1Biol. Psychiatry 2003 Apr 53: 571-6
PMID12679234
TitleThe human dihydropyrimidinase-related protein 2 gene on chromosome 8p21 is associated with paranoid-type schizophrenia.
AbstractThe dihydropyrimidinase-related protein (DRP) family, also called the collapsin response mediator protein, is implicated in the developmental process of the nervous system. Dysfunction of DRPs may result in neurodevelopmental abnormalities, which may be a factor in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The expression of one member of DRP-2 in humans has been reported to be decreased in the brains of people with schizophrenia. In addition, the DRP-2 gene (Dihydropyrimidinase-like 2; DPYSL2) is located on chromosome 8p21, a region that has been implicated in schizophrenia in genetic linkage studies.
We investigated a genetic association between five polymorphisms of the DRP-2 gene and schizophrenia in the Japanese population.
The *2236T>C polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) exhibited significant differences with respect to the distribution of the genotype and allele in patients compared with control subjects. The frequency of the *2236C allele was significantly higher in control subjects than patients with schizophrenia (p =.0097) and paranoid-type schizophrenia (p =.0083).
Our results suggest that the *2236C allele in the 3'UTR of the DRP-2 gene, or an unknown mutation in linkage disequilibrium with this allele, may reduce the susceptibility to schizophrenia, especially the paranoid subtype.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
2Am. J. Hum. Genet. 2005 Dec 77: 918-36
PMID16380905
TitleBipolar I disorder and schizophrenia: a 440-single-nucleotide polymorphism screen of 64 candidate genes among Ashkenazi Jewish case-parent trios.
AbstractBipolar, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorders are common, highly heritable psychiatric disorders, for which familial coaggregation, as well as epidemiological and genetic evidence, suggests overlapping etiologies. No definitive susceptibility genes have yet been identified for any of these disorders. Genetic heterogeneity, combined with phenotypic imprecision and poor marker coverage, has contributed to the difficulty in defining risk variants. We focused on families of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, to reduce genetic heterogeneity, and, as a precursor to genomewide association studies, we undertook a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping screen of 64 candidate genes (440 SNPs) chosen on the basis of previous linkage or of association and/or biological relevance. We genotyped an average of 6.9 SNPs per gene, with an average density of 1 SNP per 11.9 kb in 323 bipolar I disorder and 274 schizophrenia or schizoaffective Ashkenazi case-parent trios. Using single-SNP and haplotype-based transmission/disequilibrium tests, we ranked genes on the basis of strength of association (P<.01). Six genes (DAO, GRM3, GRM4, GRIN2B, IL2RB, and TUBA8) met this criterion for bipolar I disorder; only DAO has been previously associated with bipolar disorder. Six genes (RGS4, SCA1, GRM4, DPYSL2, NOS1, and GRID1) met this criterion for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder; five replicate previous associations, and one, GRID1, shows a novel association with schizophrenia. In addition, six genes (DPYSL2, DTNBP1, G30/G72, GRID1, GRM4, and NOS1) showed overlapping suggestive evidence of association in both disorders. These results may help to prioritize candidate genes for future study from among the many suspected/proposed for schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. They provide further support for shared genetic susceptibility between these two disorders that involve glutamate-signaling pathways.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
3Int. J. Neuropsychopharmacol. 2006 Dec 9: 705-12
PMID16321170
TitleAn investigation of the dihydropyrimidinase-like 2 (DPYSL2) gene in schizophrenia: genetic association study and expression analysis.
