic variation in gene expression levels between cases and controls, we compared expression profiles in lymphoblastoid cell lines from monozygotic twin pairs discordant for the disease. We identified 82 genes that were differentially expressed by ⩾1.3-fold in three BD1 cases compared to their co-twins, and which were statistically (P⩽0.05) differentially expressed between the groups of BD1 cases and controls. Using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, we confirmed the differential expression of some of these genes, i..