S. G. Schwab

Haplotypic association spanning the 22q11.21 genes COMT and ARVCF with schizophrenia

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) has been implicated in schizophrenia by its function through its roles in monoamine neurotransmitter metabolism and its impact on prefrontal cognition, and also by its position through linkage scans and a strong cytogenetic association. Further support comes from association studies, especially family-based ones examining the COMT variant, Val108/158Met. We have studied eight markers spanning COMT and including portions of the two immediately adjacent genes, thioredoxin reductase 2 and armadillo repeat deleted in velocardiofacial syndrome (ARVCF), using association testing in 136 schizophrenia families. We found nominal evidence for association of illness to rs165849 (P=0.051) in ARVCF, and a stronger signal (global P=0.0019–0.0036) from three-marker haplotypes spanning the 3′ portions of COMT and ARVCF, including Val108/158Met with Val108/158 being the overtransmitted allele, consistent with previous studies. We also find Val108/158Met to be in linkage disequilibrium with the markers in ARVCF. These findings support previous association signals of schizophrenia to COMT markers, and suggest that ARVCF might contribute to this signal. ARVCF, a member of the catenin family, besides being a positional candidate, is also one due to its function, that is, its potential role in neurodevelopment, which is implicated in schizophrenia pathogenesis by several lines of evidence.

Multicenter linkage study of schizophrenia loci on chromosome 22q.

The hypothesis of the existence of one or more schizophrenia susceptibility loci on chromosome 22q is supported by reports of genetic linkage and association, meta-analyses of linkage, and the observation of elevated risk for psychosis in people with velocardiofacial syndrome, caused by 22q11 microdeletions. We tested this hypothesis by evaluating 10 microsatellite markers spanning 22q in a multicenter sample of 779 pedigrees. We also incorporated age at onset and sex into the analysis as covariates. No significant evidence for linkage to schizophrenia or for linkage associated with earlier age at onset, gender, or heterogeneity across sites was observed. We interpret these findings to mean that the population-wide effects of putative 22q schizophrenia susceptibility loci are too weak to detect with linkage analysis even in large samples.

Serotonin transporter gene and schizophrenia : evidence for association/linkage disequilibrium in families with affected siblings

The serotonergic (5-HT) system has been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of psychoses. Since the 5-HT transporter plays an important role in regulation of 5-HT transmission, its gene can be considered as a candidate for vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. Two polymorphic sites of the 5-HT transporter gene—5-HTTLPR, a VNTR in the 5′ regulatory region, and a VNTR in the second intron—were studied in a sample of 61 families with schizophrenia for transmission disequilibrium. Each family contained at least two siblings affected with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (mainly schizophrenic). One hundred and thirty-nine affected offspring with parental information for genotyping, were available for analysis. No preferential transmission of either short or long alleles of the promoter polymorphism was observed. However, a transmission distortion was detected for alleles of the intronic VNTR polymorphism (χ2TDT max =14.33; P = 0.0002; corrected P value = 0.0003) resulting in more frequent than expected transmission of the 12 repeat allele. This finding adds additional evidence to the idea that the serotonergic system may be involved in development of psychoses.

Evidence for association of DNA sequence variants in the phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase IIα gene (PIP5K2A) with schizophrenia

Linkage studies in schizophrenia have identified a candidate region on chromosome 10p14–11 as reported for several independent samples. We investigated association of DNA sequence variants in a plausible candidate gene located in this region, the gene for phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase IIα (PIP5K2A), in a sample of 65 sib-pair families for which linkage had been reported. Evidence for association was obtained for 15 polymorphisms spanning 73.6 kb in the genomic region of the gene between intron 4 and the 3′ untranslated region, a region with high degree of linkage disequilibrium. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs10828317 located in exon 7 and causing a non-synonymous amino-acid exchange (asparagine/serine) produced a P-value of 0.001 (experiment-wide significance level 0.00275) for over-transmission of the major allele coding for serine, analysed by transmission disequilibrium test using FAMHAP. Association of this SNP with schizophrenia has been also described in a sample of 273 Dutch schizophrenic patients and 580 controls (P=0.0004). PIP5K2A is involved in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2), one of the key metabolic crossroads in phosphoinositide signalling. PI(4,5)P2 plays a role in membrane transduction of neurotransmitter signals as well as in intracellular signalling, pathways that may be impaired in schizophrenia.

Allelic association between the D10S1423 marker and Alzheimer's disease in a German population

Recently a full genome survey detected an allelic association between Alzheimers disease (AD) and the D10S1423 marker on chromosome 10p12-14 (40 cM from the telomere). In this study we examined the D10S1423 marker in an ethnically homogeneous German population of 80 AD patients and two groups of controls, 168 healthy subjects and 149 depressed patients. The 234-bp allele of the D10S1423 marker showed a significant association with AD (P = 0.033). In conclusion, our results support that the D10S1423 marker is associated with an increased AD risk and provides further evidence for an AD susceptibility locus on chromosome 10.