AbstractSeveral linkage studies support a susceptibility locus for schizophrenia on chromosome 8p21-22. In this study, we investigated a gene mapping to 8p21, dihydropyrimidinase-like 2 (DPYSL2). DPYSL2 plays an important role in axonal formation and dysfunction of DPYSL2 may result in neurodevelopmental abnormalities. In previous studies, the expression of the gene has been shown to display alteration in the brain of schizophrenia patients compared with those of healthy controls. Recently, Nakata and colleagues found polymorphisms in the 3'-end of DPYSL2 to be associated with schizophrenia, especially the paranoid type, in a Japanese population. In this study, we genotyped four SNPs in DPYSL2 in 2552 Chinese Han specimens. Case-control and TDT analyses were performed to detect association of DPYSL2 with schizophrenia. However, no allele, genotype or haplotype association was found. We investigated the expression of DPYSL2 in 29 schizophrenia patients and 54 healthy controls using quantitative real-time PCR and no difference was found between the two groups. In a comparative allele-specific expression test, we used two SNPs as markers. Only a small proportion of heterozygotes revealed a significant difference (>20%) in allele representation. The results indicated the mRNA level did not contribute mainly in the altered expression of the gene in schizophrenia patients. Although our results provided no evidence for DPYSL2 itself as a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia, recent findings have indicated that DPYSL2 may interact with other candidate genes for schizophrenia and be worthy of further studies.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
4Schizophr Bull 2007 Nov 33: 1343-53
PMID17329232
TitleeIF2B and oligodendrocyte survival: where nature and nurture meet in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia?
AbstractBipolar disorder and schizophrenia share common chromosomal susceptibility loci and many risk-promoting genes. Oligodendrocyte cell loss and hypomyelination are common to both diseases. A number of environmental risk factors including famine, viral infection, and prenatal or childhood stress may also predispose to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. In cells, related stressors (starvation, viruses, cytokines, oxidative, and endoplasmic reticulum stress) activate a series of eIF2-alpha kinases, which arrest protein synthesis via the eventual inhibition, by phosphorylated eIF2-alpha, of the translation initiation factor eIF2B. Growth factors increase protein synthesis via eIF2B activation and counterbalance this system. The control of protein synthesis by eIF2-alpha kinases is also engaged by long-term potentiation and repressed by long-term depression, mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and metabotropic glutamate receptors. Many genes reportedly associated with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder code for proteins within or associated with this network. These include NMDA (GRIN1, GRIN2A, GRIN2B) and metabotropic (GRM3, GRM4) glutamate receptors, growth factors (BDNF, NRG1), and many of their downstream signaling components or accomplices (AKT1, DAO, DAOA, DISC1, DTNBP1, DPYSL2, IMPA2, NCAM1, NOS1, NOS1AP, PIK3C3, PIP5K2A, PDLIM5, RGS4, YWHAH). They also include multiple gene products related to the control of the stress-responsive eIF2-alpha kinases (IL1B, IL1RN, MTHFR, TNF, ND4, NDUFV2, XBP1). Oligodendrocytes are particularly sensitive to defects in the eIF2B complex, mutations in which are responsible for vanishing white matter disease. The convergence of natural and genetic risk factors on this area in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may help to explain the apparent vulnerability of this cell type in these conditions. This convergence may also help to reconcile certain arguments related to the importance of nature and nurture in the etiology of these psychiatric disorders. Both may affect common stress-related signaling pathways that dictate oligodendrocyte viability and synaptic plasticity.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
5Mol. Psychiatry 2009 Jun 14: 563-89
PMID19204725
TitleChromosome 8p as a potential hub for developmental neuropsychiatric disorders: implications for schizophrenia, autism and cancer.
AbstractDefects in genetic and developmental processes are thought to contribute susceptibility to autism and schizophrenia. Presumably, owing to etiological complexity identifying susceptibility genes and abnormalities in the development has been difficult. However, the importance of genes within chromosomal 8p region for neuropsychiatric disorders and cancer is well established. There are 484 annotated genes located on 8p; many are most likely oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes. Molecular genetics and developmental studies have identified 21 genes in this region (ADRA1A, ARHGEF10, CHRNA2, CHRNA6, CHRNB3, DKK4, DPYSL2, EGR3, FGF17, FGF20, FGFR1, FZD3, LDL, NAT2, NEF3, NRG1, PCM1, PLAT, PPP3CC, SFRP1 and VMAT1/SLC18A1) that are most likely to contribute to neuropsychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, autism, bipolar disorder and depression), neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease) and cancer. Furthermore, at least seven nonprotein-coding RNAs (microRNAs) are located at 8p. Structural variants on 8p, such as copy number variants, microdeletions or microduplications, might also contribute to autism, schizophrenia and other human diseases including cancer. In this review, we consider the current state of evidence from cytogenetic, linkage, association, gene expression and endophenotyping studies for the role of these 8p genes in neuropsychiatric disease. We also describe how a mutation in an 8p gene (Fgf17) results in a mouse with deficits in specific components of social behavior and a reduction in its dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. We finish by discussing the biological connections of 8p with respect to neuropsychiatric disorders and cancer, despite the shortcomings of this evidence.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
6J. Hum. Genet. 2010 Jul 55: 397-9
PMID20520616
TitleA hard road in psychiatric genetics: schizophrenia and DPYSL2.
