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Genomic discordance between monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia
T Tsujita1, N Niikawa, H Yamashita
1Department of Human Genetics, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Japan. f0932@cc.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
Objective:
Genomic DNA of monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia was analyzed to determine whether their genomes were truly identical.
Method:
The subjects were monozygotic male twins, one of whom had DSM-III-R schizophrenia, undifferentiated type. Genomic DNA was extracted from leukocytes and was applied to restriction landmark genome scanning analysis, which was developed for a high-speed survey of restriction sites throughout a genome and measurement of their copy number in each locus.
Results:
After comparisons of patterns with approximately 2,000 spots, the authors detected at least two spots with autoradiographic intensities that obviously differed in the two twins.
Conclusions:
The discrepancies likely were generated either by differences in the methylation status at NotI sites between the twins or by submicroscopic changes occurring at NotI-flanking sites in one twin after (or simultaneous with) twinning. In either case, the difference may influence the transcription level of one or more genes.