Association study of a polymorphism of nonerythroid alpha-spectrin gene with schizophrenia

The specificity of cytoarchitectural abnormalities in limbic structures of patients with schizophrenia and their contributions towards the etiology of schizophrenia remain unknown. We have recently reported an increased breakdown of nonerythroid alpha-spectrin (fodrin), a major component of neuronal cytoskeletal proteins, in schizophrenic left superior temporal cortices [Kitamura et al., 1998: Biol Psychiatry 43:254-262], suggesting that polymorphisms of the alpha-spectrin gene might contribute to the vulnerability to schizophrenia. We screened for genetic variations associated with schizophrenia through the C-terminus sequences of the human nonerythroid alpha-spectrin gene (SPTAN1) spanning two EF-hands and also tested a possible contribution of the polymorphism to the development of schizophrenia by an association study. We found a polymorphic region of an intron located in the second EF-hand of SPTAN1 gene. There was no significant difference between patients with schizophrenia and controls in allele frequencies or genotype distribution. There is evidence that the Psh BI SPTAN1 gene polymorphism does not play a major role in the genetic component of schizophrenia.