Interaction between BDNF and TNF-α genes in schizophrenia

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is negatively correlated with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in schizophrenia patients.
• Previous research indicates TNF-α regulates BDNF secretion, suggesting a potential gene interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the hypothesis that TNF-α and BDNF gene variants interact to influence schizophrenia risk.
• To examine the association of specific SNPs in TNF-α and BDNF with schizophrenia and cognitive function.

Main Methods:

• Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs6265 in BDNF and rs1799964 in TNF-α.
• Recruitment of 694 schizophrenia patients and 725 healthy controls from Eastern China.
• Assessment of symptom severity using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and cognitive function using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS).

Main Results:

• No significant differences in allele or genotype frequencies for individual SNPs between cases and controls.
• A significant association was observed between the combined genotypes of rs6265 (BDNF) and rs1799964 (TNF-α) and schizophrenia risk (OR=1.14, P=.02).
• Significant differences in RBANS attention and total scores were found between patients carrying specific alleles (rs6265A and rs1799964C) and those without.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary evidence suggests an interaction between BDNF and TNF-α genes may contribute to schizophrenia susceptibility.
• This gene-gene interaction may also be linked to cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia patients.