NGF polymorphisms and haplotypes are associated with schizophrenia in Korean population

Abnormal neurodevelopmental processes are found in the brains of schizophrenia patients. Nerve growth factor (beta polypeptide) (NGF) is known to play a major role in neuronal growth, differentiation, and neuroprotection of the brain. To investigate whether NGF polymorphisms are associated with schizophrenia patients, eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs10776800, rs11102924, rs4839435, rs12760036, rs11102919, rs11466098, rs2268793, and rs6330) of the NGF were selected and genotyped by direct sequencing in 217 schizophrenia patients and 378 control subjects. SNPAnalyzer, SNPStats, and Haploview version 4.2 were used to analyze the genetic data. Multiple logistic regression models (codominant1, codominant2, dominant, recessive, overdominant, and log-additive) were performed to calculate odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and P values. P values (P ^c ) were recalculated using Bonferroni correction to better define results. It was found that the allele frequency of rs12760036 SNP of the NGF was associated with the susceptibility to schizophrenia (P ^c =0.0016, OR=1.65, 95% CI=1.27-2.15). Genotype frequency of rs12760036 of the NGF was also associated with schizophrenia patients (P ^c =0.0024, OR= 1.90, 95% CI=1.34-2.71). In the linkage disequilibrium block between rs12760036 and rs4839435, the AG and CA haplotype frequencies between schizophrenia patients and the control group were significantly different (P=0.0002; P=0.0033, respectively). These results suggest that the rs12760036 may be a risk factor to the susceptibility of schizophrenia in Korean population.