Cadherin-13 (CDH13), a member of the calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecule family, has been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) disorders, but also to depression.
We found that Cadherin 13 (Cdh13), a gene implicated in autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, is specifically expressed in Golgi cells within the cerebellar cortex.
Genome-wide association studies in humans have suggested that variants of the cadherin-13 (CDH13) gene are associated with substance use disorder, subjective response to amphetamine, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Although there are many open questions regarding the role of neurodevelopmental genes in ADHD symptoms, the present study suggests that CDH13 is associated with hyperactive/impulsive symptoms in youths with ADHD.
The second objective was to examine the effects of rare missense mutations in T-cadherin, an adiponectin receptor encoded by the ADHD candidate gene CDH13, on serum adiponectin levels.
By genotyping, we found a cumulative frequency of these rare variants of 2.9% in controls and 3.2% in ADHD patients, implying that much larger samples are needed to obtain adequate power to study the genetic association between ADHD and rare CDH13 variants.
Here, we focus on the gene encoding Cadherin-13 (CDH13), a cell adhesion molecule which was replicably associated with liability to ADHD and related neuropsychiatric conditions.
A total of 110 adult patients with ASD (n=61) or ADHD (n=49) with or without a lifetime history of SUD participated in a study in which we genotyped polymorphisms in five known candidate genes for (one of) the disorders, i.e. the 5HTTLPR in SLC6A4/5-HTT, rs1800497 (TaqIA C>T) in DRD2, rs7794745 in CNTNAP2, rs1843809 in TPH2, and rs6565113 in CDH13.