Abstract
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an enzyme involved in metabolic pathways of importance for nucleotide synthesis and methylation of DNA, membranes, proteins and lipids. The MTHFR gene includes a common polymorphism (rs1801133 or C677T), which is associated with enzyme activity. The T-allele of the C677T polymorphism has been associated with earlier age at onset of schizophrenia in a Scandinavian population, although no association was found in replication attempts in other populations. Extending the study to five Nordic samples consisting of 2,198 patients with schizophrenia, including the original Scandinavian samples, there was no significant association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and age at onset in schizophrenia. The present results do not suggest that the investigated MTHFR polymorphism has any significant influence on age at onset of schizophrenia in the Nordic population. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Highlights
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an enzyme involved in metabolic pathways of importance for nucleotide synthesis and methylation of DNA, membranes, proteins and lipids [Frankenburg, 2007]
Dysfunctional regulation of methionine-homocysteine metabolism has been anticipated to be significant in schizophrenia aetiology [Muntjewerff et al, 2006], and folate deficiency has been linked to disturbed metabolism of serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline, neurotransmitter abbreviations possibly contributing to schizophrenia development [Bottiglieri et al, 2000]
To determine whether the initial finding in unrelated individuals was restricted to populations of Scandinavian origin, or more likely due to chance alone, we here analyse the relationship between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and age at onset in two additional samples of Icelandic and Danish patients with schizophrenia, and MATERIALS AND METHODS
Summary
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an enzyme involved in metabolic pathways of importance for nucleotide synthesis and methylation of DNA, membranes, proteins and lipids [Frankenburg, 2007]. We reported that the MTHFR 677 T-allele predispose to an earlier age of onset in unrelated patients with schizophrenia of Scandinavian origin and found similar results in a family-based sample from western China [Vares et al, 2010a].
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