No association of EGF polymorphism with schizophrenia in a Japanese population.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) signal regulates the development of dopaminergic neurons and monoamine metabolism. It is suggested that EGF protein levels are decreased in the brain and blood of patients with schizophrenia. A recent study has reported that a polymorphism in EGF gene (rs4444903) is associated with schizophrenia in Finnish men. To confirm this association for another population in larger samples, we conducted a case-control association study on a Japanese population (337 cases and 421 controls). No significant difference was observed in both the allelic and genotype distribution between cases and controls in women, men and total samples. Our results suggest that the polymorphism in EGF gene might not confer increased susceptibility for schizophrenia in a Japanese population.