title: An association of the polymorphic repeat of tetranucleotide (TCAT) in the first intron of the human tyrosine hydroxylase gene with schizophrenia in a Japanese sample.
abstract: Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate limiting enzyme in the synthesis of dopamine and norepinephrine. A polymorphic repeat of the tetranucleotide (TCAT) in the first intron of the TH gene may behave as a regulatory element for the gene expression. Allelic fragments of the tandem repeat were typed by a PCR-based process with a pair of primers specific for the polymorphic sequence. The association between the polymorphism and schizophrenia was examined in a Japanese sample. There was a statistically significant association between the polymorphism and schizophrenia in females (chi2 = 26.018, p = 0.010), but not in males (chi2 = 15.995, p = 0.305). The genotype heterozygous for the TH9 and TH6 was significantly decreased in female schizophrenics (chi2 = 5.125, p = 0.0236). These results suggest that TH could be considered as a minor gene contributing to the susceptibility of Japanese female schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University School of Medicine, Japan. 0724.psyc@tmd.ac.jp
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurumaji
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toru
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase