Three genes we observed to be regulated by ZNF804a expression are directly involved in dopaminergic transmission and cAMP signaling, two pathways thought to underlie many of the symptoms of psychosis. Specifically, COMT is an enzyme that degrades catecholamines in the synaptic cleft and SNPs within the coding sequence of this gene are associated with cognitive deficits [14]. DRD2 encodes the D2 subtype of the dopamine receptor and activation of this receptor by dopamine inhibits adenylate cyclase activity. PDE4B encodes the cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase 4B, an enzyme responsible for the breakdown of cAMP. We find this grouping of regulated genes to be very interesting because they are closely associated with a common signaling pathway. These genes are clearly important for adult brain function, but determining how altered prenatal expression of these genes will effect neurodevelopment will need further investigation.
