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Support for an association between HLA-DR1 and schizophrenia in the Japanese population
R Akaho1, I Matsushita, K Narita
1Section of Mental Health, Health Service Center, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Japanese schizophrenia patients show a higher frequency of HLA-DR1. This study supports previous findings, while no significant difference in HLA-DR4 was observed between patients and controls.
Area of Science:
- Immunogenetics
- Psychiatric Genetics
Background:
- Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes are crucial for immune response and have been implicated in various diseases, including schizophrenia.
- Previous studies suggest a potential association between specific HLA alleles and schizophrenia risk, with varying results across different populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the frequencies of HLA-DR1 and HLA-DR4 in a Japanese cohort of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls.
- To clarify the association of these HLA alleles with schizophrenia in the Japanese population.
Main Methods:
- Case-control study involving 45 unrelated Japanese patients with schizophrenia and 117 healthy Japanese comparison subjects.
- Analysis of Human Leukocyte Antigen - DR1 (HLA-DR1) and HLA-DR4 allele frequencies in both groups.
- Meta-analysis combining data from the current study with three previous Japanese studies.
Main Results:
- A statistically significant higher frequency of HLA-DR1 was observed in schizophrenia patients (22%) compared to controls (9.4%, P = 0.03).
- Combined analysis of four Japanese studies revealed a higher proportion of HLA-DR1 in schizophrenia patients (16.7%) versus controls (9.9%).
- No significant difference in HLA-DR4 frequencies was found between schizophrenia patients (51%) and controls (44%).
Conclusions:
- The findings support an increased frequency of HLA-DR1 in Japanese patients with schizophrenia.
- The study did not find an association between HLA-DR4 and schizophrenia in the Japanese population.
- HLA-DR1 may represent a genetic risk factor for schizophrenia in Japan.
Abstract:
An increase of HLA-DR1 has been observed in schizophrenia patients from the Japanese population. A decrease of DR4, which was reported in Caucasian patients, has also been found in some of the Japanese studies. This small study further investigated frequencies of HLA-DR1 and DR4 in unrelated Japanese patients with schizophrenia (n = 45) and healthy comparison subjects (n = 117). The number of patients possessing DR1 was higher (10 of 45, 22%) compared with the comparison group (11 of 117, 9.4%, P = 0.03). This may support the previous observation of an increased DR1 frequency in the Japanese patients. When the present data is combined with three previous studies, proportions of the Japanese subjects with DR1 were 98 of 588 schizophrenia patients (16.7%) vs. 93 of 942 comparison subjects (9.9%). However, no difference was observed in DR4 frequencies between the patients (51%) and comparison subjects (44%). Am. J. Med. Genet. (Neuropsychiatr. Genet.) 96:725-727, 2000.