Genome-Wide Significance for PCLO as a Gene for Major Depressive Disorder

In 2009, the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) for major depressive disorder (MDD) highlighted an association with PCLO locus on chromosome 7, although not reaching genome-wide significance level. In the present study, we revisited the original GWAS after increasing the overall sample size and the number of interrogated SNPs. In an analysis comparing 1,942 cases with lifetime diagnosis of MDD and 4,565 controls, PCLO showed a genome-wide significant association with MDD at SNP (rs2715157, p = 2.91 × 10-8) and gene-based (p = 1.48 × 10-7) level. Our results confirm the potential role of the PCLO gene in MDD, which is worth further replication and functional studies.