The Gene Polymorphism of VMAT2 Is Associated with Risk of Schizophrenia in Male Han Chinese

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between gene polymorphism of vesicular monoamine transporter type 2(VMAT2) and schizophrenia in Han Chinese population. METHODS: 430 patients with schizophrenia and 470 age-sex matched controls were recruited from four mental health centers. All patients were diagnosed by two psychiatrists based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID). The ligase detection reactions (LDR) method was used to assess the polymorphism of the two SNPs (rs363371 and rs363324) of VMAT2. RESULTS: No associations of two SNPs with schizophrenia was found. When we stratified males and females for the analysis, we found that that in the recessive model of rs363371, there was an obvious significant association between rs363371 and schizophrenia in males (OR=0.564, 95% CI=0.357–0.892, p=0.014) but not females. For the association between rs363324 and schizophrenia, no association was found in either males or females. No association was found when stratifying early-onset schizophrenia and late-onset schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that both rs363371 and rs363324 were not associated with schizophrenia, while it seemed that the AA genotype of rs363371 plays a protective effect in male Chinese in developing schizophrenia.