To clarify the role SAT1 genetic variation plays in suicidal behavior risk, we present a whole-gene sequencing effort of SAT1 in 476 bipolar disorder subjects with a history of suicide attempt and 473 subjects with bipolar disorder but no suicide attempts.
In our study we tested the effect of in vitro lithium treatment on SAT1 gene and protein expression in B lymphoblastoid cell lines (BLCLs) from bipolar disorder (BD) patients who committed suicide (and for which BLCLs were collected prior to their death), BD patients with high and low risk of suicide and a sample of non-psychiatric controls.
Fourth, we show that the blood levels of SAT1 (spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase 1), the top biomarker identified by us, at the time of testing for this study, differentiated future as well as past hospitalizations with suicidality, in a live cohort of bipolar disorder subjects, and exhibited a similar but weaker pattern in a live cohort of psychosis (schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder) subjects.
In our study we tested the effect of in vitro lithium treatment on SAT1 gene and protein expression in B lymphoblastoid cell lines (BLCLs) from bipolar disorder (BD) patients who committed suicide (and for which BLCLs were collected prior to their death), BD patients with high and low risk of suicide and a sample of non-psychiatric controls.