The CMYA5 gene confers risk for both schizophrenia and major depressive disorder in the Han Chinese population

Objectives: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the European population implicated the CMYA5 gene in schizophrenia. Previous functional studies showed that the CMYA5 protein can interact with DTNBP1 and PKA, providing further support for a role of CMYA5 in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, this association requires additional validation in independent populations.

Methods: To validate the association between CMYA5 and schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, we genotyped 16 SNPs within the CMYA5 gene and performed case-control studies in 1330 schizophrenia patients, 1045 patients with major depressive disorder, and 1235 normal controls. All patients were of Han Chinese origin.

Results: rs6883197 and rs259127 were significantly associated with schizophrenia, and rs12514461, rs259127, and rs7343 were associated with major depressive disorder. Additionally, one risk haplotype of rs16877109-rs3828611 (G-G) was associated with both schizophrenia (P = 0.0000784, after correction) and major depressive disorder (P = 0.00230, after correction).

Conclusions: Our findings support the idea that specific alleles and haplotype in the CMYA5 confer genetic risk for both schizophrenia and major depressive disorder in the Han Chinese population.