FLICKR, DANI LURIEGenetic sequences called transposable elements (TEs) that can jump from chromosome to chromosome, increasing their own frequency in the genome, may play a role in the development of schizophrenia, according to a study out of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan published last week (January 2) in Neuron.

Schizophrenia runs in families, suggesting it has an underlying genetic basis. Identifying genes with a strong role in the disorder’s development, however, has proven difficult. Environmental factors are also expected to contribute.

Recently, researchers revealed that human neural precursor cells are particularly rich in a common TE called L1. Additionally, they found that higher levels of L1 correlated with the occurrence of brain disorders, including Rett syndrome (a disorder related to autism) and the neurodegenerative disease Louis-Bar syndrome. Now, examining the brain tissue of deceased schizophrenia patients, Tadafumi Kato, Kazuya Iwamoto, and their RIKEN colleagues found...