The type 2 diabetes mellitus susceptibility gene IGF2BP2 is associated with schizophrenia in a Han Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Patients with schizophrenia have an increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and type 2 diabetes mellitus has shown an association with the rs4402960 gene polymorphism in the insulin-like growth factor II messenger RNA (mRNA)-binding protein 2 gene (IGF2BP2). We tested this polymorphism and mRNA expression levels of IGF2BP2 for an association in Han Chinese patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. METHOD: The rs4402960 polymorphism was genotyped in 790 chronic schizophrenic patients (diagnosed according to DSM-IV) and 1,083 unrelated healthy controls in a case-control design. The IGF2BP2 gene expression levels were assayed in 34 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 30 healthy controls by using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The study was conducted between 2005 and 2007. RESULTS: We found significant differences in the rs4402960 genotype (χ(2)2 = 7.316, P = .026) and allele (χ(2)1 = 7.056, P = .008) distributions between the patient and control groups. The rs4402960 T allelic frequency was significantly higher in male schizophrenic patients than male controls (28.9% vs 23.5%; P = .004) but not in female patients compared to female controls (27.1% vs 25.5%; P = .498). When real-time PCR was used, the IGF2BP2 gene's isoform B expression levels were significantly greater in schizophrenia than controls (P = .0008). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the IGF2BP2 gene may play a role in susceptibility to schizophrenia, supporting the hypothesis that the co-occurrence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and schizophrenia may be explained by shared genetic risk variants. However, this finding remains preliminary since this association has yet to be replicated.

No association between the type 2 diabetes mellitus susceptibility gene, SLC30A8 and schizophrenia in a Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: The co-occurrence of schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been well documented. Recent genome-wide association studies and meta-analyses have shown robust associations of the solute carrier family 30 member 8 (SLC30A8) gene variants with T2DM in various populations. We examined the involvement of the SLC30A8 in the susceptibility to schizophrenia in a Han Chinese population. METHODS: The SLC30A8 rs13266634 gene polymorphism was genotyped in 837 chronic schizophrenic and 1109 unrelated healthy controls by using a case control design. We also assessed clinical symptoms. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the rs13266634 genotype (χ(2) = 1.95, df = 2, p = 0.38) and allele (χ(2) = 0.47, df = 1, p = 0.50) distributions between the patient and control groups. There was no association between rs13266634 and clinical symptoms. CONCLUSION: The SLC30A8 gene variation does not appear to contribute a genetic basis for the co-occurrence of schizophrenia and T2DM.