• Brenda Cabrera-Mendoza, Cristóbal Fresno, Nancy Monroy-Jaramillo, Gabriel Rodrigo Fries, Consuelo Walss-Bass, David C Glahn, Patricia Ostrosky-Wegman, Roberto Cuauhtemoc Mendoza-Morales, Fernando García-Dolores, Carlos Enrique Díaz-Otañez, Eli Elier González-Sáenz, Alma Delia Genis-Mendoza, José Jaime Martínez-Magaña, Ana Luisa Romero-Pimentel, Gonzalo Flores, Vázquez-RoqueRubén AntonioRANeuropsychiatry Laboratory, Institute of Physiology, Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico City, Mexico., and Humberto Nicolini.
• Genomics of Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Diseases Laboratory, National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN), Mexico City, Mexico; PECEM, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
• J Affect Disord. 2020 Apr 15; 267: 67-77.

BackgroundSuicide rates vary substantially by sex. Suicides committed by males significantly outnumber female suicides. Disparities in community and social factors provide a partial explanation for this phenomenon. Thus, the evaluation of sex differences at a biological level might contribute to the elucidation of the factors involved in this imbalance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate sex-specific gene expression patterns in the suicidal brain.Methodspostmortem samples from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of 75 Latino individuals were analyzed. We considered the following groups: i) male suicides (n = 38), ii) female suicides (n = 10), iii) male controls (n = 20), and iv) female controls (n = 7). Gene expression profiles were evaluated by microarrays. Differentially expressed genes among the groups were identified with a linear model. Similarities and differences in the gene sets between the sexes were identified.ResultsDifferentially expressed genes were identified between suicides and controls of each sex: 1,729 genes in females and 1,997 genes in males. Female-exclusive suicide genes were related to cell proliferation and immune response. Meanwhile, male-exclusive suicide genes were associated to DNA binding and ribonucleic protein complex. Sex-independent suicide genes showed enrichment in mitochondrial and vesicular functions.LimitationsRelatively small sample size. Our diagnosis approach was limited to information found on coroner's records. The analysis was limited to a single brain area (DLPFC) and we used microarrays.ConclusionPreviously unexplored sex differences in the brain gene expression of suicide completers were identified, providing valuable foundation for the evaluation of sex-specific factors in suicide.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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