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Schizophrenia and the HLA-DRB1 gene in the Japanese population
T Sasaki1, M Matsushita, S Nanko
1Department of Psychiatry, Teikyo University Mizonokuchi Hospital, Kawasaki, Japan.
Insights
This study found a higher prevalence of the HLA-DR1 gene in Japanese schizophrenia patients compared to healthy individuals. No significant association was found with the HLA-DR4 gene in this patient group.
Area of Science:
- Immunogenetics
- Psychiatric Genetics
- Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) System
Background:
- Previous small Japanese studies indicated a potential link between schizophrenia and the HLA-DR1 gene.
- Research on Caucasian populations suggested an association between schizophrenia and the HLA-DR4 gene.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the association between the HLA-DR1 gene and schizophrenia in a larger Japanese cohort.
- To investigate the prevalence of the HLA-DR4 gene in Japanese patients with schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 233 unrelated Japanese patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.
- Comparison with a control group of 493 healthy Japanese volunteers.
- Analysis of the Human Leukocyte Antigen - DRB1 (HLA-DRB1) gene occurrence, specifically DR1 and DR4 alleles.
Main Results:
- The HLA-DR1 allele (DRB1*0101) was found in a significantly higher proportion of schizophrenia patients (15.9%) compared to controls (10.5%).
- No statistically significant difference in the prevalence of the HLA-DR4 allele was observed between schizophrenia patients (36.9%) and healthy volunteers (40.6%).
Conclusions:
- The findings support the hypothesis that the HLA-DR1 gene is more prevalent in Japanese individuals with schizophrenia.
- The study did not find evidence for an association between schizophrenia and the HLA-DR4 gene in the Japanese population.
- Combined data from this and other Japanese studies suggest a potential protective role or lower prevalence of HLA-DR4 in schizophrenia.
Objective:
Small Japanese studies have suggested that patients with schizophrenia have higher rates of the HLA-DR1 gene than normal subjects. The authors' goal in the present study was to confirm this finding in a larger number of Japanese subjects. They also investigated the rate of DR4 in Japanese patients with schizophrenia because it has been reported that Caucasian patients with schizophrenia have higher rates of DR4.
Method:
They studied the occurrence of the HLA-DRB1 gene in 233 unrelated Japanese patients with schizophrenia compared with the occurrence of the gene in a group of 493 healthy Japanese volunteers.
Results:
A larger proportion of the patients with schizophrenia (15.9%) than the comparison subjects (10.5%) were found to have DR1 (DRB1*0101). The proportion of patients (36.9%) and comparison subjects (40.6%) with DR4 did not differ significantly.
Conclusions:
Consistent with the findings of three other Japanese studies, the findings of the present study suggest that the rate of HLA-DR1 may be higher in Japanese patients with schizophrenia than in normal Japanese subjects. No evidence for an association between schizophrenia and the rate of DR4 was obtained in this study, although the combined data from the present study and other Japanese studies support the finding of lower rates of DR4 among patients with schizophrenia.