ArticlePDF Available

Exploring the genetics of lithium response in bipolar disorders

Authors:

Abstract and Figures

Background Lithium (Li) remains the treatment of choice for bipolar disorders (BP). Its mood-stabilizing effects help reduce the long-term burden of mania, depression and suicide risk in patients with BP. It also has been shown to have beneficial effects on disease-associated conditions, including sleep and cardiovascular disorders. However, the individual responses to Li treatment vary within and between diagnostic subtypes of BP (e.g. BP-I and BP-II) according to the clinical presentation. Moreover, long-term Li treatment has been linked to adverse side-effects that are a cause of concern and non-adherence, including the risk of developing chronic medical conditions such as thyroid and renal disease. In recent years, studies by the Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) have uncovered a number of genetic factors that contribute to the variability in Li treatment response in patients with BP. Here, we leveraged the ConLiGen cohort (N = 2064) to investigate the genetic basis of Li effects in BP. For this, we studied how Li response and linked genes associate with the psychiatric symptoms and polygenic load for medical comorbidities, placing particular emphasis on identifying differences between BP-I and BP-II. Results We found that clinical response to Li treatment, measured with the Alda scale, was associated with a diminished burden of mania, depression, substance and alcohol abuse, psychosis and suicidal ideation in patients with BP-I and, in patients with BP-II, of depression only. Our genetic analyses showed that a stronger clinical response to Li was modestly related to lower polygenic load for diabetes and hypertension in BP-I but not BP-II. Moreover, our results suggested that a number of genes that have been previously linked to Li response variability in BP differentially relate to the psychiatric symptomatology, particularly to the numbers of manic and depressive episodes, and to the polygenic load for comorbid conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and hypothyroidism. Conclusions Taken together, our findings suggest that the effects of Li on symptomatology and comorbidity in BP are partially modulated by common genetic factors, with differential effects between BP-I and BP-II.
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Herrera‑Riveroetal.
International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40345‑024‑00341‑y
RESEARCH Open Access
© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which
permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the
original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or
other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line
to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory
regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this
licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/.
International Journal of
Bipolar Disorders
Exploring thegenetics oflithium response
inbipolar disorders
Marisol Herrera‑Rivero1, Mazda Adli2,3, Kazufumi Akiyama4, Nirmala Akula5, Azmeraw T. Amare6,
Raffaella Ardau7, Bárbara Arias8, Jean‑Michel Aubry9,10, Lena Backlund11, Frank Bellivier12, Antonio Benabarre13,
Susanne Bengesser14, Abesh Kumar Bhattacharjee15, Joanna M. Biernacka16,17, Armin Birner14,
Micah Cearns6, Pablo Cervantes18, Hsi‑Chung Chen19, Caterina Chillotti7, Sven Cichon20,21,22, Scott R. Clark6,
Francesc Colom23,24, Cristiana Cruceanu25, Piotr M. Czerski26, Nina Dalkner14, Franziska Degenhardt27,
Maria Del Zompo28, J. Raymond DePaulo29, Bruno Etain12, Peter Falkai30, Ewa Ferensztajn‑Rochowiak31,
Andreas J. Forstner22,27, Josef Frank32, Louise Frisén33, Mark A. Frye17, Janice M. Fullerton34, Carla Gallo35,
Sébastien Gard36, Julie S. Garnham37, Fernando S. Goes29, Maria Grigoroiu‑Serbanescu38, Paul Grof39,
Ryota Hashimoto40, Roland Hasler9, Joanna Hauser26, Urs Heilbronner41, Stefan Herms20,27, Per Hoffmann20,27,
Liping Hou5, Yi‑Hsiang Hsu42, Stephane Jamain43, Esther Jiménez44, Jean‑Pierre Kahn45, Layla Kassem5,
Tadafumi Kato46, John Kelsoe15, Sarah Kittel‑Schneider47, Po‑Hsiu Kuo48, Ichiro Kusumi49, Barbara König50,
Gonzalo Laje5, Mikael Landén51,52, Catharina Lavebratt11, Marion Leboyer53, Susan G. Leckband54,
Mario Maj55, Mirko Manchia56,57, Cynthia Marie‑Claire58, Lina Martinsson59, Michael J. McCarthy15,60,
Susan L. McElroy61, Vincent Millischer11,62, Marina Mitjans24,63, Francis M. Mondimore29, Palmiero Monteleone64,
Caroline M. Nievergelt15, Tomas Novák65, Markus M. Nöthen27, Claire O’Donovan37, Norio Ozaki66,
Sergi Papiol30,41, Andrea Pfennig67, Claudia Pisanu28, James B. Potash29, Andreas Reif68, Eva Reininghaus14,
Hélène Richard‑Lepouriel9,10, Gloria Roberts69, Guy A. Rouleau70, Janusz K. Rybakowski31, Martin Schalling11,
Peter R. Schofield34, Klaus Oliver Schubert6,71, Eva C. Schulte30,41,72, Barbara W. Schweizer29,
Giovanni Severino28, Tatyana Shekhtman15, Paul D. Shilling15, Katzutaka Shimoda73, Christian Simhandl74,
Claire M. Slaney37, Alessio Squassina28, Thomas Stamm2, Pavla Stopkova65, Fabian Streit32, Fasil Tekola‑Ayele75,
Anbupalam Thalamuthu76, Alfonso Tortorella77, Gustavo Turecki25, Julia Veeh68, Eduard Vieta44, Biju Viswanath78,
Stephanie H. Witt32, Peter P. Zandi79, Martin Alda37, Michael Bauer67, Francis J. McMahon5, Philip B. Mitchell69,
Marcella Rietschel32, Thomas G. Schulze29,41,80 and Bernhard T. Baune1,81*
Abstract
Background Lithium (Li) remains the treatment of choice for bipolar disorders (BP). Its mood‑stabilizing effects help
reduce the long‑term burden of mania, depression and suicide risk in patients with BP. It also has been shown to have
beneficial effects on disease‑associated conditions, including sleep and cardiovascular disorders. However, the indi‑
vidual responses to Li treatment vary within and between diagnostic subtypes of BP (e.g. BP‑I and BP‑II) according
to the clinical presentation. Moreover, long‑term Li treatment has been linked to adverse side‑effects that are a cause
*Correspondence:
Bernhard T. Baune
Bernhard.Baune@ukmuenster.de
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 2 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
of concern and non‑adherence, including the risk of developing chronic medical conditions such as thyroid and renal
disease. In recent years, studies by the Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) have uncovered a number
of genetic factors that contribute to the variability in Li treatment response in patients with BP. Here, we leveraged
the ConLiGen cohort (N = 2064) to investigate the genetic basis of Li effects in BP. For this, we studied how Li response
and linked genes associate with the psychiatric symptoms and polygenic load for medical comorbidities, placing
particular emphasis on identifying differences between BP‑I and BP‑II.
Results We found that clinical response to Li treatment, measured with the Alda scale, was associated with a dimin‑
ished burden of mania, depression, substance and alcohol abuse, psychosis and suicidal ideation in patients with BP‑I
and, in patients with BP‑II, of depression only. Our genetic analyses showed that a stronger clinical response to Li
was modestly related to lower polygenic load for diabetes and hypertension in BP‑I but not BP‑II. Moreover, our results
suggested that a number of genes that have been previously linked to Li response variability in BP differentially relate
to the psychiatric symptomatology, particularly to the numbers of manic and depressive episodes, and to the poly‑
genic load for comorbid conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and hypothyroidism.
Conclusions Taken together, our findings suggest that the effects of Li on symptomatology and comorbidity in BP
are partially modulated by common genetic factors, with differential effects between BP‑I and BP‑II.
Keywords Bipolar disorder, Lithium treatment, Psychiatric symptoms, Comorbidity, Genetics
Background
Lithium (Li) is the first-line maintenance treatment for
bipolar disorders (BP). Multiple beneficial properties have
been attributed to Li, including mood stabilization, car-
dio- and neuroprotection, circadian regulation, immu-
nomodulation, and suicide prevention in patients with BP
(Geoffroy etal. 2016; Volkmann etal. 2020; Xu etal. 2021;
Queissner etal. 2021; Miller & McCall 2022; Rybakowski
2022; Chen etal. 2023; Szałach etal. 2023). Li is not exempt
from acute side-effects, the most frequent being gastroin-
testinal complaints, that may cause non-adherence. How-
ever, it is the long-term adverse effects, including thyroid
and kidney problems (Volkmann etal. 2020; Ferensztajn-
Rochowiak etal. 2021), that cause most concern.
Individual responses to Li vary according to the clini-
cal presentation of the disease. Reportedly, only about
30% of patients with BP have a full response to Li treat-
ment. Various clinical, psychosocial and demographic fac-
tors that affect Li response have been described (Nunes
etal. 2020; Ferensztajn-Rochowiak etal. 2021). Moreover,
genetic studies have established Li response as a polygenic
trait (Papiol etal. 2022). Previous work performed by the
Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) has offered
significant insights into the molecular mechanisms con-
tributing to Li response (Amare etal. 2023), as well as the
links with the polygenic scores of other psychiatric dis-
orders (Amare etal. 2018; Schubert etal. 2021; Coombes
etal. 2021) and with suicidal behavior (Yoshida etal. 2019)
in BP. However, the relationships between Li response and
disease features, particularly comorbidity, remain largely
unexplored. Moreover, most studies have made no distinc-
tion between different diagnostic groups. Here, we used
data from ConLiGen participants (N = 2064) to explore
how the genetic factors that contribute to Li response
variability in patients with BP are associated with specific
psychiatric symptoms and the polygenic load (i.e. genetic
risk) for medical comorbid conditions, and whether these
relationships differ between BP types I and II.
Methods
Study population
e ConLiGen cohort has been described elsewhere
(Hou etal. 2016). Briefly, between 2003 and 2013, Con-
LiGen recruited over 2500 Li-treated individuals with
bipolar spectrum disorders at various sites in Europe,
the United States, Australia and East-Asia. e inclusion
criteria consisted of a diagnosis of bipolar disorder type I
(BP-I) or type II (BP-II), schizoaffective bipolar disorder
or bipolar disorder not otherwise specified in accordance
with the criteria established in the Diagnostic and Statis-
tical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) versions III or
IV, as well as Li treatment that lasted a minimum of six
months with no additional mood stabilizers. Long-term
responses to Li treatment were assessed using the Alda
scale, where an A subscale rates the degree of response
in the range 0–10 and a B subscale reflects the relation-
ship between improvement and treatment. A total score,
ranging from 0–10, is obtained by subtracting the B score
from the A score (Manchia etal. 2013). Negative scores
are set to 0. Here, we used a sample of 2064 ConLiGen
participants with complete covariate phenotypes: sex,
age-at-onset (AAO), age at recruitment (i.e. sample col-
lection), diagnosis and recruitment site (used to establish
population).
e Ethics Committee at the University of Heidel-
berg provided central approval for ConLiGen. Writ-
ten informed consent from all participants was
obtained according to the study protocols of each of the
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 3 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
participating sites and their institutions. All procedures
were performed in accordance with the guidelines of the
Declaration of Helsinki.
Genotype data
Genotyping, quality control (QC) and imputation of the
ConLiGen cohort has been described elsewhere (Hou
etal. 2016). Briefly, DNA genotyping by array was per-
formed from peripheral blood samples in two batches of
similar composition, originally referred to as “GWAS1”
(N = 1162) and “GWAS2” (N = 1401). Standard proce-
dures for QC and imputation using the 1000 Genomes
Project reference panel were employed. Here, we used
an updated ConLiGen dataset we previously described
in detail (Herrera-Rivero et al. 2024), in which we re-
imputed the combined ConLiGen batches using the
Haplotype Reference Consortium (HRC) panel. is pro-
cedure increased the number of markers and the qual-
ity of the dataset, increasing its suitability for polygenic
score (PGS) analyses. Single nucleotide polymorphisms
(SNPs) in 37 genes that were previously reported to con-
tribute to Li response in ConLiGen following a gene-level
genome-wide analysis (Amare etal. 2023) were extracted
from the dataset using a window of ± 1 kb from the start
and end positions of the gene (according to the Ensembl
hg19 genome build). Our final dataset contained 9374
SNPs corresponding to 34 Li response-linked genes and
2064 individuals with BP, from which 1669 had a diagno-
sis of BP-I and 370 of BP-II.
Phenotypes
Li response
We used the total Alda score as a measure of Li
response. is was available for all 2064 individuals
included in our study.
Psychiatric symptoms
Here, the psychiatric symptoms corresponded to the
numbers of episodes of depression and mania, the pres-
ence of psychosis, alcohol and substance abuse, and of
suicidal ideation. ese variables were available for a
maximum of 853 individuals from the GWAS1 batch.
Genetic risk formedical comorbidities
Based on the literature, we identified various conditions
that are comorbid in BP and searched the PGS Catalog
(Lambert etal. 2021) for publicly available PGSs for these.
Weight files for the calculation of PGSs for various traits,
such as disorders of sleep and metabolism, were down-
loaded from the PGS Catalog and used for allelic scoring
in the total ConLiGen sample with plink 1.9 (Chang etal.
2015). Standardized sum scores were used for analysis.
Because of incomplete compatibility between PGS SNPs
and variants in the ConLiGen dataset, only PGSs with
compatibility > 78% were used. ese corresponded to
the following traits: chronotype (PGS ID: PGS002209),
sleep duration (PGS ID: PGS002196), insomnia (PGS ID:
PGS002149), hypertension (PGS ID: PGS002047), hypo-
thyroidism (PGS ID: PGS001816) and type 2 diabetes
(PGS ID: PGS003118) (Privé etal. 2022; Ma etal. 2022)
(Suppl.Table1). Traits excluded due to lower compatibil-
ity included cardiovascular disorders, obesity, migraine
and asthma.
Statistical analyses
Associations between total Alda scores and psychiat-
ric symptoms were tested using robust linear/logis-
tic regression models with the “robustbase” R package
(nmax = 853). Models were adjusted for sex, AAO
and age. Associations between total Alda scores and
PGSs for comorbid conditions were tested using par-
tial Spearman correlation with the “ppcor” R pack-
age (nmax = 2064). Models were adjusted for sex, AAO,
age and population. SNP-phenotype associations were
tested using linear/logistic regression models with
plink 1.9. Models were adjusted for sex, AAO, age,
population, total Alda score and the first eight dimen-
sions coming from a principal components analysis
of the genotypes. When testing associations using all
individuals, all models were also adjusted for the dif-
ferential BP diagnosis. All associations were also tested
separately for BP-I and BP-II. For exploratory purposes,
significance was set to nominal (i.e. unadjusted) p < 0.05
and p < 0.01 for total Alda score and SNP-phenotype
associations, respectively.
Results
To explore how Li response genes are associated with
specific psychiatric symptoms and the poygenic load
for medical comorbid conditions, and whether these
relationships differ between BP types I and II, we used
a sample of 2064 individuals with BP from the ConLi-
Gen cohort. From these, 1197 (58%) were females, 1669
(80.1%) had a diagnosis of BP-I and 370 (17.9%) were
diagnosed with BP-II. e mean AAO in the sample was
25 ± 11 years, while the mean age at recruitment was
47 ± 14 years. e mean total Alda score was 4.22 ± 3.16
points, with 29.8% of the patients being categorized as
good responders (total Alda score 7). Compared to
BP-I, BP-II patients were slightly older at disease onset
(28 ± 12 vs 24 ± 10 years) and recruitment (50 ± 14 vs
47 ± 14 years), and had higher rates of females (61.9%
vs 57.2%) and good Li responders (34.1% vs 28.2%).
However, the mean total Alda scores were very similar
(4.6 ± 3.2 vs 4.2 ± 3.1 points).
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 4 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
First, we explored the association between Li response
and psychiatric symptoms/PGSs for comorbid condi-
tions. Using a nominal significance threshold (p < 0.05),
we found that the total Alda scores showed a nega-
tive relationship with all psychiatric symptom variables
in all BP (nmax = 835) and BP-I (nmax = 665) individu-
als. However, in BP-II individuals (nmax = 153), the total
Alda scores showed a negative relationship only with
the number of depressive episodes (Fig. 1A). Notice-
ably, these results survived false discovery rate correc-
tion (FDR < 0.05). Furthermore, the total Alda scores
also correlated negatively with the PGSs for diabetes and
hypertension in all BP (N = 2064) and BP-I (N = 1669)
individuals, and with the PGS for insomnia in all BP, BP-I
and BP-II (N = 370) individuals (Fig.1B). However, none
of the nominal associations with PGSs survived FDR cor-
rection in our sample.
Second, we explored the association between genes
previously linked to Li response and psychiatric symp-
toms/PGSs for comorbid conditions. Using a nominal
significance threshold (p < 0.01) as indicative of sugges-
tive association, we found that 32 of the 34 genes tested
were suggested to associate with specific psychiatric
symptoms and/or PGSs for comorbid conditions (Fig.2,
Suppl.Tables.2–7). e most significant hits were for the
number of manic episodes, with SLC13A3 as top gene in
BP-I and TNRC6C in BP-II, followed by the number of
depressive episodes, with MTSS1 as top gene in BP-I and
DNAH14 in BP-II (Table1).
Taken together, 22 of the 34 genes tested were nomi-
nally associated with at least one psychiatric symptom
and one PGS in at least one of the tests performed (i.e. all
BP, BP-I and BP-II). Noticeably, some of the Li response
genes were suggested to associate with all the pheno-
types that we studied in at least one of the tests. We
also observed that genes with the most overlaps, includ-
ing RNLS, GRIN2A, CSMD2, DNAH14 and T TC39B
(Table2), represented the most significant hits obtained
in BP-I or BP-II for various PGSs for comorbid condi-
tions (Table1).
Finally, we looked into the overlapping and non-
overlapping genes between the BP-I and BP-II analyses
(Table3). Here, we observed that, for example, GRIN2A
was suggested to relate to the number of depressive epi-
sodes, the presence of alcohol abuse, and the polygenic
contribution to chronotype, diabetes and hypertension in
both major types of BP. However, it was suggested to be
linked to the presence of psychosis and suicidal ideation,
and the polygenic contribution to sleep duration and
hypothyroidism in BP-I only, while relating to the num-
ber of manic episodes and the genetic load for insomnia
only in BP-II.
Discussion
We showed that positive responses to Li treatment in
patients with BP are generally more beneficial to those
patients diagnosed with BP-I than to those with a BP-II
diagnosis, and that genes linked to Li response also con-
tribute to the clinical presentation of the disorder in
terms of psychiatric symptomatology and, potentially,
the risk of medical comorbid conditions. is may partly
explain why Li responses usually vary according to clini-
cal features, and why clinical and psychosocial factors
can only partially predict Li responses (Tondo etal. 2001;
Ferensztajn-Rochowiak etal. 2021).
Fig. 1 Links between phenotypes and Li responses in ConLiGen. A Association test results between total Alda scores and psychiatric symptoms.
Shown are the nominal p‑values (−log10) and z‑values (effect) obtained from robust linear/logistic regression models. B Correlation test results
between total Alda scores and PGSs for comorbid conditions. Shown are the nominal p‑values (−log10) and correlation coefficients (effect)
obtained from partial correlation models using the Spearman method
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 5 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
Often, the efficacy of Li treatment in BP is assessed
without making distinction between BP types and/or is
focused on manic-depressive episodes, with disregard
of other disease-associated afflictions. However, some
studies have shown that Li impacts differently the fre-
quency and duration of mood episodes in BP-I and BP-II
(Tondo etal. 2001), which might relate to stronger effects
on acute manic than depressive episodes (Fountoulakis
etal. 2022). Moreover, it is plausible that the beneficial
effects of Li treatment on psychiatric symptomatology
are related to its effects on other health issues associ-
ated with BP, such as improving inflammation and sleep
(Geoffroy etal. 2016; Szałach etal. 2023). e results of
our study are in agreement. When we explored the asso-
ciation between Li response and psychiatric symptoms/
PGSs for comorbid conditions, our observations sug-
gested that better responses to Li treatment diminish the
burden of most psychiatric symptoms in patients with
BP-I, but only that of depression in patients with BP-II,
and that better Li response differentially correlates with
lower genetic burden predisposing to comorbid condi-
tions, such as insomnia, diabetes and hypertension. In
addition, when we explored the association between
genes previously linked to Li response and psychiat-
ric symptoms/PGSs for comorbid conditions, we found
that Li response genes were more strongly associated
with manic than depressive episodes in both BP-I and
BP-II, and that Li response genes were modestly but dif-
ferentially associated with other features relevant to the
clinical presentation, including, for example, suicidal
ideation, psychosis and polygenic load for insomnia and
hypothyroidism, in both BP-I and BP-II. Noticeably, the
fact that the results of our genetic analyses did not exactly
match those obtained for the total Alda score, where the
positive effects of Li showed a clear bias towards BP-I,
also suggest important gene-environment interactions.
Despite the exploratory character of our genetic study,
we believe that it suggests plausible candidate genes
and offers some valuable insights into the molecular
mechanisms underlying inter-individual variability in Li
response. For example, renalase (RNLS) was one of the
most highlighted genes in our study. In addition to its link
to Li response in BP (Amare etal. 2023), serum renalase
levels have been reported to be lower in patients with
schizophrenia (SCZ) than in control individuals (Catak
et al. 2019), and Li response was previously shown to
inversely associate with the genetic risk for SCZ (Amare
etal. 2018). RNLS is thought to modulate blood pressure
and cardiac function, and has been associated with meta-
bolic and cardiovascular alterations as well as kidney
disease (Vijayakumar & Mahapatra 2022), all of which
are affected by Li. Similar are the cases of CSMD2 and
GRIN2A, which are involved in the control of the com-
plement cascade and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)
receptor activity, respectively. Polymorphisms in both
genes have also been associated with SCZ (Tang etal.
2006; Håvik etal. 2011) and their respective functions are
Fig. 2 Visual integration of nominal findings for Li response genes. Shapes depict the diagnostic group analyzed while colors refer
to the phenotypes nominally associated with the gene in our analyses, except for the blue color, which localized even the genes not analyzed
in this study that were reported by Amare et al. 2023 as contributors to Li response in ConLiGen
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 6 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
reported targets of Li effects (Ghasemi & Dehpour 2011;
Yu etal. 2015).
e investigation of how Li response measured by
the Alda scale and Li response genes associate with the
genetic predisposition to comorbid (medical) conditions
is an important strength of our study. To our knowl-
edge, this has not been investigated before. A high rate
of medical comorbidity in BP, including cardiometabolic
conditions, thyroid and kidney disease, is associated
with worse clinical presentation and course, as well as
higher mortality and increased socioeconomic burden
(Sylvia etal. 2015). Although the risk of comorbidity can
be exacerbated by pharmacological treatment, as dis-
cussed above, Li has shown beneficial effects on various
Table 1 Phenotype‑based summary of findings for the association analyses between Li response genes and psychiatric symptoms/
PGSs for comorbid conditions in ConLiGen
Phenotype N # Cases # Controls # SNPs p < 0.01 # Genes Top gene Top # SNPs
p < 0.01 Lowest p
All BP
# Manic episodes 724 38 9 SLC13A3 11 2.48E−08
# Depressive episodes 789 225 12 FGD4 75 5.15E−06
Alcohol abuse 835 140 695 114 9 ELOVL6 5 1.11E−04
Substance abuse 832 135 697 143 9 ADGRD1 45 4.17E−04
Psychosis 692 342 350 55 11 GRIN2A 12 7.83E−04
Suicidal ideation 660 321 339 10 6 DNAH14 1 2.31E−03
Insomnia PGS 2064 57 8 CSMD2 6 1.73E−04
Sleep duration PGS 2064 211 12 DNAH14 133 1.12E−04
Chronotype PGS 2064 81 7 GRIN2A 47 4.06E−04
Diabetes PGS 2064 111 12 CSMD2 33 6.28E−04
Hypertension PGS 2064 34 7 TTC39B 5 9.57E−05
Hypothyroidism PGS 2064 82 7 MTSS1 42 4.73E−04
BP-I diagnosis
# Manic episodes 641 48 10 SLC13A3 11 2.15E−08
# Depressive episodes 632 193 13 MTSS1 12 1.52E−06
Alcohol abuse 665 129 536 131 9 CSMD2 52 1.34E−04
Substance abuse 662 121 541 121 5 ADGRD1 52 4.13E−04
Psychosis 564 318 246 87 10 CSMD2 21 7.17E−04
Suicidal ideation 530 264 266 41 6 MTSS1 1 2.15E−04
Insomnia PGS 1669 48 6 ALPK1 4 3.92E−04
Sleep duration PGS 1669 174 11 RNLS 3 4.37E−05
Chronotype PGS 1669 35 5 RNLS 2 1.76E−04
Diabetes PGS 1669 74 13 TTC39B 1 6.78E−04
Hypertension PGS 1669 29 7 TTC39B 1 6.81E−04
Hypothyroidism PGS 1669 38 8 CSMD2 4 6.95E−04
BP-II diagnosis
# Manic episodes 68 113 10 TNRC6C 3 3.76E−79
# Depressive episodes 141 128 11 DNAH14 6 3.12E−08
Alcohol abuse 153 7 146 7 5 TNRC6C 2 1.80E−03
Substance abuse 153 8 145 0 0
Psychosis 115 12 103 353 7 TMEM131 46 1.08E−03
Suicidal ideation 118 48 70 79 7 TTC39B 24 2.49E−03
Insomnia PGS 370 209 7 GRIN2A 38 2.65E−04
Sleep duration PGS 370 64 9 DNAH14 16 2.95E−04
Chronotype PGS 370 32 7 GRIN2A 19 1.81E−03
Diabetes PGS 370 97 9 MTSS1 6 2.01E−04
Hypertension PGS 370 130 10 TMEM196 27 3.21E−04
Hypothyroidism PGS 370 70 7 BMF 12 1.92E−04
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 7 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
systems. erefore, it becomes crucial to gain a better
understanding of the relationship between the effects of
Li and medical comorbidity in BP. In this context, even
when our PGS analyses resulted in only nominally signifi-
cant findings, these suggested that common genetic fac-
tors link Li response and other conditions, particularly
insomnia, in BP, and pinpointed potential contributing
genes. In BP, sleep disturbances, from which the most
frequent is insomnia, are not only highly prevalent, but
an important predictor of quality of life, mood swings,
suicide attempts, cognitive function and relapse rates
(Steardo etal. 2019). erefore, our observations might
have implications for the prediction of Li response in BP
Table 2 Gene‑based summary of findings for the association analyses between Li response genes and psychiatric symptoms/PGSs for
comorbid conditions in ConLiGen
Gene Chr Gene start (1kb) Gene end (+ 1kb) # tested SNPs Psychiatric
phenotype count PGS phenotype
count Max. #
phenotypes
All BP-I BP-II All BP-I BP-II
CSMD2 1 33,978,609 34,632,443 1064 4 5 3 5 5 5 12
S100A11 1 152,003,982 152,021,383 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
SLC9C2 1 173,468,603 173,573,233 179 2 2 1 1 2 0 5
DNAH14 1 225,082,964 225,587,996 1417 5 5 3 3 3 5 11
TMEM131 2 98,371,799 98,613,388 358 0 0 1 0 0 1 2
RBM47 4 40,424,272 40,633,892 164 0 0 3 0 0 1 4
ELOVL6 4 110,966,002 111,121,355 261 2 2 3 2 3 1 7
ALPK1 4 113,205,665 113,364,776 301 1 2 3 4 3 4 10
ZBTB2 6 151,684,252 151,713,683 43 1 1 2 1 0 0 3
TMEM196 7 19,757,933 19,814,221 108 2 1 1 1 0 1 4
ERVW-1 7 92,096,694 92,108,300 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FAM133B 7 92,189,107 92,220,708 50 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
MTSS1 8 125,562,031 125,741,730 499 4 4 1 2 3 4 8
TTC39B 9 15,162,620 15,308,358 408 3 3 4 4 5 2 11
TOR1B 9 132,564,432 132,574,560 20 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
TOR1A 9 132,574,223 132,587,413 32 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
TYSND1 10 71,896,737 71,907,432 40 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
RNLS 10 90,032,621 90,345,287 628 5 5 3 6 6 4 12
FANK1 10 127,584,108 127,699,161 250 1 1 0 2 3 0 4
FGD4 12 32,551,463 32,799,984 882 5 3 3 5 2 3 12
OR2AP1 12 55,967,199 55,970,128 7 1 0 0 1 1 1 3
ADGRD1 12 131,437,452 131,627,014 603 5 5 1 6 3 4 12
RGCC 13 42,030,695 42,046,018 35 1 1 0 1 1 0 2
BMF 15 40,379,091 40,402,093 16 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
GRIN2A 16 9,851,376 10,277,611 1624 5 4 3 3 5 4 12
CHP2 16 23,764,948 23,771,272 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MYLK3 16 46,739,891 46,825,319 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C16orf87 16 46,829,519 46,866,323 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TRAF4 17 27,070,002 27,078,974 8 2 0 0 0 1 1 4
TMEM98 17 31,253,928 31,273,124 33 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
CDK3 17 73,995,987 74,003,080 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
TNRC6C 17 75,999,249 76,105,916 153 2 2 2 3 2 2 7
GNG8 19 47,136,333 47,138,942 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ZFP28 19 57,049,317 57,069,169 46 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
OCSTAMP 20 45,168,585 45,180,213 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
SLC13A3 20 45,185,463 45,305,714 58 1 1 1 1 0 0 3
CRYBB3 22 25,594,817 25,604,330 31 2 2 1 0 1 3 5
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 8 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
patients as well as for disease management. Nevertheless,
more studies will be required.
Conclusions
Taken together, our findings suggest that the effects of Li
on symptomatology and comorbidity in BP are partially
modulated by common genetic factors, with differential
effects between BP-I and BP-II. ese findings might
pave the way towards the development of more personal-
ized treatment strategies for patients with BP.
Abbreviations
AAO Age at disease onset
BP Bipolar disorders
ConLiGen Consortium on Lithium Genetics
Li Lithium
PGS Polygenic score
SNP Single nucleotide polymorphism
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at https:// doi.
org/ 10. 1186/ s40345‑ 024‑ 00341‑y.
Supplementary Material 1.
Author contributions
MHR: study conception and design, data analysis, manuscript preparation.
BTB: study conception, supervision, manuscript editing. All other authors are
ConLiGen members, which contributed to the clinical and genetic data used
in the study, and provided overall feedback on the manuscript.
Funding
Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. The study was
supported by the joint project “Individualisation in Changing Environments
(InChangE) of the universities of Münster and Bielefeld, Germany. The project
received funding from the programme "Profilbildung 2020", an initiative of the
Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of Northrhine Westphalia. The sole
responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. The pri‑
mary sources of funding for ConLiGen were grants RI 908/7‑1, FOR2107 and RI
908/11‑1 from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Marcella Rietschel) and
grant NO 246/10‑1 (Markus M. Nöthen) and grant ZIA‑MH00284311 from the
Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Mental Health (Clini‑
calTrials.gov identifier: NCT00001174). The genotyping was funded in part
by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the Inte‑
grated Network IntegraMent (Integrated Understanding of Causes and Mech‑
anisms in Mental Disorders), under the auspices of the e:Med Programme
(Thomas G. Schulze, Marcella Rietschel and Markus M. Nöthen). The Canadian
part of the study was supported by grant #166098 from the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research and by a grant from Genome Atlantic/Research
Nova Scotia (Martin Alda). Collection and phenotyping of the Australian
University of New South Wales sample was funded by Program Grant 1037196
from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Philip B.
Mitchell, Peter R. Schofield, Janice M. Fullerton), and acknowledges support
from Lansdowne Foundation, Betty Lynch OAM (dec) and the Janette Mary
O’Neill Fellowship. AT Amare is currently supported by National Health and
Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Emerging Leadership (EL1) Investigator
Grant (APP2008000). The collection of the Barcelona sample was supported
by grants PI080247, PI1200906, PI12/00018, 2014SGR1636, 2014SGR398, and
MSII14/00030 from the Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental,
Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, the Centres de
Recerca de Catalunya Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Miguel
Servet II and Instituto de Salud Carlos III. The Swedish Research Council, the
Stockholm County Council, Karolinska Institutet and the Söderström‑Königska
Foundation supported this research through grants awarded to Lena Back
lund, Louise Frisen, Catharina Lavebratt and Martin Schalling. The collection of
the Geneva sample was supported by grants Synapsy–The Synaptic Basis of
Mental Diseases 51NF40‑158776 and 32003B‑125469 from the Swiss National
Foundation. The work by the French group was supported by INSERM (Institut
National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale), AP‑HP (Assistance Publique
des Hôpitaux de Paris), the Fondation FondaMental (RTRS Santé Mentale),
and the labex Bio‑PSY (Investissements d’Avenir program managed by the
ANR under reference ANR‑11‑IDEX‑0004–02). The collection of the Romanian
sample was supported by a grant from UEFISCDI, Bucharest, Romania (grants
PCCA‑89/2012; PCE‑203/2021) to Maria Grigoroiu‑Serbanescu. The collection
Table 3 Li response genes nominally associated with psychiatric symptoms/PGSs for comorbid conditions in ConLiGen. Shown are
the overlapping and non‑overlapping genes between BP‑I and BP‑II diagnostic groups
Phenotype BP-I only BP-II only Overlap
# Manic episodes ADGRD1, FANK1, FGD4, SLC13A3, SLC9C2 ALPK1, CSMD2, ELOVL6, GRIN2A, TTC39B CRYBB3, DNAH14, RNLS, TNRC6C, ZBTB2
# Depressive episodes ADGRD1, CDK3, MTSS1, RGCC, S100A11,
TTC39B, TYSND1
ELOVL6, RBM47, SLC13A3, TMEM196,
ZBTB2
ALPK1, CSMD2, DNAH14, FGD4, GRIN2A,
RNLS
Alcohol abuse ADGRD1, CRYBB3, CSMD2, DNAH14,
ELOVL6, RNLS, SLC9C2
ALPK1, FGD4, TNRC6C GRIN2A, TTC39B
Substance abuse ADGRD1, CSMD2, MTSS1, RNLS, TTC39B
Psychosis ALPK1, FGD4, GRIN2A, MTSS1, TMEM196,
TNRC6C, ZFP28
ADGRD1, RBM47, TMEM131, TTC39B CSMD2, DNAH14, ELOVL6
Suicidal ideation ADGRD1, CSMD2, DNAH14, GRIN2A,
MTSS1
FGD4, MTSS1, RBM47, SLC9C2, TTC39B,
TYSND1
RNLS
Insomnia PGS ALPK1, CSMD2, T TC39B ADGRD1, GRIN2A, OR2AP1, TMEM131 DNAH14, MTSS1, RNLS
Sleep duration PGS ELOVL6, FANK1, GRIN2A, RNLS, SLC9C2 FGD4, RBM47, TMEM98 ADGRD1, ALPK1, CRYBB3, CSMD2, DNAH14,
TTC39B
Chronotype PGS ELOVL6, RNLS CRYBB3, DNAH14, MTSS1, TNRC6C ALPK1, CSMD2, GRIN2A
Diabetes PGS ADGRD1, FANK1, OR2AP1, SLC9C2, TTC39B ALPK1, TNRC6C CSMD2, DNAH14, ELOVL6, FGD4, GRIN2A,
MTSS1, RNLS
Hypertension PGS FANK1, TNRC6C, TRAF4 ADGRD1, CRYBB3, CSMD2, DNAH14,
OCSTAMP, TMEM196
FGD4, GRIN2A, RNLS, TTC39B
Hypothyroidism PGS GRIN2A, TMEM98, TNRC6C, TTC39B ALPK1, BMF, TRAF4 ADGRD1, CSMD2, MTSS1, RNLS
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 9 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
of the Czech sample was supported by the project Nr. LO1611 with a financial
support from the MEYS under the NPU I program and by the Czech Science
Foundation, grant Nr. 17‑07070S. Biju Viswanath is funded by the Intermedi‑
ate (Clinical and PublicHealth) Fellowship (IA/CPHI/20/1/505266) of the DBT/
Wellcome Trust India Alliance.