Abstract-1
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
7J. Hum. Genet. 2010 Jul 55: 469-72
PMID20414250
TitleA two-stage case-control association study of the dihydropyrimidinase-like 2 gene (DPYSL2) with schizophrenia in Japanese subjects.
AbstractWe examined the association of schizophrenia (SCZ) and dihydropyrimidinase-like 2 (DPYSL2), also known as collapsin response mediator protein 2, which regulates axonal growth and branching. We genotyped 20 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 1464 patients and 1310 controls. There were two potential associations in a screening population of 384 patients and 384 controls (rs2585458: P=0.046, rs4733048: P=0.014). However, we could not replicate these associations in a confirmatory population of 1080 patients and 926 controls (rs2585458: P=0.39, rs4733048: P=0.70) or a joint analysis (rs2585458: P=0.72, rs4733048: P=0.10). We conclude that DPYSL2 does not have a major function in SCZ in Japanese subjects.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
8J. Neurosci. 2010 Feb 30: 2979-88
PMID20181595
TitleProteomic identification of binding partners for the brain metabolite lanthionine ketimine (LK) and documentation of LK effects on microglia and motoneuron cell cultures.
AbstractLanthionine ketimine (LK) represents a poorly understood class of thioethers present in mammalian CNS. Previous work has indicated high-affinity interaction of LK with synaptosomal membrane protein(s), but neither LK binding partners nor specific bioactivities have been reported. In this study, LK was chemically synthesized and used as an affinity agent to capture binding partners from mammalian brain lysate. Liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry of electrophoretically separated, LK-bound proteins identified polypeptides implicated in axon remodeling or vesicle trafficking and diseases including Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia: collapsin response mediator protein-2/dihydropyrimidinase-like protein-2 (CRMP2/DRP2/DPYSL2), myelin basic protein, and syntaxin-binding protein-1 (STXBP1/Munc-18). Also identified was the recently discovered glutathione-binding protein lanthionine synthetase-like protein-1. Functional consequences of LK:CRMP2 interactions were probed through immunoprecipitation studies using brain lysate wherein LK was found to increase CRMP2 coprecipitation with its partner neurofibromin-1 but decreased CRMP2 coprecipitation with beta-tubulin. Functional studies of NSC-34 motor neuron-like cells indicated that a cell-permeable LK-ester, LKE, was nontoxic and protective against oxidative challenge with H(2)O(2). LKE-treated NSC-34 cells significantly increased neurite number and length in a serum concentration-dependent manner, consistent with a CRMP2 interaction. Finally, LKE antagonized the activation of EOC-20 microglia by inflammogens. The results are discussed with reference to possible biochemical origins, paracrine functions, neurological significance, and pharmacological potential of lanthionyl compounds.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
9Am. J. Med. Genet. B Neuropsychiatr. Genet. 2011 Mar 156: 188-97
PMID21302347
TitleLinkage and association on 8p21.2-p21.1 in schizophrenia.
