| 1 | Br J Psychiatry 2015 Dec 207: 490-4 |
|---|---|
| PMID | 26206863 |
| Title | Loci with genome-wide associations with schizophrenia in the Han Chinese population. |
| Abstract | A large schizophrenia genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a subsequent extensive replication study of individuals of European ancestry identified eight new loci with genome-wide significance and suggested that the MIR137-mediated pathway plays a role in the predisposition for schizophrenia. To validate the above findings in a Han Chinese population. We analysed the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the newly identified schizophrenia candidate loci and predicted MIR137 target genes based on our published Han Chinese populations (BIOX) GWAS data. We then analysed 18 SNPs from the candidate regions in an independent cohort that consisted of 3585 patients with schizophrenia and 5496 controls of Han Chinese ancestry. We replicated the associations of five markers (P<0.05), including three that were located in the predicted MIR137 target genes. Two loci (ITIH3/4: rs2239547, P = 1.17 × 10(-10) and CALN1: rs2944829, P = 9.97 × 10(-9)) exhibited genome-wide significance in the Han Chinese population. The ITIH3/4 locus has been reported to be of genome-wide significance in the European population. The successful replication of this finding in a different ethnic group provides stronger evidence for the association between schizophrenia and ITIH3/4. We detected the first genome-wide significant association of schizophrenia with CALN1, which is a predicted target of MIR137, and thus provide new evidence for the associations between MIR137 targets and schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 2 | Neurosci. Lett. 2015 Aug 602: 110-4 |
| PMID | 26163462 |
| Title | Experimental validation of candidate schizophrenia gene CALN1 as a target for microRNA-137. |
| Abstract | MIR137, which encodes microRNA-137 (miR-137), and several of its target genes exhibit genome-wide significant associations with schizophrenia. In a previous study, we analyzed the SNPs in a group of predicted MIR137 target genes and detected genome-wide significant association of schizophrenia with rs2944829 in the CALN1 gene. However, no experimental evidence for CALN1 and MIR137 interaction has yet been reported. In this study, we first computationally analyzed the putative miR-137 target site on CALN1 and predicted that miR-137 binds CALN1 at nucleotide (nt) position 236-242 in the 3'UTR. Then we assayed gene expression by transfecting miR-137 mimics into HEK293 and SH-SY5Y cell lines. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR results showed that the expression level of CALN1 significantly decreased in cells co-transfected with miR-137 mimics compared to cells transfected with the blank control (P=.0046 in HEK293 cell lines, P=.038 in SH-SY5Y cells lines). Finally, we co-transfected different combinations of miRNA mimics and either wild type CALN1 3'UTR or mutant 3'UTR reporters into HEK293 and SH-SY5Y cell lines and assessed the specificity of miRNA binding using a luciferase reporter assay. The transfection of miR-137 mimics corresponded with a considerable reduction of luciferase activity on vectors carrying the target fragment (P=1.17×10(-5), 68% reduction in HEK293 cell line, and P=5.09×10(-6), 32% reduction in SH-SY5Y cell line). This inhibition was impaired by site-directed mutagenesis of the miR-137 target fragment. Our results provide strong evidence that CALN1 is a target of miR-137. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 3 | Psychiatr. Genet. 2016 Jun 26: 142-3 |
| PMID | 26991396 |
| Title | Schizophrenia risk variants in ITIH4 and CALN1 regulate gene expression in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. |
| Abstract | -1 |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 4 | Biol. Psychiatry 2016 Jun 79: 988-96 |
| PMID | 26212897 |
| Title | The Relationship of Common Risk Variants and Polygenic Risk for Schizophrenia to Sensorimotor Gating. |
| Abstract | Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex has been suggested as a candidate endophenotype for schizophrenia research, as it shows high heritability and has been found deficient in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The objectives of the study were to 1) identify common genetic variants associated with baseline startle and PPI; 2) estimate the single nucleotide polymorphism heritability; and 3) examine the relationship of polygenic score for schizophrenia with baseline startle and PPI. A cohort of healthy young male subjects (n = 1493) originating from the Learning on Genetics of schizophrenia Spectrum project was assessed for baseline startle and PPI. The most recent genome-wide association study in schizophrenia from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium 2 was used to calculate polygenic scores. Eleven loci showed suggestive association (p < 10(-6)) with baseline startle and PPI in the discovery cohort. Additional genotyping in a replication cohort identified genome-wide significant association at two loci (rs61810702 and rs4718984). These loci were co-localized with expression quantitative trait loci associated with gene expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and calneuron 1 (CALN1) genes. Estimation of the genetic and environmental contributions to baseline startle and PPI showed a substantial single nucleotide polymorphism heritability for 120-ms PPI stimuli. Increased polygenic risk score for schizophrenia was associated with reduced PPI. Common genetic variation has an important role in the etiology of schizophrenia and PPI impairments. Overall, these data support the idea that PPI is a valid endophenotype that can be used to explore the genetic architecture of schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |