International collaboration identifies hundreds of proteins in human blood related to human behavioural traits and psychiatric disorders. According to the World Health Organization, one in every eight people, or 970 million people around the world were living with a mental disorder in 2019, and this increased after the COVID pandemic. The inherent complexity of psychiatric disorders continues to hinder the understanding of their underlying biological mechanisms. Exploring the genetic control of proteins that are important in the brain is therefore an important area of study.Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Fudan University in China, and the Human Technopole in Milan, in collaboration with the SCALLOP consortium conducted an analysis of over 12,000 individuals for 184 brain-related proteins in human blood. The consortium includes participants from Viking Genes. The analysis identified 289 genetic variants associated with brain-related proteins. The researchers then evaluated the effects of these proteins on human behavioural traits and psychiatric disorders, identifying hundreds of potential new drug targets or opportunities where existing drugs could be repurposed. MRI of human brain Advanced statistical approaches showed that 56 of the studied proteins were likely to be instrumentally involved in either behavioural traits such as alcohol intake, smoking and educational attainment or neurological conditions and psychiatric disorders, such as pain, schizophrenia or the personality trait of neuroticism. For example, the Cadherin-6 protein showed effects on behaviours such as smoking, as well as on neurological symptoms such as mood swings.Further investigation of the proteins revealed their potential as drug targets. Using online databases, 91 existing drugs were found to target 17 of the proteins, resulting in 443 potential treatment combinations. A subset of 52 combinations highlighted known drug connections, meaning hundreds of new targets or repurposing opportunities were discovered. This comprehensive analysis sheds light on the genetic associations between brain-related proteins and a broad spectrum of human behavioral traits and psychiatric disorders. The identification of numerous potential protein targets for drug development represents a significant advance, offering evidential support for further research in the field of psychiatric disorders.The paper is published in Nature Human Behaviour.The genetic landscape of neuro-related proteins in human plasma This article was published on 2024-08-29