AbstractIn the past decade, we and others have consistently reported linkage to a schizophrenia (SZ) susceptibility region on chromosome 8p21. Most recently, in the largest SZ linkage sample to date, a multi-site international collaboration performed a SNP-based linkage scan (~6,000 SNPs; 831 pedigrees; 121 from Johns Hopkins (JHU)), that showed the strongest evidence for linkage in a 1?Mb region of chr 8p21 from rs1561817 to rs9797 (Z(max)?=?3.22, P?=?0.0004) [Holmans et al. 2009. Mol Psychiatry]. We have investigated this 8p21 peak region further in two ways: first by linkage and family-based association in 106 8p-linked European-Caucasian (EUC) JHU pedigrees using 1,402 SNPs across a 4.4?Mb region surrounding the peak; second, by an independent case-control association study in the genetically more homogeneous Ashkenazim (AJ) (709 cases, 1,547 controls) using 970 SNPs in a further narrowed 2.8?Mb region. Family-based association analyses in EUC pedigrees and case-control analyses in AJ samples reveal significant associations for SNPs in and around DPYSL2 and ADRA1A, candidate genes previously associated with SZ in our work and others. Further, several independent gene expression studies have shown that DPYSL2 is differentially expressed in SZ brains [Beasley et al. 2006. Proteomics 6(11):3414?3425; Edgar et al. 2000. Mol Psychiatry 5(1):85?90; Johnston-Wilson et al. 2000. Mol Psychiatry 5(2):142?149] or in response to psychosis-inducing pharmaceuticals [Iwazaki et al. 2007. Proteomics 7(7):1131?1139; Paulson et al. 2004. Proteomics 4(3):819?825]. Taken together, this work further supports DPYSL2 and the surrounding genomic region as a susceptibility locus for SZ.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
10Mol. Neurobiol. 2011 Jun 43: 180-91
PMID21271304
TitleCollapsin response mediator protein-2: an emerging pathologic feature and therapeutic target for neurodisease indications.
AbstractCollapsin response mediator protein-2 (DPYSL2 or CRMP2) is a multifunctional adaptor protein within the central nervous system. In the developing brain or cell cultures, CRMP2 performs structural and regulatory functions related to cytoskeletal dynamics, vesicle trafficking and synaptic physiology whereas CRMP2 functions in adult brain are still being elucidated. CRMP2 has been associated with several neuropathologic or psychiatric conditions including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and schizophrenia, either at the level of genetic polymorphisms; protein expression; post-translational modifications; or protein/protein interactions. In AD, CRMP2 is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase-3? (GSK3?) and cyclin dependent protein kinase-5 (CDK5), the same kinases that act on tau protein in generating neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Phosphorylated CRMP2 collects in NFTs in association with the synaptic structure-regulating SRA1/WAVE1 (specifically Rac1-associated protein-1/WASP family verprolin-homologous protein-1) complex. This phenomenon could plausibly contribute to deficits in neural and synaptic structure that have been well documented in AD. This review discusses the essential biology of CRMP2 in the context of nascent data implicating CRMP2 perturbations as either a correlate of, or plausible contributor to, diverse neuropathologies. A discussion is made of recent findings that the atypical antidepressant tianeptine increases CRMP2 expression, whereas other, neuroactive small molecules including the epilepsy drug lacosamide and the natural brain metabolite lanthionine ketimine appear to bind CRMP2 directly with concomitant affects on neural structure. These findings constitute proofs-of-concept that pharmacological manipulation of CRMP2 is possible and hence, may offer new opportunities for therapy development against certain neurological diseases.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
11ISRN Psychiatry 2013 -1 2013: 620361
PMID23738220
TitleChronic phencyclidine increases synapsin-1 and synaptic adaptation proteins in the medial prefrontal cortex.
AbstractPhencyclidine (PCP) mimics many aspects of schizophrenia, yet the underlying mechanism of neurochemical adaptation for PCP is unknown. We therefore used proteomics to study changes in the medial prefrontal cortex in animals with PCP-induced behavioural deficits. Male Wistar rats were injected with saline or 5?mg/kg phencyclidine for 5 days followed by two days of washout. Spontaneous alternation behaviour was tested in a Y-maze and then proteins were extracted from the medial prefrontal cortex. 2D-DIGE analysis followed by spot picking and protein identification with mass spectrometry then provided a list of differentially expressed proteins. Treatment with 5?mg/kg phencyclidine decreased the percentage of correct alternations in the Y-maze compared to saline-treated controls. Proteomics analysis of the medial prefrontal cortex found upregulation of 6 proteins (synapsin-1, Dpysl3, Aco2, Fscn1, Tuba1c, and Mapk1) and downregulation of 11 (Bin1, DPYSL2, Sugt1, ApoE, Psme1, ERp29, Pgam1, Uchl1, Ndufv2, Pcmt1, and Vdac1). A trend to upregulation was observed for Gnb4 and Capza2, while downregulation trends were noted for alpha-enolase and Fh. Many of the hits in this study concur with recent postmortem data from schizophrenic patients and this further validates the use of phencyclidine in preclinical translational research.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
12ISRN Psychiatry 2013 -1 2013: 620361
PMID23738220
TitleChronic phencyclidine increases synapsin-1 and synaptic adaptation proteins in the medial prefrontal cortex.
AbstractPhencyclidine (PCP) mimics many aspects of schizophrenia, yet the underlying mechanism of neurochemical adaptation for PCP is unknown. We therefore used proteomics to study changes in the medial prefrontal cortex in animals with PCP-induced behavioural deficits. Male Wistar rats were injected with saline or 5?mg/kg phencyclidine for 5 days followed by two days of washout. Spontaneous alternation behaviour was tested in a Y-maze and then proteins were extracted from the medial prefrontal cortex. 2D-DIGE analysis followed by spot picking and protein identification with mass spectrometry then provided a list of differentially expressed proteins. Treatment with 5?mg/kg phencyclidine decreased the percentage of correct alternations in the Y-maze compared to saline-treated controls. Proteomics analysis of the medial prefrontal cortex found upregulation of 6 proteins (synapsin-1, Dpysl3, Aco2, Fscn1, Tuba1c, and Mapk1) and downregulation of 11 (Bin1, DPYSL2, Sugt1, ApoE, Psme1, ERp29, Pgam1, Uchl1, Ndufv2, Pcmt1, and Vdac1). A trend to upregulation was observed for Gnb4 and Capza2, while downregulation trends were noted for alpha-enolase and Fh. Many of the hits in this study concur with recent postmortem data from schizophrenic patients and this further validates the use of phencyclidine in preclinical translational research.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
13J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2014 Jan 121: 105-11
PMID23846846
TitleAssociation between DPYSL2 gene polymorphisms and alcohol dependence in Caucasian samples.
AbstractThe DPYSL2 gene at 8p22-p21 is expressed widely in neuronal tissues and has been implicated in multiple psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. We therefore hypothesized that DPYSL2 gene polymorphisms may play a role in alcohol dependence (AD). We investigated the genetic associations of 57 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the DPYSL2 gene with AD using two Caucasian samples-the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) sample (660 AD cases and 400 controls), and the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment (SAGE) sample (623 cases and 1,016 controls). The SNP rs11995227 was most significantly associated with AD (p = 0.000122) in the COGA sample while one flanking SNP rs7832576 revealed the second most significant association with AD (p = 0.00163) in the COGA sample and association with AD (p = 0.0195) in the SAGE sample. Meta-analysis of two samples showed both rs119952227 and rs7832576 were associated with AD (p = 0.000363 and 0.000184, respectively). Furthermore, the C-A haplotype from rs11995227 and rs7832576 revealed significant association with AD (p = 0.0000899) in the COGA sample while the T-G haplotype revealed association with AD both in the COGA and SAGE samples (p = 0.00098 and 0.021, respectively). These findings suggest that genetic variants in DPYSL2 may play a role in susceptibility to AD.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
14G3 (Bethesda) 2014 Jan 5: 61-72
PMID25416705
TitleFunctional variants in DPYSL2 sequence increase risk of schizophrenia and suggest a link to mTOR signaling.
