Microarray comparative genomic hybridization analysis of 59 patients with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a common psychiatric disorder with a strong genetic contribution. Disease-associated chromosomal abnormalities in this condition may provide important clues, such as DISC1. In this study, 59 schizophrenia patients were analyzed by microarray comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) using custom bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) microarray (4,219 BACs with 0.7-Mb resolution). Chromosomal abnormalities were found in six patients (10%): 46,XY,der(13)t(12;13)(p12.1; p11).ish del(5)(p11p12); 46,XY, ish del(17)(p12p12); 46,XX.ish dup(11)(p13p13); and 46,X,idic(Y)(q11.2); and in two cases, mos 45,X/46XX. Autosomal abnormalities in three cases are likely to be pathogenic, and sex chromosome abnormalities in three follow previous findings. It is noteworthy that 10% of patients with schizophrenia have (sub)microscopic chromosomal abnormalities, indicating that genome-wide copy number survey should be considered in genetic studies of schizophrenia.