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Xu H, Zhou Y, Xiu M, Chen D, Wang W, Wang L, Zhang X. The inconsistent mediating effect of catechol O methyl transferase Val 158Met polymorphism on the sex difference of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia patients. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:993859. [PMID: 36203835 PMCID: PMC9531860 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.993859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Schizophrenia is a multifaceted mental disorder characterized by heterogeneous positive/negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. Sex differences have been reported in various aspects of the disease. However, the underlying genetic reasons remain unelucidated. Recent studies show that the influence of COMT Val158Met (rs4680) variation is sexually dimorphic. Thus, this study aims to explore whether there is an effect of the interaction between COMT Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism and sex on patients' clinical characteristics and cognitive function. MATERIALS AND METHODS We recruited 367 in patients with chronic schizophrenia (246 males and 121 females) and 419 healthy controls (172 males and 247 females). The cognitive performance was assessed by Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), and the COMT Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism is genotyped. The psychopathological symptoms of the patients were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). RESULTS We find that male patients had a significantly higher proportion of carrying the Val allele and Val/Val carriers exhibited more severe positive symptoms and cognitive impairment than Met carriers. COMT Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism inconsistently mediated the relationship between sex and cognitive performance in schizophrenia patients. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that COMT Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism is associated with the risk and severity of schizophrenia in a sexually dimorphic way and contributes more to the clinical symptoms and cognitive impairment in male patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
| | - Yongjie Zhou
- Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Meihong Xiu
- Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Dachun Chen
- Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Weiwen Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangyang Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Kogure M, Kanahara N, Miyazawa A, Oishi K, Nakata Y, Oda Y, Iyo M. Interacting Roles of COMT and GAD1 Genes in Patients with Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: a Genetic Association Study of Schizophrenia Patients and Healthy Controls. J Mol Neurosci 2021; 71:2575-2582. [PMID: 34125398 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-021-01866-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The projection from dopaminergic neurons to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) interneurons in the prefrontal cortex is involved in the etiology of schizophrenia. The impact of interacting effects between dopamine signals and the expression of GABA on the clinical phenotypes of schizophrenia has not been studied. Since these interactions could be closely involved in prefrontal cortex functions, patients with specific alleles of these relevant molecules (which lead to lower or vulnerable genetic functions) may develop treatment-refractory symptoms. We conducted a genetic association study focusing on COMT and GAD1 genes for a treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) group (n=171), a non-TRS group (n=592), and healthy controls (HC: n=447), and we examined allelic combinations specific to TRS. The results revealed that the percentage of subjects with Met allele of rs4680 on the COMT gene and C/C homozygote of rs3470934 on the GAD1 gene was significantly higher in the TRS group than the other two groups. There was no significant difference between the non-TRS group and HC groups. Considering the direction of functions of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms revealed by previous studies, we speculate that subjects with the Met/CC allelic combination could have a higher dopamine level and a lower expression of GABA in the prefrontal cortex. Our results suggest that an interaction between the dopaminergic signal and GABA signal intensities could differ between TRS patients and patients with other types of schizophrenia and healthy subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masanobu Kogure
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
| | - Nobuhisa Kanahara
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
- Division of Medical Treatment and Rehabilitation, Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
| | - Atsuhiro Miyazawa
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
- Doujin-kai Kisarazu Hospital, Chiba, Japan
| | - Kengo Oishi
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
- Department of Cyclic Innovation, Japan Agency for Medical Research Development, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yusuke Nakata
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yasunori Oda
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
| | - Masaomi Iyo
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
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Qin X, Chen J, Zhou T. 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and schizophrenia. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2020; 52:1181-1190. [PMID: 33098288 DOI: 10.1093/abbs/gmaa113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
