Association analysis of ANK3 variants with bipolar disorder in the Korean population

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major psychiatric disorder characterized by alternating mood episodes, including major depressive, hypomanic, and manic episodes. Previous genetic studies of BD have reported several genes as potentially associated with BD. The ANK3 gene has been identified as a possible BD susceptibility gene in genome-wide association analyses.

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the association of ANK3 variants with BD in the Korean population.

Based on previous results, two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs1938526 and rs10994336, were selected in the ANK3 gene. The study included 287 BD patients and 340 healthy controls. Case-control association and case-control haplotype analyses of the two ANK3 variants were performed.

No significant association was found of either single SNP with BD by case-control association analysis. However, rs1938526 and rs10994336 showed a significant association (overall p = 3.6 × 10^-11; permutation p = 0) in a case-control haplotype analysis.

The haplotype analysis results suggest that ANK3 variants rs1938526 and rs10994336 may confer susceptibility for BD in the Korean population. Association analysis revealed a probable genetic difference between Korean and Caucasian populations in the degree of ANK3 involvement in BD pathogenesis.