Myriad Genetics publishes depression gene discovery in Molecular Psychiatry

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, Oct. 18 - Myriad Genetics, Inc. announced the online availability of its report on the discovery of the Apoptosis Protease Activating Factor 1 (Apaf-1) gene for major depression, which was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

"We are very excited by the potential of the Apaf-1 gene discovery to lead to new therapeutics for the treatment of depression," president and chief executive officer Peter Meldrum said in a news release.

"There is a real need for novel, more effective therapies to treat this debilitating illness."

The Apaf-1 gene was discovered using large Utah families with multiple cases of major depressive disorder.

Evidence from the study supports a new hypothesis that increased destruction of brain cells through apoptosis leads to major depression in individuals with specific variations in the Apaf-1 gene.

The company noted the discovery has important implications for the development of a new class of drugs to treat depression.

The Apaf-1 gene makes the Apaf-1 protein, an activator leading to the destruction of a cell. Myriad noted forms of the gene found to be over-represented in families with major depression cause a gain of function, leading to increased cell death.

In turn, the cell-death increase is involved in causing major depressive disorder - the novel hypothesis proposed by Myriad researchers and their collaborators in the paper.

Myriad said it filed applications for U.S. and foreign patents covering the Apaf-1 gene and its use in depression.

The report, "Variants in Apaf-1 Segregating with Major Depression Promote Apoptosome Function," is available at www.nature.com/mp/index.html.

Based in Salt Lake City, Myriad Genetics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapeutic products.

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