BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Actin up in schizophrenia

A new mouse model of schizophrenia connects seemingly unrelated disease symptoms

May 14, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

With the number of genetic risk factors linked to schizophrenia at over a hundred and counting, finding the right ones to follow is the field's next big challenge. A team at Duke University has simplified the problem by focusing on a molecular pathway containing risk mutations, and, by manipulating a downstream effector, has created a mouse model that unites three phenotypes of the disease previously thought to be unrelated.

The model could serve as a tool for exploring the biology of schizophrenia, and contribute to preclinical screening of new therapies. ...