Serotonin receptor gene haplotype may reduce schizophrenia risk in Japanese carriers - Mental Health

25 сентября, 2003
A serotonin receptor gene haplotype may be associated with a reduced risk of schizophrenia in Japanese individuals. Pain & Central Nervous System Week via NewsEdge Corporation : A serotonin receptor gene haplotype may be associated with a reduced risk of schizophrenia in Japanese individuals. "The serotonin 5-HT4 receptor (5-HT4) is implicated in cognitive function, of which impairment is hypothesized as one of the core disturbances of schizophrenia," scientists in Japan noted. "Linkage analysis shows that 5q33.2," which contains the 5-HT4 gene (HTR4), "is a schizophrenia-susceptibility locus." T. Suzuki and colleagues at Fujita Health University hypothesized that variation in HTR4 "modifies genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia." In their study, "HTR4 coding regions and introns that include the branch sites of HTR4 were investigated in 96 unrelated Japanese schizophrenics using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography analysis." "One silent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the coding region and six intronic SNPs were detected," with the 353 + 6G>A mutation "located in a branch site that could effect RNA splicing," they reported. "None of the four SNPs, in which rare-allele frequencies were more than 10% was associated with 189 schizophrenics, in comparison to 299 controls," study data showed. "However, a highly significant association between schizophrenia and haplotype A-T (OR=0.13 [0.03-0.58]) was detected." "These findings suggest that haplotype A-T itself may inhibit the occurrence of schizophrenia, or that another susceptible genetic variants may exist within linkage disequilibrium," the researchers concluded. Suzuki and coauthors published their study in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B - Neuropsychiatric Genetics (Association of a haplotype in the serotonin 5-HT4 receptor gene (HTR4) with Japanese schizophrenia. Am J Med Genet Part B, 2003;121B(1):7-13). Additional information can be obtained by contacting N. Iwata, Fujita Health University, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Toyoake, Aichi 4701192, Japan. The publisher of the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B - Neuropsychiatric Genetics can be contacted at: Wiley-Liss, Division John Wiley & Sons Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, USA. The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Genomics & Genetics, Mental Health, Neuroscience and Receptor Studies. This article was prepared by Pain & Central Nervous System Week editors from staff and other reports. <> << Copyright ©2003 NewsRx.com >>
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