AbstractNumerous linkage and association studies by our group and others have implicated DPYSL2 at 8p21.2 in schizophrenia. Here we explore DPYSL2 for functional variation that underlies these associations. We sequenced all 14 exons of DPYSL2 as well as 27 conserved noncoding regions at the locus in 137 cases and 151 controls. We identified 120 variants, eight of which we genotyped in an additional 729 cases and 1542 controls. Several were significantly associated with schizophrenia, including a three single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) haplotype in the proximal promoter, two SNPs in intron 1, and a polymorphic dinucleotide repeat in the 5'-untranslated region that alters sequences predicted to be involved in translational regulation by mammalian target of rapamycin signaling. The 3-SNP promoter haplotype and the sequence surrounding one of the intron 1 SNPs direct tissue-specific expression in the nervous systems of Zebrafish in a pattern consistent with the two endogenous DPYSL2 paralogs. In addition, two SNP haplotypes over the coding exons and 3' end of DPYSL2 showed association with opposing sex-specific risks. These data suggest that these polymorphic, schizophrenia-associated sequences function as regulatory elements for DPYSL2 expression. In transient transfection assays, the high risk allele of the polymorphic dinucleotide repeat diminished reporter expression by 3- to 4-fold. Both the high- and low-risk alleles respond to allosteric mTOR inhibition by rapamycin until, at high drug levels, allelic differences are eliminated. Our results suggest that reduced transcription and mTOR-regulated translation of certain DPYSL2 isoforms increase the risk for schizophrenia.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
15Proteomics Clin Appl 2015 Oct 9: 817-31
PMID25921334
TitleThe protein interactome of collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP2/DPYSL2) reveals novel partner proteins in brain tissue.
AbstractCollapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP2) is a CNS protein involved in neuronal development, axonal and neuronal growth, cell migration, and protein trafficking. Recent studies have linked perturbations in CRMP2 function to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, neuropathic pain, and Batten disease, and to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Like most proteins, CRMP2 functions though interactions with a molecular network of proteins and other molecules.
Here, we have attempted to identify additional proteins of the CRMP2 interactome to provide further leads about its roles in neurological functions. We used a combined co-immunoprecipitation and shotgun proteomic approach in order to identify CRMP2 protein partners.
We identified 78 CRMP2 protein partners not previously reported in public protein interaction databases. These were involved in seven biological processes, which included cell signaling, growth, metabolism, trafficking, and immune function, according to Gene Ontology classifications. Furthermore, 32 different molecular functions were found to be associated with these proteins, such as RNA binding, ribosomal functions, transporter activity, receptor activity, serine/threonine phosphatase activity, cell adhesion, cytoskeletal protein binding and catalytic activity. In silico pathway interactome construction revealed a highly connected network with the most overrepresented functions corresponding to semaphorin interactions, along with axon guidance and WNT5A signaling.
Taken together, these findings suggest that the CRMP2 pathway is critical for regulating neuronal and synaptic architecture. Further studies along these lines might uncover novel biomarkers and drug targets for use in drug discovery.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic
16Int. J. Mol. Med. 2015 Jun 35: 1574-86
PMID25847191
TitleChanges in Dpysl2 expression are associated with prenatally stressed rat offspring and susceptibility to schizophrenia in humans.
AbstractExposure to stress during critical periods of fetal brain development is an environmental risk factor for the development of schizophrenia in adult offspring. In the present study, a repeated-variable stress paradigm was applied to pregnant rats during the last week of gestation, which is analogous to the second trimester of brain development in humans. Behavioral and proteomic analyses were conducted in prenatally-stressed (PNS) adult offspring and non-stressed (NS) adult controls. In the behavioral tests, grooming behavior in the social interaction test, line-crossing behavior in the open field test, and swimming behavior in the forced swimming test were decreased in the PNS group. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the expression of dihydropyrimidinase-like 2 (DPYSL2) or collapsin response mediator protein 2 (Crmp2) was downregulated in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of rats in the PNS group. Subsequently, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the human dihydropyrimidinase-like 2 (DPYSL2) gene were analyzed in a population. Two functional SNPs (rs9886448 in the promoter region and rs2289593 in the exon region) were associated with susceptibility to schizophrenia. The present findings demonstrated that the downregulation of genes such as DPYSL2 and Dypsl3 in a rat model of prenatal stress may affect subsequent behavioral changes and that polymorphisms of the DPYSL2 gene in humans may be associated with the development of schizophrenia. Taken together with previous studies investigating the association between the DPYSL2 gene and schizophrenia, the present findings may contribute additional evidence regarding developmental theories of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
SCZ Keywordsschizophrenia, schizophrenic