Common Variants in the TPH2 Promoter Confer Susceptibility to Paranoid Schizophrenia

Zhenghui Yi, Chen Zhang, Weihong Lu, Lisheng Song, Dentang Liu, Yifeng Xu, Yiru Fang

Serotonergic system-related genes may be good candidates in investigating the genetic basis of schizophrenia. Our previous study suggested that promoter region of tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene (TPH2) may confer the susceptibility to paranoid schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated whether common variants within TPH2 promoter may predispose to paranoid schizophrenia in Han Chinese. A total of 509 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for paranoid schizophrenia and 510 matched healthy controls were recruited for this study. Five polymorphisms within TPH2 promoter region were tested. No statistically significant differences were found in allele or genotype frequencies between schizophrenic patients and healthy controls. The frequency of the rs4448731T-rs6582071A-rs7963803A-rs4570625T-rs11178997A haplotype was significantly higher in cases compared to the controls (P = 0.003; OR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.15-1.95). Our results suggest that the common variants within TPH2 promoter are associated with paranoid schizophrenia in Han Chinese. Further studies in larger samples are warranted to elucidate the role of TPH2 in the etiology of paranoid schizophrenia.