Family-based association study of SELENBP1 in schizophrenia

The SELENBP1 gene previously was found to be up-regulated in microarray analysis of both peripheral blood cell and brain tissue samples from schizophrenia patients. Quantitative PCR analysis subsequently corroborated the altered expression of SELENBP1 in schizophrenia brain tissue samples from the Stanley Array Correction. The aim of this study was to extend those findings by employing family-based association methods to a sample of over 2400 individuals (including 1214 individuals affected by schizophrenia) of Han Chinese descent living in Taiwan. One of four haplotype-tagging SNPs and two different two-marker haplotypes showed nominally significant evidence for association with schizophrenia under an additive model, suggesting that genetic variation in SELENBP1 may influence risk for the disorder, while this significance did not remain when other inheritance models were considered. Further comprehensive analysis with other SNPs and haplotypes is needed and warranted.