Availability of data and materials
The data that support the findings of this study are available from ConLiGen,
but restrictions apply to their availability.
Declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The Ethics Committee at the University of Heidelberg provided central
approval for ConLiGen. Written informed consent from all participants was
obtained according to the study protocols of each of the participating sites
and their institutions. All procedures were performed in accordance with the
guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
Eduard Vieta has received grants and served as consultant, advisor or CME
speaker for the following entities: AB‑Biotics, Abbvie, Almirall, Allergan,
Angelini, AstraZeneca, Bristol‑Myers Squibb, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma,
Farmindustria, Ferrer, Forest Research Institute, Gedeon Richter, GH Research,
Glaxo‑Smith‑Kline, Janssen, Lundbeck, Orion, Otsuka, Pfizer, Roche, Rovi,
Sanofi‑Aventis, Servier, Shire, Sunovion, Takeda, the Brain and Behaviour Foun‑
dation, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CIBERSAM), the Stan‑
ley Medical Research Institute and Viatris. Michael Bauer has received grants
from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), and Bundesministeriums
für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), and served as consultant, advisor or CME
speaker for the following entities: Allergan, Aristo, Janssen, Lilly, Lundbeck,
neuraxpharm, Otsuka, Sandoz, Servier and Sunovion outside the submitted
work. Sarah Kittel‑Schneider has received grants and served as consultant,
advisor or speaker for the following entities: Medice Arzneimittel Pütter GmbH
and Takeda. Bernhard Baune has received grants and served as consultant,
advisor or CME speaker for the following entities: AstraZeneca, Bristol‑Myers
Squibb, Janssen, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Servier, the National Health and Medical
Research Council, the Fay Fuller Foundation, the James and Diana Ramsay
Foundation. Tadafumi Kato received honoraria for lectures, manuscripts, and/
or consultancy, from Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co, Ltd, Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Otsuka
Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline K.K., Taisho Toyama Pharmaceuti‑
cal Co, Ltd, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co, Ltd, Meiji Seika Pharma Co,
Ltd, Pfizer Japan Inc., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, Shionogi & Co, Ltd,
Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Janssen Asia Pacific, Yoshitomiyakuhin, Astellas
Pharma Inc, Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd, Wiley Publishing Japan,
Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co Ltd, Kanae Foundation for the Promotion of
Medical Science, MSD K.K., Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co, Ltd and Takeda
Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd. Tadafumi Kato also received a research grant from
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd. Peter Falkai has received grants and served as
consultant, advisor or CME speaker for the following entities Abbott, Glaxo‑
SmithKline, Janssen, Essex, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Gedeon Richter, Servier and
Takeda as well as the German Ministry of Science and the German Ministry of
Health. Eva Reininghaus has received grants and served as consultant, advisor
or CME speaker for the following entities: Janssen and Institut Allergosan.
Mikael Landén has received lecture honoraria from Lundbeck. Kazufumi
Akiyama has received consulting honoraria from Taisho Toyama Pharmaceuti‑
cal Co, Ltd. Scott Clark has received grants, or data and served as consultant,
advisor or CME speaker for the following entities: Otsuka Austalia, Lundbeck
Australia, Janssen‑Cilag Australia, Servier Australia,Viatris. Bruno Etain received
honoraria from Sanofi Aventis. The rest of authors have no conflicts of interest
to disclose.
Author details
1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster and Joint Institute
for Individualisation in a Changing Environment (JICE), University of Münster
and Bielefeld University, Albert‑Schweitzer‑Campus 1, Building A9, 48149 Mün‑
ster, Germany. 2 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité,
Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany. 3 Fliedner
Klinik Berlin, Berlin, Germany. 4 Department of Biological Psychiatry and Neuro‑
science, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Mibu, Japan.
5 Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National
Institutes of Health, US Department of Health & Human Services, Baltimore,
USA. 6 Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Adelaide,
Adelaide, SA, Australia. 7 Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, Hospital University
Agency of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. 8 Unitat de Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica
(Dpt. Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals), Facultat de Biologia
and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), University of Barcelona, CIBERSAM,
Barcelona, Spain. 9 Department of Psychiatry, Division of Psychiatric Specialities,
Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. 10 Faculty of Medicine,
University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 11 Department of Molecular
Medicine and Surgery and Center for Molecular Medicine at Karolinska
University Hospital, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. 12 Département
de Psychiatrie et de Médecine Addictologique, INSERM UMR‑S 1144,
Université Paris Cité, AP‑HP, Groupe Hospitalier Saint‑Louis‑Lariboisière, F.
Widal, Paris, France. 13 Bipolar Disorder Program, Institute of Neuroscience,
Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
14 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Research Unit
for Bipolar Affective Disorder, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
15 Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA.
16 Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA.
17 Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA.
18 The Neuromodulation Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal,
Canada. 19 Department of Psychiatry & Center of Sleep Disorders, National
Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 20 Human Genomics Research
Group, Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel,
Switzerland. 21 Institute of Medical Genetics and Pathology, University Hospital
Basel, Basel, Switzerland. 22 Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‑1),
Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany. 23 Mental Health Research Group,
IMIM‑Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain. 24 Centro de Investigación Biomédica
en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
25 Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal,
Canada. 26 Psychiatric Genetic Unit, Poznan University of Medical Sciences,
Poznań, Poland. 27 Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School
of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany. 28 Department
of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. 29 Department
of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
USA. 30 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig‑Maximilian‑
University Munich, Munich, Germany. 31 Department of Adult Psychiatry,
Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland. 32 Department
of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health,
Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
33 Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience,
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 34 Neuroscience Research, Australia
and School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney,
Australia. 35 Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias y
Filosofía, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, San Martín de Porres, Peru.
36 Service de Psychiatrie, Hôpital Charles Perrens, Bordeaux, France. 37 Depart‑
ment of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. 38 Biometric
Psychiatric Genetics Research Unit, Alexandru Obregia Clinical Psychiatric
Hospital, Bucharest, Romania. 39 Mood Disorders Center of Ottawa, Ottawa,
Canada. 40 Department of Pathology of Mental Diseases, National Institute
of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
41 Institute of Psychiatric Phenomics and Genomics (IPPG), University Hospital,
LMU Munich, Munich, Germany. 42 Program for Quantitative Genomics,
Harvard School of Public Health and HSL Institute for Aging Research, Harvard
Medical School, Boston, USA. 43 Univ. Paris Est Créteil, INSERM, IMRB,
Translational Neuropsychiatry, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France.
44 Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital
Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain.
45 Service de Psychiatrie et Psychologie Clinique, Centre Psychothérapique de
Nancy ‑ Université, Nancy, France. 46 Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral
Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan.
47 Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy,
University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. 48 Department of Public
Health & Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public
Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. 49 Department of Psychiatry,
Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
50 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Landesklinikum
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 10 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
Neunkirchen, Neunkirchen, Austria. 51 Institute of Neuroscience and Physiol‑
ogy, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the Gothenburg University, Gothenburg,
Sweden. 52 Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska
Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 53 Univ. Paris Est Créteil, INSERM, IMRB,
Translational Neuropsychiatry, AP‑HP, Mondor University Hospital, DMU
Impact, Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France. 54 Office of Mental Health, VA
San Diego Healthcare System, California, USA. 55 Department of Psychiatry,
University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’, Caserta, Italy. 56 Section of Psychiatry,
Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari,
Cagliari, Italy. 57 Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University, Halifax,
Canada. 58 Université Paris Cité, Inserm UMR‑S 1144, Optimisation Thérapeu‑
tique en Neuropsychopharmacologie, 75006 Paris, France. 59 Department
of Clinical Neurosciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
60 Department of Psychiatry, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA,
USA. 61 Department of Psychiatry, Lindner Center of Hope/University
of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA. 62 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy,
Comprehensive Center for Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health, Medical
University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. 63 Department of Genetics, Microbiology
and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, Institut de Biomedicina de La Universitat de
Barcelona (IBUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. 64 Department
of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry ‘Scuola Medica Salernitana’, University
of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy. 65 National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech
Republic. 66 Department of Psychiatry & Department of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
67 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl
Gustav Carus, Medical Faculty, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden,
Germany. 68 Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psycho‑
therapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany. 69 School
of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 70 Montreal
Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
71 Northern Adelaide Local Health Network, Mental Health Ser vices, Adelaide,
Australia. 72 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital
Bonn, Medical Faculty University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. 73 Department
of Psychiatry, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Mibu, Japan.
