Genetic insights into schizophrenia: ERBB4 and GABRB2 polymorphisms in the Lebanese population

The ERBB4 and GABRB2 genes have been given their keen roles in various neurological phenomena, in addition to the involvement of various environmental factors.

To investigate the prevalence of ERBB4 rs839523 C/T and GABRB2 rs1816072 T/C polymorphisms in Lebanese patients with schizophrenia.

A questionnaire-based case-control study recruiting 100 participants of matched characteristics was conducted. A Tetra Primer Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Reaction (T-ARMS PCR) was performed to evaluate the prevalence of the studied polymorphisms.

There were no correlations found between schizophrenia and the ERBB4 rs839523C/T polymorphism (p = 0.096 for genotypes and p = 0.113 for alleles) or the GABRB2 rs1816072 T/C polymorphism (p = 1.00 for genotypes and p = 0.15 for alleles) in the Lebanese population. However, the logistic regression model showed that the mutant homozygous (TT) genotype of the SNP rs839523 in ERBB4 tended to be significant (p = 0.063) with the schizophrenia status. When considering alleles individually, the logistic regression did not reveal any significant associations; however, the C allele of ERBB4 rs839523 showed a trend toward significance.

Our findings revealed that the mutant homozygous (TT) genotype of the SNP rs839523 in ERBB4 showed a trend toward significance. These findings suggest a potential role for ERBB4 genetic variation in schizophrenia susceptibility, warranting further investigation in larger cohorts.