Table_4_Exploring the association of addiction-related genetic factors with non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents.xlsx

BackgroundNon-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is self-injurious behavior without suicidal intent commonly seen in the adolescent population and poses a serious threat to the life safety of adolescents. Related researches suggest a possible correlation between addiction and the occurrence of NSSI. This study aimed to explore the correlation between addiction and NSSI from a molecular biological perspective by analyzing the differential expression of addiction-related genes in NSSI patients.
Methods(1) The association between addiction and non-suicidal self-injury in a Chinese adolescent population was verified with the help of questionnaires on substance and non-substance addictions and non-suicidal self-injury among 1,329 adolescents in China, (2) Screening for key genes associated with addiction by bioinformatics analysis, and (3) RT-qPCR experiment was performed to validate key genes and Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were plotted for target genes.
Results(1) Substance and non-substance addictions were all significantly correlated with non-suicidal self-injury, (2) Four target genes: SERPINA3, SLC14A1, RPS6 and RPS3A were screened by bioinformatics technique, and (3) Relative quantitative analysis by RT-qPCR revealed that the expression levels of SLC14A1 (p < 0.01), RPS6 (p < 0.05) and RPS3A (p < 0.01) were significantly higher in NSSI patients than in healthy controls.
Conclusion(1) The significant association between addiction and NSSI exists in the Chinese adolescent population and (2) Addiction-related genes SLC14A1, RPS6, and RPS3A are differentially expressed in adolescents with NSSI. The genes have the potential to become biological markers for the diagnosis of NSSI.

背景：非自杀性自伤（Non-suicidal self-injury, NSSI）是指无自杀意图的自我伤害行为，常见于青少年群体，严重威胁青少年的生命安全。相关研究提示，成瘾（addiction）与非自杀性自伤的发生可能存在关联。本研究旨在通过分析非自杀性自伤患者中成瘾相关基因的差异表达，从分子生物学层面探讨成瘾与非自杀性自伤之间的相关性。
方法：(1) 针对中国1329名青少年，采用物质成瘾与非物质成瘾问卷、非自杀性自伤问卷，验证中国青少年群体中成瘾与非自杀性自伤的关联；(2) 通过生物信息学分析（bioinformatics analysis）筛选与成瘾相关的关键基因；(3) 开展实时定量聚合酶链式反应（RT-qPCR）实验对关键基因进行验证，并绘制靶基因的受试者工作特征曲线（Receiver Operating Characteristic curve, ROC曲线）。
结果：(1) 物质成瘾与非物质成瘾均与非自杀性自伤存在显著相关性；(2) 通过生物信息学技术筛选得到4个靶基因：SERPINA3、SLC14A1、RPS6及RPS3A；(3) 实时定量聚合酶链式反应相对定量分析显示，非自杀性自伤患者中SLC14A1（p<0.01）、RPS6（p<0.05）及RPS3A（p<0.01）的表达水平显著高于健康对照组。
结论：(1) 中国青少年群体中成瘾与非自杀性自伤存在显著关联；(2) 成瘾相关基因SLC14A1、RPS6及RPS3A在非自杀性自伤青少年中存在差异表达，上述基因有望成为非自杀性自伤诊断的生物标志物。