Myosin Vb gene is associated with schizophrenia in Chinese Han population.

Myosin Vb (MYO5B) has recently been implicated in the etiology of bipolar disorder in a genome-wide association study (GWAS). This gene is involved in amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunit glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) recycling and plays an important role in the primary excitatory neurotransmission. Dysfunction of the brain glutamate system has been postulated to be involved in the pathophysiology in schizophrenia. To further investigate the association between MYO5B polymorphisms and schizophrenia, we genotyped nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in an independent sample of 1463 individuals with schizophrenia and 1563 healthy control subjects, and detected three SNPs and two haplotype blocks which displayed significant association with schizophrenia. This association was further strengthened by the results of meta-analysis. Our data strongly supported that the MYO5B gene might be associated with schizophrenia in the Chinese Han population and they have implications for understanding the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia.