‘Omics’ of suicidal behaviour: A path to personalised psychiatry

Abstract

Psychiatric disorders, including suicide, are complex disorders that are affected by many different risk factors. It has been estimated that genetic factors contribute up to 50% to suicide risk. As the candidate gene approach has not identified a gene or set of genes that can be defined as biomarkers for suicidal behaviour, much is expected from cutting edge technological approaches that can interrogate several hundred, or even millions, of biomarkers at a time. These include the ‘-omic’ approaches, such as genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics and metabolomics. Indeed, these have revealed new candidate biomarkers associated with suicidal behaviour. The most interesting of these have been implicated in inflammation and immune responses, which have been revealed through different study approaches, from genome-wide single nucleotide studies and the micro-RNA transcriptome, to the proteome and metabolome. However, the massive amounts of data that are generated by the ‘-omic’ technologies demand the use of powerful computational analysis, and also specifically trained personnel. In this regard, machine learning approaches are beginning to pave the way towards personalized psychiatry.

Keywords: Epigenomics; DNA methylation; Micro-RNA; Genome; Metabolome; Suicide

Core Tip: Suicide is major public health concern worldwide, and at the same time, it is preventable when timely measures are taken. The biological basis of suicidal behaviour is not a product of a single gene, transcript, protein or metabolite; rather, it is represented by intertwined cellular mechanisms, cell types and tissue changes, and based on numerous molecular pathways. The ‘-omic’ technologies might represent the missing link between the current state of psychiatry and future personalised approaches, through the combination of -omics-derived information and the diagnostic process. However, first we need precise, specific and validated biomarkers.