Family-based association study of markers on chromosome 22 in schizophrenia using African-American, European-American, and Chinese families.

Several studies suggest that loci at chromosome 22q11.2-q13 might be linked to susceptibility to schizophrenia. Here we performed family-based association studies on chromosome 22q using 12 DNA microsatellite markers in African-American, European-American, and Chinese pedigrees. The marker D22S683 showed significant linkage and association with schizophrenia in not only the European-American sample but also in a combined sample (European-American and Chinese samples). Notably, D22S683 is located nearby and between D22S278 and D22S283, which have shown linkage and association to schizophrenia in prior reports. However, we found no significant association for the African-American sample. In conclusion, our data provide further support for the idea that the region around D22S683 contains a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.