22q11.2 deletion is a common microdeletion that causes an array of developmental defects including 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) or DiGeorge syndrome and velocardiofacial syndrome. About 30% of patients with 22q11.2 deletion develop schizophrenia. Mice with deletion of the ortholog region in mouse chromosome 16qA13 exhibit schizophrenia-like abnormal behaviors. It is suggested that the genes deleted in 22q11DS are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Among these genes, COMT, ZDHHC8, DGCR8, and PRODH have been identified as schizophrenia susceptibility genes. And DGCR2 is also found to be associated with schizophrenia. In this review, we focused on these five genes and reviewed their functions in the brain and the potential pathophysiological mechanisms in schizophrenia, which will give us a deeper understanding of the pathology of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianzheng Qin
- Queen Mary School of Nanchang University, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Jiang Chen
- Laboratory of Synaptic Development and Plasticity, Institute of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Tian Zhou
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
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The influence of dopaminergic polymorphisms on selective stopping. Behav Brain Res 2020; 381:112441. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Revised: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Kang Y, Huang K, Lv Y, Zhang W, Cai S, Wang Y, Wang Q, Huang L, Wang J, Tian J. Genetic contribution of catechol-O-methyltransferase in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex functional changes in the first episode schizophrenia. Behav Brain Res 2019; 364:225-232. [PMID: 30738913 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Revised: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene variants have been reported to be implicated in the pathogenesis of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia, especially in negative symptoms. These symptoms including apathy, blunted affect, social withdrawal and motor retardation. Neuroimaging studies suggested that negative symptoms appear to be associated with impaired activities of the prefrontal cortex in particular the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Given that the COMT gene is highly expressed in the DLPFC, it is poorly understood whether the disease state and COMT val158met polymorphisms have main and interactive effect on the resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of DLPFC-related pathways. To this end, fifty-five first episode schizophrenia (FES) and fifty-three healthy controls were genotyped using blood samples and underwent magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Seed-based voxel wise functional connectivity analysis was performed by placing bilateral pairs of seeds with DLPFC in area 46 defined by Brodmann's atlas. A two-ways ANCOVA model was performed with val158met genotypes and disease state as the between subjects factors. Significant disease × COMT interactive effect was found mainly in the left DLPFC with the left anterior cingulate cortex, right precuneus, right superior parietal gyrus, which were overlapped with disease main effect. And these RSFC had positive correlations with affective blunting scores in FES patients with val homozygotes, but not with met carriers. Our results showed that the disease and the genotypes in COMT gene have significant interactive effect on RSFC of DLPFC and provided evidence for a disease-dependent pattern of gene action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafei Kang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Kexin Huang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yahui Lv
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Suping Cai
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yubo Wang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Liyu Huang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Jijun Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
| | - Jie Tian
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Lack of association between COMT Val158Met and ZDHHC8 rs175174 polymorphisms and susceptibility to schizophrenia in a Brazilian population. Psychiatr Genet 2017; 27:197-198. [DOI: 10.1097/ypg.0000000000000179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Semenova S, Rozov S, Panula P. Distribution, properties, and inhibitor sensitivity of zebrafish catechol-O-methyl transferases (COMT). Biochem Pharmacol 2017; 145:147-157. [PMID: 28844929 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2017.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT; EC 2.1.1.6) is an enzyme with multiple functions in vertebrates. COMT methylates and thus inactivates catecholamine neurotransmitters and metabolizes xenobiotic catechols. Gene polymorphism rs4680 that influences the enzymatic activity of COMT affects cognition and behavior in humans. The zebrafish is widely used as an experimental animal in many areas of biomedical research, but most aspects of COMT function in this species have remained uncharacterized. We hypothesized that both comt genes play essential roles in zebrafish. Both comt-a and comt-b were widely expressed in zebrafish tissues, but their relative abundance varied considerably. Homogenates of zebrafish organs, including the brain, showed enzymatic COMT activity that was the highest in the liver and kidney. Treatment of larval zebrafish with the COMT inhibitor Ro41-0960 shifted the balance of catecholamine metabolic pathways towards increased oxidative metabolism. Whole-body concentrations of dioxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), a product of dopamine oxidation, were increased in the inhibitor-treated larvae, although the dopamine levels were unchanged. Thus, COMT is likely to participate in the processing of catecholamine neurotransmitters in the zebrafish, but the inhibition of COMT in larval fish is compensated efficiently and does not have pronounced effects on dopamine levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svetlana Semenova
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Stanislav Rozov
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Pertti Panula
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
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