Lack of association between the regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4) rs951436 polymorphism and schizophrenia

摘要

The regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4) modulates G-protein signaling in several neurotransmitter systems, including metabotropic glutamate, dopamine, and serotonin. RGS4 is highly expressed in the neocortex, the striatum, and the hippocampus. Given that these transmitter systems and brain regions have been implicated in schizophrenia, variation in the RGS4 gene, located on chromosome Iq23.3, has been frequently analyzed in this disorder {http://www.szgene.org). One RGS4 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs951436) located in the 5'-domain has, besides being associated with schizophrenia, also been associated with negative schizo-typal personality traits (Stefanis et al., 2008) and bipolar disorder (Li et a/., 2010), a disorder sharing genetic susceptibility with schizophrenia. In addition, the rs951436 polymorphism has been reported to influence frontoparietal and frontotemporal blood oxygenation level-dependent responses and network coupling during working memory, and regionally specific reductions in gray and white matter brain volumes, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, suggesting possible mechanisms in the brain for the reported associations (Prasad etal., 2005, Buckholtz etal., 2007). In the present study, the association between the RGS4 rs951436 polymorphism and schizophrenia was investigated.