It is unclear what causes bipolar disorder - a condition characterized by dramatic changes in mood. But researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School have created the first stem cell model for bipolar disorder, which they say could uncover the origins of the condition and open the door to new treatments.
The research team recently published their study in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
To reach their findings, the investigators obtained skin samples from people with bipolar disorder, alongside skin samples from individuals without the condition.
By exposing small samples of skin cells to carefully controlled conditions, the researchers turned them into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These are stem cells that have the potential to be turned into any other type of cell. The team then turned the iPSCs into neurons.
They measured gene expression of the iPSCs and then re-evaluated gene expression once the stem cells became neurons.
From this, the team found significant differences between the stem cells taken from bipolar patients and those taken from individuals without the condition.
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