74 Medical Faculty, Bipolar Center Wiener Neustadt, Sigmund Freud University,
Vienna, Austria. 75 Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population
Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA.
76 Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University
of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 77 Department of Psychiatry, University
of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. 78 Department of Psychiatry, National Institute
of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore 560029, India. 79 Department
of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
Baltimore, USA. 80 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Norton
College of Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
81 Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Medical School, University of Mel‑
bourne and The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Received: 28 November 2023 Accepted: 2 May 2024
References
Amare AT, Schuber t KO, International Consortium on Lithium Genetics
(ConLi+Gen), et al. Association of polygenic score for schizophrenia and
HLA antigen and inflammation genes with response to lithium in bipolar
affective disorder. A Genome‑Wide Association Study. JAMA Psychiatry.
2018;75(1):65–74. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1001/ jamap sychi atry. 2017. 3433
Amare AT, Thalamuthu A, Schubert KO, et al. Association of polygenic score
and the involvement of cholinergic and glutamatergic pathways with
lithium treatment response in patients with bipolar disorder. Mol
Psychiatry. 2023. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1038/ s41380‑ 023‑ 02149‑1. 10. 1038/
s41380‑ 023‑ 02149‑1.
Catak Z, Kocdemir E, Ugur K, et al. A novel biomarker renalase and its relation‑
ship with its substrates in schizophrenia. J Med Biochem. 2019;38(3):299–
305. https:// doi. org/ 10. 2478/ jomb‑ 2018‑ 0031.
Chang CC, Chow CC, Tellier LC, Vattikuti S, Purcell SM, Lee JJ. Second‑gener‑
ation PLINK: rising to the challenge of larger and richer datasets. Gigas‑
cience. 2015;4:7. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ s13742‑ 015‑ 0047‑8.
Chen PH, Hsiao CY, Chiang SJ, et al. Cardioprotective potential of lithium and
role of fractalkine in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder. Aust N Z J
Psychiatry. 2023;57(1):104–14. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1177/ 00048 67421 10625
32.
Coombes BJ, Millischer V, Batzler A, et al. Association of attention‑deficit/
hyperactivity disorder and depression polygenic scores with lithium
response: a consortium for lithium genetics study. Complex Psychiatry.
2021;7(3–4):80–9. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1159/ 00051 9707.
Ferensztajn‑Rochowiak E, Chłopocka‑Woźniak M, Rybakowski JK. Ultra‑long‑
term lithium therapy: all‑important matters and a case of successful
50‑year lithium treatment. Braz J Psychiatry. 2021;43(4):407–13. https://
doi. org/ 10. 1590/ 1516‑ 4446‑ 2020‑ 1111.
Fountoulakis KN, Tohen M, Zarate CA Jr. Lithium treatment of Bipolar disorder
in adults: a systematic review of randomized trials and meta‑analyses. Eur
Neuropsychopharmacol. 2022;54:100–15. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. euron
euro. 2021. 10. 003.
Geoffroy PA, Samalin L, Llorca PM, Curis E, Bellivier F. Influence of lithium on
sleep and chronotypes in remitted patients with bipolar disorder. J Affect
Disord. 2016;204:32–9. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jad. 2016. 06. 015.
Ghasemi M, Dehpour AR. The NMDA receptor/nitric oxide pathway: a target
for the therapeutic and toxic effects of lithium. Trends Pharmacol Sci.
2011;32(7):420–34. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. tips. 2011. 03. 006.
Håvik B, Le Hellard S, Rietschel M, et al. The complement control‑related
genes CSMD1 and CSMD2 associate to schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry.
2011;70(1):35–42. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. biops ych. 2011. 01. 030.
Herrera‑Rivero M, Gutiérrez‑Fragoso K; International Consortium on
Lithium Genetics (ConLi+Gen), Kurtz J, Baune BT. Immunogenetics of
lithium response and psychiatric phenotypes in patients with bipolar
disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 2024;14(1):174. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1038/
s41398‑ 024‑ 02865‑4
Hou L, Heilbronner U, Degenhardt F, et al. Genetic variants associated with
response to lithium treatment in bipolar disorder: a genome‑wide asso‑
ciation study. Lancet. 2016;387(10023):1085–93. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/
S0140‑ 6736(16) 00143‑4.
Lambert SA, Gil L, Jupp S, et al. The Polygenic Score Catalog as an open
database for reproducibility and systematic evaluation. Nat Genet.
2021;53(4):420–5. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1038/ s41588‑ 021‑ 00783‑5.
Ma Y, Patil S, Zhou X, Mukherjee B, Fritsche LG. ExPRSweb: an online repository
with polygenic risk scores for common health‑related exposures. Am J
Hum Genet. 2022;109(10):1742–60. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. ajhg. 2022.
09. 001.
Manchia M, Adli M, Akula N, et al. Assessment of response to lithium mainte‑
nance treatment in bipolar disorder: a consortium on lithium genetics
(ConLiGen) report. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(6): e65636. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1371/
journ al. pone. 00656 36.
Miller BJ, McCall WV. Insomnia and suicide as reported adverse effects of
second‑generation antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. J Clin Sleep Med.
2022;18(2):517–22. https:// doi. org/ 10. 5664/ jcsm. 9646.
Nunes A, Ardau R, Berghöfer A, et al. Prediction of lithium response using
clinical data. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2020;141(2):131–41. https:// doi. org/ 10.
1111/ acps. 13122.
Papiol S, Schulze TG, Heilbronner U. Lithium response in bipolar disorder:
Genetics, genomics, and beyond. Neurosci Lett. 2022;785: 136786.
https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. neulet. 2022. 136786.
Privé F, Aschard H, Carmi S, et al. Portability of 245 polygenic scores when
derived from the UK Biobank and applied to 9 ancestry groups from the
same cohort. Am J Hum Genet. 2022;109(1):12–23. https:// doi. org/ 10.
1016/j. ajhg. 2021. 11. 008.
Queissner R, Lenger M, Birner A, et al. The association between anti‑inflamma‑
tory effects of long‑term lithium treatment and illness course in Bipolar
Disorder. J Affect Disord. 2021;281:228–34. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jad.
2020. 11. 063.
Rybakowski JK. Antiviral, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective effect of
lithium. J Integr Neurosci. 2022;21(2):68. https:// doi. org/ 10. 31083/j. jin21
02068.
Schubert KO, Thalamuthu A, Amare AT, et al. Combining schizophrenia
and depression polygenic risk scores improves the genetic predic‑
tion of lithium response in bipolar disorder patients. Transl Psychiatry.
2021;11(1):606. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1038/ s41398‑ 021‑ 01702‑2.
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 11 of 11
Herrera‑Riveroetal. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (2024) 12:20
Steardo L Jr, de Filippis R, Carbone EA, Segura‑Garcia C, Verkhratsky A, De Fazio
P. Sleep disturbance in bipolar disorder: neuroglia and circadian rhythms.
Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:501. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ fpsyt. 2019. 00501.
Sylvia LG, Shelton RC, Kemp DE, et al. Medical burden in bipolar disorder:
findings from the Clinical and Health Outcomes Initiative in Comparative
Effectiveness for Bipolar Disorder study (Bipolar CHOICE). Bipolar Disord.
2015;17(2):212–23. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ bdi. 12243.
Szałach ŁP, Lisowska KA, Cubała WJ, Barbuti M, Perugi G. The immunomodula‑
tory effect of lithium as a mechanism of action in bipolar disorder. Front
Neurosci. 2023;17:1213766. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ fnins. 2023. 12137 66.
Tang J, Chen X, Xu X, et al. Significant linkage and association between a
functional (GT)n polymorphism in promoter of the N‑methyl‑D‑aspartate
receptor subunit gene (GRIN2A) and schizophrenia. Neurosci Lett.
2006;409(1):80–2. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. neulet. 2006. 09. 022.
Tondo L, Baldessarini RJ, Floris G. Long‑term clinical effectiveness of lithium
maintenance treatment in types I and II bipolar disorders. Br J Psychiatry.
2001;178(Suppl 41):S184–90.
Vijayakumar A, Mahapatra NR. Renalase: a novel regulator of cardiometabolic
and renal diseases. Hypertens Res. 2022;45(10):1582–98. https:// doi. org/
10. 1038/ s41440‑ 022‑ 00986‑1.
Volkmann C, Bschor T, Köhler S. Lithium treatment over the lifespan in bipolar
disorders. Front Psychiatry. 2020;11:377. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ fpsyt.
2020. 00377.
Xu N, Shinohara K, Saunders KEA, Geddes JR, Cipriani A. Effect of lithium on cir‑
cadian rhythm in bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta‑analysis.
Bipolar Disord. 2021;23(5):445–53. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ bdi. 13070.
Yoshida T, Papiol S, Plans L, et al. The polygenic effect of the response to
lithium on suicidal behavior. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2019;29:S179.
https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. euron euro. 2019. 08. 124.
