GSK-3beta gene expression in human postmortem brain: regional distribution, effects of age and suicide

Glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3beta) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders and schizophrenia. To examine its role in suicide, we determined GSK-3beta messenger RNA (mRNA) in human postmortem brain from suicide and normal control subjects using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. We found that GSK-3beta mRNA was highly abundant in almost all of the 12 brain areas we studied. We also found a significant age effect on GSK-3beta and that GSK-3beta mRNA level were significantly higher in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus of teenage normal controls compared with adult normal controls and was significantly decreased in PFC of teenage suicide but not adult suicide victims compared with respective normal control subjects. The decrease observed in the mRNA levels in teenage suicide but not in adult suicide victims may represent a neurodevelopmentally associated decrease and may be important in the pathophysiology of teenage suicide.