title: A study of the PEMT gene in schizophrenia.
abstract: The phospholipid hypothesis of schizophrenia is becoming popular because of the findings from the niacin flush test, the treatment with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), biochemical studies for the phospholipid metabolism pathway and genetic studies of phospholipase A2. The present study attempted to investigate the gene coding for phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT), which is an important enzyme for the synthesis of membrane phospholipids. We recruited 271 Chinese parent-offspring trios of Han descent and detected 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the PEMT locus. The transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) showed allelic association for rs464396 (X2=9.4, P=0.002), but not for the other two. The 2-SNP haplotype analysis showed haplotypic association for both the rs936108-rs464396 haplotypes (X2=25.7, d.f.=3, P=0.00001) and the rs464396-rs4244593 haplotypes (X2=17.3, d.f.=3, P=0.0006). The 3-SNP haplotype analysis also showed a haplotypic association (X2=24.4, d.f.=7, P=0.0006). The present results suggest that the PEMT gene may contribute to the etiology of schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Neuroscience and MH Radiobiology Research Unit, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Haiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guizhi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Shuzheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yaqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jieping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.forename: Zhenqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D050918:Phosphatidylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C494489:PEMT protein, human; D050918:Phosphatidylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase