Laboratory mouse, illustration.
-
ROBERT F. BUKATY / AP / SIPA
Chinese researchers have demonstrated the inheritance of certain mental illnesses or psychological conditions in mice.
This is particularly the case with depression and stress.
Scientists have found no trace of genetic transmission of these disorders, they explain in a study published in
Science Advances on
Wednesday.
However, they pointed to the role of tiny non-coding RNAs.
Those transmitted to the baby via sperm allow an epigenetic transfer of certain traits.
They modify the expression of genes without changing their sequence.
Susceptibility to Depression May Link Back to Sperm - Animal Studyhttps: //t.co/QZfjfYm9j3 #animalresearch
- CureDisease (@CureDisease) February 12, 2021
RNA transmission
The researchers subjected male mice to stress-generating conditions in order to induce them to become depressed.
They found that the offspring of these individuals had an above average vulnerability to depression.
To understand the mode of transmission, specialists isolated RNA from male sperm and added it to a fertilized cell.
The latter was implanted in a female mouse which gave birth to young, also particularly sensitive to stress.
By cross-checking, the Chinese researchers even determined which RNAs transmitted this specificity.
This discovery could allow "the development of a new type of antidepressant", according to the lead author of the study, quoted by
Technology Networks
.
“More research must of course be done […] before we approach the possibility of a drug for humans.
"
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