Stem Cell Research May Help Explain Biochemistry of Bipolar Disorder
At the 2015 meeting of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, researcher Martin McInnis described how stem cells can be used to identify biochemical abnormalities in patients with bipolar disorder. In this research, the stem cells, or IPSCs (for induced pluripotential stem cells), are created when cells from skin fibroblasts, which produce connective tissue, are treated with chemicals that cause them to de-differentiate back into stem cells.
McInnis identified several abnormalities in the stem cells of patients with bipolar disorder. Stem cells with the gene CACNA1C, which is associated with vulnerability to bipolar disorder, fired more rapidly than non-CACNA1C stem cells. There were other abnormalities at the NMDA glutamate receptor and an imbalance of the neurotransmitter GABA in the cells. When the cells were treated with lithium, some of these abnormalities were reversed. In the cells with the CACNA1C gene, lithium normalized the firing rate. Lithium aslo re-balanced the distribution of GABA in the cells.
McInnis hopes that this stem cell research will shed light on the abnormalities associated with bipolar disorder, help explain how lithium corrects some of these, and lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches.