Yu Z, Ono C, Aiba S, et al. Therapeutic concentration of lithium stimulates
complement C3 production in dendritic cells and microglia via GSK‑3
inhibition. Glia. 2015;63(2):257–70. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ glia. 22749.
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in pub‑
lished maps and institutional affiliations.
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Terms and Conditions
Springer Nature journal content, brought to you courtesy of Springer Nature Customer Service Center GmbH (“Springer Nature”).
Springer Nature supports a reasonable amount of sharing of research papers by authors, subscribers and authorised users (“Users”), for small-
scale personal, non-commercial use provided that all copyright, trade and service marks and other proprietary notices are maintained. By
accessing, sharing, receiving or otherwise using the Springer Nature journal content you agree to these terms of use (“Terms”). For these
purposes, Springer Nature considers academic use (by researchers and students) to be non-commercial.
These Terms are supplementary and will apply in addition to any applicable website terms and conditions, a relevant site licence or a personal
subscription. These Terms will prevail over any conflict or ambiguity with regards to the relevant terms, a site licence or a personal subscription
(to the extent of the conflict or ambiguity only). For Creative Commons-licensed articles, the terms of the Creative Commons license used will
apply.
We collect and use personal data to provide access to the Springer Nature journal content. We may also use these personal data internally within
ResearchGate and Springer Nature and as agreed share it, in an anonymised way, for purposes of tracking, analysis and reporting. We will not
otherwise disclose your personal data outside the ResearchGate or the Springer Nature group of companies unless we have your permission as
detailed in the Privacy Policy.
While Users may use the Springer Nature journal content for small scale, personal non-commercial use, it is important to note that Users may
not:
use such content for the purpose of providing other users with access on a regular or large scale basis or as a means to circumvent access
control;
use such content where to do so would be considered a criminal or statutory offence in any jurisdiction, or gives rise to civil liability, or is
otherwise unlawful;
falsely or misleadingly imply or suggest endorsement, approval , sponsorship, or association unless explicitly agreed to by Springer Nature in
writing;
use bots or other automated methods to access the content or redirect messages
override any security feature or exclusionary protocol; or
share the content in order to create substitute for Springer Nature products or services or a systematic database of Springer Nature journal
content.
In line with the restriction against commercial use, Springer Nature does not permit the creation of a product or service that creates revenue,
royalties, rent or income from our content or its inclusion as part of a paid for service or for other commercial gain. Springer Nature journal
content cannot be used for inter-library loans and librarians may not upload Springer Nature journal content on a large scale into their, or any
other, institutional repository.
These terms of use are reviewed regularly and may be amended at any time. Springer Nature is not obligated to publish any information or
content on this website and may remove it or features or functionality at our sole discretion, at any time with or without notice. Springer Nature
may revoke this licence to you at any time and remove access to any copies of the Springer Nature journal content which have been saved.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Springer Nature makes no warranties, representations or guarantees to Users, either express or implied
with respect to the Springer nature journal content and all parties disclaim and waive any implied warranties or warranties imposed by law,
including merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose.
Please note that these rights do not automatically extend to content, data or other material published by Springer Nature that may be licensed
from third parties.
If you would like to use or distribute our Springer Nature journal content to a wider audience or on a regular basis or in any other manner not
expressly permitted by these Terms, please contact Springer Nature at
onlineservice@springernature.com
Article
Full-text available
Background Decades of clinical research have demonstrated the efficacy of lithium in treating acute episodes (both manic and depressive), as well as in preventing recurrences of bipolar disorder (BD). Specific to lithium is its antisuicidal effect, which appears to extend beyond its mood-stabilizing properties. Lithium’s clinical effectiveness is, to some extent, counterbalanced by its safety and tolerability profile. Indeed, monitoring of lithium levels is required by its narrow therapeutic index. There is consensus that adequate serum levels should be above 0.6 mEq/L to achieve clinical effectiveness. However, few data support the choice of this threshold, and increasing evidence suggests that lithium might have clinical and molecular effects at much lower concentrations. Content This narrative review is aimed at: (1) reviewing and critically interpreting the clinical evidence supporting the use of the 0.6 mEq/L threshold, (2) reporting a narrative synthesis of the evidence supporting the notion that lithium might be effective in much lower doses. Among these are epidemiological studies of lithium in water, evidence on the antisuicidal, anti-aggressive, and neuroprotective effects, including efficacy in preventing cognitive impairment progression, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), of lithium; and (3) revieweing biological data supporting clinically viable uses of lithium at low levels with the delineation of a mechanistic hypothesis surrounding its purported mechanism of action. The study selection was based on the authors’ preference, reflecting the varied and extensive expertise on the review subject, further enriched with an extensive pearl-growing strategy for relevant reviews and book sections. Conclusions Clinical and molecular effects of lithium are numerous, and its effects also appear to have a certain degree of specificity related to the dose administered. In sum, the clinical effects of lithium are maximal for mood stabilisation at concentrations higher than 0.6 mEq/l. However, lower levels may be sufficient for preventing depressive recurrences in older populations of patients, and microdoses could be effective in decreasing suicide risk, especially in patients with BD. Conversely, lithium’s ability to counteract cognitive decline appears to be exerted at subtherapeutic doses, possibly corresponding to its molecular neuroprotective effects. Indeed, lithium may reduce inflammation and induce neuroprotection even at doses several folds lower than those commonly used in clinical settings. Nevertheless, findings surrounding its purported mechanism of action are missing, and more research is needed to investigate the molecular targets of low-dose lithium adequately.
Article
Full-text available
The link between bipolar disorder (BP) and immune dysfunction remains controversial. While epidemiological studies have long suggested an association, recent research has found only limited evidence of such a relationship. To clarify this, we performed an exploratory study of the contributions of immune-relevant genetic factors to the response to lithium (Li) treatment and the clinical presentation of BP. First, we assessed the association of a large collection of immune-related genes (4925) with Li response, defined by the Retrospective Assessment of the Lithium Response Phenotype Scale (Alda scale), and clinical characteristics in patients with BP from the International Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLi ⁺ Gen, N = 2374). Second, we calculated here previously published polygenic scores (PGSs) for immune-related traits and evaluated their associations with Li response and clinical features. Overall, we observed relatively weak associations ( p < 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ ) with BP phenotypes within immune-related genes. Network and functional enrichment analyses of the top findings from the association analyses of Li response variables showed an overrepresentation of pathways participating in cell adhesion and intercellular communication. These appeared to converge on the well-known Li-induced inhibition of GSK-3β. Association analyses of age-at-onset, number of mood episodes, and presence of psychosis, substance abuse and/or suicidal ideation suggested modest contributions of genes such as RTN4 , XKR4 , NRXN1 , NRG1/3 and GRK5 to disease characteristics. PGS analyses returned weak associations ( p < 0.05) between inflammation markers and the studied BP phenotypes. Our results suggest a modest relationship between immunity and clinical features in BP. More research is needed to assess the potential therapeutic relevance.
Article
Full-text available
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic mental disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of mania and depression alternating with periods of euthymia. Although environmental and genetic factors have been described, their pathogenesis is not fully understood. Much evidence suggests a role for inflammatory mediators and immune dysregulation in the development of BD. The first-line treatment in BD are mood-stabilizing agents, one of which is lithium (Li) salts. The Li mechanism of action is not fully understood, but it has been proposed that its robust immunomodulatory properties might be one of the mechanisms responsible for its effectiveness. In this article, the authors present the current knowledge about immune system changes accompanying BD, as well as the immunomodulatory effect of lithium. The results of studies describing connections between immune system changes and lithium effectiveness are often incoherent. Further research is needed to understand the connection between immune system modulation and the therapeutic action of lithium in BD.
Article
Full-text available
Lithium is regarded as the first-line treatment for bipolar disorder (BD), a severe and disabling mental health disorder that affects about 1% of the population worldwide. Nevertheless, lithium is not consistently effective, with only 30% of patients showing a favorable response to treatment. To provide personalized treatment options for bipolar patients, it is essential to identify prediction biomarkers such as polygenic scores. In this study, we developed a polygenic score for lithium treatment response (Li⁺PGS) in patients with BD. To gain further insights into lithium’s possible molecular mechanism of action, we performed a genome-wide gene-based analysis. Using polygenic score modeling, via methods incorporating Bayesian regression and continuous shrinkage priors, Li⁺PGS was developed in the International Consortium of Lithium Genetics cohort (ConLi⁺Gen: N = 2367) and replicated in the combined PsyCourse (N = 89) and BipoLife (N = 102) studies. The associations of Li⁺PGS and lithium treatment response — defined in a continuous ALDA scale and a categorical outcome (good response vs. poor response) were tested using regression models, each adjusted for the covariates: age, sex, and the first four genetic principal components. Statistical significance was determined at P < 0.05. Li⁺PGS was positively associated with lithium treatment response in the ConLi⁺Gen cohort, in both the categorical (P = 9.8 × 10⁻¹², R² = 1.9%) and continuous (P = 6.4 × 10⁻⁹, R² = 2.6%) outcomes. Compared to bipolar patients in the 1st decile of the risk distribution, individuals in the 10th decile had 3.47-fold (95%CI: 2.22–5.47) higher odds of responding favorably to lithium. The results were replicated in the independent cohorts for the categorical treatment outcome (P = 3.9 × 10⁻⁴, R² = 0.9%), but not for the continuous outcome (P = 0.13). Gene-based analyses revealed 36 candidate genes that are enriched in biological pathways controlled by glutamate and acetylcholine. Li⁺PGS may be useful in the development of pharmacogenomic testing strategies by enabling a classification of bipolar patients according to their response to treatment.
