Rianna P.

Gurr
BIOL 1090- 408
23 April 2018

News Analysis

Researchers from ​ Brigham and Women's Hospital ​were able to grow mini brains in
order to understand the DISC1 gene and its mutations, which have been shown, by generation
studies, to play a large role in mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These
mini brains allow them to use gene-editing tools to research the mutation and its effects on the
human brain as it functions and develops. They used the CRISPR-Cas9 to insert mutations into
the DISC1 gene, that have been seen in past studies of families with histories of mental illness.
The brains that had been mutated showed definite structural abnormalities when compared with
those that had not. The biggest impact seemed to be the ventricles, which are the fluid filled
spaces in the brain. These mutated mini-brains also showed disruptions in the WNT pathway,
which is present in people who suffer from bipolar disorder. This disruption however, was able
to be fixed, or reversed with the introducing an inhibitor of the WNT pathway to the
DISC1-mutant mini-brain.

These min-brains open up numerous possibilities for the study of the brain and mental
illness. We can now study this gene mutation intensively without intruding on the rights of a
patient or violating any ethics codes. The experiments can be better controlled than if they were
done on real human brains, this will lead to a better understanding of the effects of the mutation.
Knowing that an inhibitor for the WNT pathway can greatly reduce the effects of the of the
DISC-1 mutation may lead to improvements in therapies for patients who have bipolar disorder.

This research was published by scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital. I don't
think that this information is in any way biased, or affected by potential profits in any way. I was
not able to find any conflicts of interest that would prevent them from giving the truth about the
research. I found no other research that contradicts their findings, and no scientists or policy
makers who were outwardly in disagreement with them.The article was not suggesting the use
of one certain drug or one certain facility, and I believe the sole purpose of this research was to
increase the understanding of a DISC-1 mutation and its relationship to mental illness.

I chose this article because I am very interested in neuroscience and psychology. I knew
about the roles brain structure had on mental illness, but I was not previously aware of the direct
effect the DISC-1 gene had. I knew that abnormalities were often found in the ventricles of those
suffering from schizophrenia, but I did not know that this was likely caused by this specific
mutation. Not much background information was needed, as the article was mainly about the
hope for future advancements in research due to the development of these mini-brains. The
author did do a good job explaining the known relationship between the DISC-1 mutation and
these illnesses in the first paragraph where they state “​Major mental illnesses such as
schizophrenia, severe depression and bipolar disorder share a common genetic link. Studies of
specific families with a history of these types of illnesses have revealed that affected family
members share a mutation in the gene DISC

Reference
Brigham and Women's Hospital. "3-D human 'mini-brains' shed new light on genetic
underpinnings of major mental illness: Using human stem cells, researchers create
3-D model of the brain to study a mutation tied to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and
depression."
ScienceDaily.www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180419141530.htm (accessed
April 25, 2018).