title: Association between polymorphisms of arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase (ALOX12) and schizophrenia in a Korean population.
abstract: Arachidonic acid (AA), an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid, is one of the major components of neural membranes, which show an altered phospholipid composition in schizophrenia. Arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase (ALOX12), an important enzyme, metabolizes AA to 12-HPETE, which affects catecholamine synthesis. However, research has yet to show the genetic association between ALOX12 and schizophrenia. Therefore, we investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the ALOX12 gene in schizophrenia, recruiting patients with schizophrenia (n = 289) and normal controls (n = 306) from a Korean population. We selected three SNPs (rs1126667, rs434473, and rs1042357) of the ALOX12 gene and genotyped them by direct sequencing. We reviewed the schizophrenic patients' medical records and assessed them clinically using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), and the Operational Criteria Checklist (OPCRIT). Then we statistically analyzed the genetic associations between the SNPs and schizophrenia, finding a genetic association between both rs1126667 and rs1042357 and schizophrenia, in the recessive model (p = 0.015 and 0.015, respectively). We also found an association between rs434473 and negative symptoms, defined through a factor analysis of the OPCRIT data (p = 0.040). Consequently, we suggest that SNPs of the ALOX12 gene might be associated with schizophrenia and negative symptoms in this Korean population. These weak positives require additional study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hak-Jae
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jin Kyung
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jong Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joo-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001092:Arachidonate 12-Lipoxygenase / Q000235:genetics*; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D001092:Arachidonate 12-Lipoxygenase; C476558:ALOX12 protein, human