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Updated: May 31, 2026

A Strategy to Identify de Novo Mutations in Common Disorders such as Autism and Schizophrenia
Published on: June 15, 2011
Analysis of common genetic variants identifies RELN as a risk gene for schizophrenia in Chinese population
Ming Li1, Xiong-Jian Luo, Xiao Xiao
1State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
Unlabelled:
Abstract Objectives. Several lines of evidence have shown that both RELN mRNA and protein are possibly down-regulated in the brain of schizophrenia patients. Recent association studies in European populations suggested RELN as a risk gene for schizophrenia. In this study, we test if RELN contributes to the risk of schizophrenia in Chinese population. Methods. We conducted case-control association analysis of 19 representative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning the entire region of RELN in two independent Han Chinese samples from southwestern China (the Kunming sample and the Yuxi sample). Results. We identified six SNPs significantly associated with schizophrenia in the Kunming sample and four of them remained significant in the combined samples (the P values range from 0.006 to 4.0 × 10(-5)). Haplotype analysis also suggested significant associations for the haplotypes incorporating the six significant SNPs (global P < 1.0 × 10(-5)). Additionally, we also observed several other haplotypes (defined by a different set of SNPs) significantly associated with schizophrenia in the Kunming sample. However, the reported association of rs7341475 in Ashkenazi Jews was not significant in Han Chinese.
Conclusions:
Our findings demonstrate that RELN is a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia in Chinese population, and it is likely a common risk gene for schizophrenia in major populations worldwide.
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