Effect of a functional single nucleotide polymorphism in the 2′,3′‐cyclic nucleotide 3′‐phosphodiesterase gene on the expression of oligodendrocyte‐related genes in schizophrenia

Abstract

Although the expression of oligodendrocyte-related genes in post-mortem brains of patients with schizophrenia is consistently reported to be downregulated, the cause of the change remains unclear. The A-allele of rs2070106 within the 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP), an oligodendrocyte-related gene, was reported to show reduced expression compared with the G-allele, and proposed to be associated with schizophrenia. The effect of the rs2070106 genotype on the expression of CNP and other oligodendrocyte-related genes was examined using data previously obtained from DNA microarray studies of post-mortem brains. It was found that the effect of rs2070106 genotype on the CNP expression was transcript specific, and that the genotype was not associated with the expression of other oligodendrocyte-related genes. The rs207016 genotype is not likely to contribute to the reported coordinated down-regulation of oligodendrococyte-related genes in schizophrenia.