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Blood Extracellular Vesicle mRNA Biomarkers for Suicide Attempts in Bipolar Disorder
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Blood Extracellular Vesicle mRNA Biomarkers for Suicide Attempts in Bipolar Disorder

Sarven Sabunciyan, Marie Gaine and Ou Chen
Biological psychiatry (1969), Vol.99(10 Supplement), pp.S30-S30
05/15/2026
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2026.03.078

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Abstract

Background Individuals with bipolar disorder face a significantly elevated risk of suicide, with estimates suggesting rates that are 10 to 30 times higher than those observed in the general population. Accurate identification of individuals at heightened risk could be transformative for prevention efforts. Toward this goal, we are exploring whether extracellular vesicle mRNA levels in peripheral blood can serve as a surrogate marker for transcriptional alterations in the brain that are associated with the molecular pathology of suicide. Methods We ran a preliminary analysis on EV mRNA levels in serum samples collected from 28 unaffected controls (17F/11M), 31 BPD cases (22F/9M) with no history of suicide attempts and 31 BPD cases (18F/13M) with at least one previous suicide attempt. We performed Wald tests using the DESeq2 bioconductor package and identified differences having a corrected p-value < 0.05. Results We discovered a subset of EV mRNAs associated with a history of suicide attempts in a sex specific manner including the absence of PDE4B EV mRNA, a top hit in the genome wide association studies of suicide, in male suicide attempters (corrected p < 6.4x10-26). Conclusions Our pilot study suggests investigating blood EV mRNAs may enable us to better understand the neuropathology of suicide and potentially develop biomarkers for prevention efforts.

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