GENETIK SCHIZOPHRENER STORUNGEN : NEUERE KONZEPTE UND BEFUNDE

ZusammenfassungDie Schizophrenie gehört zu den genetisch komplexen Erkrankungen, die keinem monogenen Erbgang folgen und bei denen auch nichtfamiliäre Umgebungsfaktoren eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Dabei wird intrafamiliär ein heterogener, quantitativ variierender Phänotyp übertragen, der zunehmend genauer charakterisiert werden kann. Keines der bekannten Gene mit vermuteter pathophysiologischer Relevanz spielt nach den bisherigen Erkenntnissen eine substantielle Rolle. In den vergangenen drei Jahren ist es aber erstmals durch Kopplungsuntersuchungen gelungen, mehrere replizierbare Kandidatenregionen (derzeit sieben) auf dem Genom zu identifizieren, in denen vermutlich Suszeptibilitätsgene für Schizophrenie liegen. Keines dieser Gene wurde jedoch bislang identifiziert. Mit diesen Befunden ist eine polygene Übertragung der Schizophrenie sehr wahrscheinlich geworden. Verschiedene Techniken zur Eingrenzung der Kandidatenregionen werden derzeit erfolgreich angewandt.SummarySchizophrenia is a genetic complex disease as it does not follow monogenic transmission while non-familial environmental factors have a strong additional impact. A heterogenous, continuous phenotype is transmitted in families which can now be more precisely characterized. Genes coding for proteins with presumed pathophysiological relevance are apparently not playing a major causal role. However, in the last three years several (currently seven) candidate regions have been identified in a replicable manner by linkage studies. These regions are likely to host susceptibility genes for schizophrenia, but none of them has been identified up to now. Given these findings, polygenic transmission has now become very likely. The candidate regions are currently being narrowed down by various promising techniques.

Association between hSKCa3 and schizophrenia not confirmed by transmission disequilibrium test in 193 offspring/parents trios

A possible association between the small conductance calcium-regulated potassium channel gene, hSKCa3, and schizophrenia has recently been described by Chandy et al1 using a case-control design with patients with schizophrenia (n = 141) and matched controls (n = 158). The gene may be considered as an excellent candidate gene for psychiatric disorders, since it plays a role in modulating neuronal firing patterns by regulating the slow component of afterhyperpolarisation. In addition, the gene contains a highly polymorphic trinucleotide sequence (CAG) within exon 1, which encodes a polyglutamine stretch. The possible contribution of unstable trinucleotide repeats to the development of psychiatric disorders has previously been discussed.2–4 Chandy et al1 reported an over-representation of alleles with higher repeat number in schizophrenics as compared to controls (P = 0.0035). In an attempt to replicate these findings, we have performed a family-based study with 193 offspring/parent combinations using a sample of 49 multiplex families (two or more affected siblings with parents) and a second sample of 83 simplex families (one affected offspring with parents). No evidence for the association of longer repeats with schizophrenia was obtained when each sample was tested separately or when both samples were combined and tested for transmission disequilibrium.

Investigation of complement C4B deficiency in schizophrenia.

Several lines of evidence suggest that autoimmune mechanisms might contribute to the development of schizophrenia. Important factors involved in immune responses in man include the human leukocyte antigens and components of the complement system. In the present study we attempted to confirm a positive association between a homozygous deficiency in complement factor C4B and schizophrenia as previously reported. We also determined parental genotypes in a subset of our schizophrenic patients to test the hypothesis of a genetic mechanism depending on the mothers genotype. C4B deficiency was found in similar frequency among patients (n = 176) and controls (n = 145). There was also no increased frequency of C4B deficiency in the mothers of schizophrenic patients. Our study does not support a widespread or consistent association between a deficiency in complement component C4B and schizophrenia.

No association between the dopamine D3 receptor Bal I polymorphism and schizophrenia in a family-based study of a Palestinian Arab population

Several recent meta-analyses appear to show a weak but significant effect of both forms of the gly/ser DRD3 polymorphism in conferring risk for schizophrenia. Since most studies have employed the artifact-prone case-control design, we thought it worthwhile to examine the role of this polymorphism using a robust family-based strategy in an ethnic group not previously systematically studied in psychiatric genetics, Palestinian Arabs. We failed to obtain any evidence in 129 Palestinian triads, using the haplotype relative risk (allele frequency: Pearson chi-square = 0.009, P > 0.1, df = 1, n = 258 alleles) or transmission disequilibrium test design (chi-square = 0.38, P > 0.1, n = 86 families) for association/linkage (or increased homozygosity) of the DRD3 Bal I polymorphism to schizophrenia in our sample. Am. J. Med. Genet. (Neuropsychiatr. Genet.) 96:778-780, 2000.

Association of amygdala volumes with cortisol secretion in unipolar depressed patients

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is accompanied by morphological changes of brain structures which are of great importance in the neural circuitry mediating depression like the hippocampus and the amygdala. Hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system resulting in enhanced glucocorticoid secretion can often be observed during depression and has been thought to play an important role in inducing these morphological changes. We used magnetic resonance imaging to investigate alterations of amygdala and hippocampal volumes in 86 in-patients with unipolar depression and 87 healthy controls, and we then correlated amygdala and hippocampal volumes of 76 in-patients with the area under the curve of cortisol secretion in the dexamethasone/corticotropin releasing hormone (Dex/CRH) test at baseline and during short-term antidepressant therapy. In line with recently published studies both left and right amygdala volumes of patients in a first depressive episode were smaller than those of healthy controls. Patients with recurrent depressive episodes showed a reduction of hippocampal volumes, while amygdala volumes were normal. Larger left and right amygdala volumes correlated with a more pronounced reduction of HPA activity, measured by the cortisol secretion in the combined DEX/CRH test, during antidepressant therapy in patients with recurrent depressive episodes.