Article
Full-text available
Currently, in psychiatry, lithium is a drug of choice as a mood stabilizer in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder for the prevention of manic and depressive recurrences. The second most important psychiatric use of lithium is probably increasing the efficacy of antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. In addition to its mood-stabilizing properties, lithium exerts antisuicidal, antiviral, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective effects. The goal of the review is to describe the experimental and clinical studies on the last three properties of lithium. Antiviral effects of lithium pertain mostly to DNA viruses, especially herpes viruses. The therapeutic effects of lithium in systemic and topical administration on labial and genital herpes were demonstrated in clinical studies. There is also some evidence, mostly in experimental studies, that lithium possesses antiviral activity against RNA viruses, including coronaviruses. The immunomodulatory effect of lithium can mitigate “low-grade inflammatory” conditions in bipolar illness. The neuroprotective properties of lithium make this ion a plausible candidate for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. A favorable effect of lithium was shown in experimental models of neurodegenerative disorders. On the clinical level, some preventive action against dementia and moderately therapeutic activity in Alzheimer’s disease, and mild cognitive impairment were observed. Despite promising results of lithium obtained in animal models of Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, they have not been confirmed in clinical studies. A suggestion for common mechanisms of antiviral, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective effects of lithium is advanced.
Article
Complex traits are influenced by genetic risk factors, lifestyle, and environmental variables, so-called exposures. Some exposures, e.g., smoking or lipid levels, have common genetic modifiers identified in genome-wide association studies. Because measurements are often unfeasible, exposure polygenic risk scores (ExPRSs) offer an alternative to study the influence of exposures on various phenotypes. Here, we collected publicly available summary statistics for 28 exposures and applied four common PRS methods to generate ExPRSs in two large biobanks: the Michigan Genomics Initiative and the UK Biobank. We established ExPRSs for 27 exposures and demonstrated their applicability in phenome-wide association studies and as predictors for common chronic conditions. Especially the addition of multiple ExPRSs showed, for several chronic conditions, an improvement compared to prediction models that only included traditional, disease-focused PRSs. To facilitate follow-up studies, we share all ExPRS constructs and generated results via an online repository called ExPRSweb.
Article
Renalase is a ~38 kDa flavin-adenine dinucleotide (FAD) domain-containing protein that can function as a cytokine and an anomerase. It is emerging as a novel regulator of cardiometabolic diseases. Expressed mainly in the kidneys, renalase has been reported to have a hypotensive effect and may control blood pressure through regulation of sympathetic tone. Furthermore, genetic variations in the renalase gene, such as a functional missense polymorphism (Glu37Asp), have implications in the cardiovascular and renal systems and can potentially increase the risk of cardiometabolic disorders. Research on the physiological functions and biochemical actions of renalase over the years has indicated a role for renalase as one of the key proteins involved in various disease states, such as diabetes, impaired lipid metabolism, and cancer. Recent studies have identified three transcription factors (viz., Sp1, STAT3, and ZBP89) as key positive regulators in modulating the expression of the human renalase gene. Moreover, renalase is under the post-transcriptional regulation of two microRNAs (viz., miR-29b, and miR-146a), which downregulate renalase expression. While renalase supplementation may be useful for treating hypertension, inhibition of renalase signaling may be beneficial to patients with cancerous tumors. However, more incisive investigations are required to unravel the potential therapeutic applications of renalase. Based on the literature pertaining to the function and physiology of renalase, this review attempts to consolidate and comprehend the role of renalase in regulating cardiometabolic and renal disorders.
Article
Lithium is an effective mood stabilizer in bipolar disorder (BD). There is, however, high variability in treatment response to lithium and only 20-30% of individuals with BD are excellent responders. This subgroup has been shown to have specific phenotypic characteristics, and family studies have implicated genetics as an important factor. However, candidate gene studies did not find evidence for major effect genes. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have emphasized that lithium response is a polygenic trait. GWAS based on larger sample sizes and non-European ancestries are likely to shed light on the genomic architecture of this trait. Furthermore, induced pluripotent stem cells, transcriptomics, epigenetics, the integration of multiple omics data, and their combination with advanced machine learning techniques hold promise for the understanding of the complex biological underpinnings of lithium treatment response.
Article
The low portability of polygenic scores (PGSs) across global populations is a major concern that must be addressed before PGSs can be used for everyone in the clinic. Indeed, prediction accuracy has been shown to decay as a function of the genetic distance between the training and test cohorts. However, such cohorts differ not only in their genetic distance but also in their geographical distance and their data collection and assaying, conflating multiple factors. In this study, we examine the extent to which PGSs are transferable between ancestries by deriving polygenic scores for 245 curated traits from the UK Biobank data and applying them in nine ancestry groups from the same cohort. By restricting both training and testing to the UK Biobank data, we reduce the risk of environmental and genotyping confounding from using different cohorts. We define the nine ancestry groups at a sub-continental level, based on a simple, robust, and effective method that we introduce here. We then apply two different predictive methods to derive polygenic scores for all 245 phenotypes and show a systematic and dramatic reduction in portability of PGSs trained using Northwestern European individuals and applied to nine ancestry groups. These analyses demonstrate that prediction already drops off within European ancestries and reduces globally in proportion to genetic distance. Altogether, our study provides unique and robust insights into the PGS portability problem.
Article
The aim of the study was to systematically review the hard evidence alone, concerning lithium efficacy separately for the phases and clinical facets of Bipolar disorder (BD). The PRISMA method was followed to search the MEDLINE for Randomized Controlled trials, Post-hoc analyses and Meta-analyses and review papers up to August 1st 2020, with the combination of the words ‘bipolar’, ‘manic’, ‘mania’, ‘manic depression’ and ‘manic depressive’ and ‘randomized’. Trials and meta-analyses concerning the use of lithium either as monotherapy or in combination with other agents in adults were identified concerning acute mania (Ν=64), acute bipolar depression (Ν=78), the maintenance treatment (Ν=73) and the treatment of other issues (N = 93). Treatment guidelines were also identified. Lithium is efficacious for the treatment of acute mania including concomitant psychotic symptoms. In acute bipolar depression it is efficacious only in combination with specific agents. For the maintenance phase, it is efficacious as monotherapy mainly in the prevention of manic while its efficacy for the prevention of depressive episodes is unclear. Its combinations increase its therapeutic value. It is equaly efficacious in rapid and non-rapid cycling patients, in concomitant obsessive-compulsive symptoms, alcohol and substance abuse, the neurocognitive deficit, suicidal ideation and fatigue The current systematic review provided support for the usefulness of lithium against a broad spectrum of clinical issues in Bipolar disorder. Its efficacy is comparable to that of more recently developed agents
Article
Objective: Over a half century, lithium has been used as the first-line medication to treat bipolar disorder. Emerging clinical and laboratory studies suggest that lithium may exhibit cardioprotective effects in addition to neuroprotective actions. Fractalkine (CX3CL1) is a unique chemokine associated with the pathogenesis of mood disorders and cardiovascular diseases. Herein we aimed to ascertain whether lithium treatment is associated with favorable cardiac structure and function in relation to the reduced CX3CL1 among patients with bipolar disorder. Methods: We recruited 100 euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder aged over 20 years to undergo echocardiographic study and measurement of plasma CX3CL1. Associations between lithium treatment, cardiac structure and function and peripheral CX3CL1 were analyzed according to the cardiovascular risk. The high cardiovascular risk was defined as (1) age ⩾ 45 years in men or ⩾ 55 years in women or (2) presence of concurrent cardiometabolic diseases. Results: In the high cardiovascular risk group (n = 61), patients who received lithium as the maintenance treatment had significantly lower mean values of left ventricular internal diameters at end-diastole (Cohen's d = 0.65, p = 0.001) and end-systole (Cohen's d = 0.60, p = 0.004), higher mean values of mitral valve E/A ratio (Cohen's d = 0.51, p = 0.019) and superior performance of global longitudinal strain (Cohen's d = 0.51, p = 0.037) than those without lithium treatment. In addition, mean plasma levels of CX3CL1 in the high cardiovascular risk group were significantly lower among patients with lithium therapy compared with those without lithium treatment (p = 0.029). Multiple regression models showed that the association between lithium treatment and mitral value E/A ratio was contributed by CX3CL1. Conclusion: Data from this largest sample size study of the association between lithium treatment and echocardiographic measures suggest that lithium may protect cardiac structure and function in patients with bipolar disorder. Reduction of CX3CL1 may mediate the cardioprotective effects of lithium.