Histamine N-methyltransferase functional polymorphism: Lack of association with schizophrenia

Lan Yan, Carol L. Szumlanski, Sharmon R. Rice, Janet L. Sobell, Herbert M. Lachman, Richard M. Weinshilboum

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Histamine is a central nervous system (CNS) neurotransmitter that has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Histamine N- methyltransferase (HNMT) terminates the neurotransmitter actions of histamine in the mammalian CNS, and levels of HNMT activity in human tissues are controlled, in part, by inheritance. A common C314T polymorphism in the HNMT gene causes a Thr105Ile change in encoded amino acid. The T314 allele results in decreased levels of both HNMT enzyme activity and immunoreactive protein. There is also a polymorphic CA repeat in intron 5 of the HNMT gene. The frequencies of alleles for the functional C314T polymorphism and the polymorphic CA repeat were compared between 171 schizophrenia cases and 171 ethnically matched controls to test for possible disease association. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the frequency of the T314 allele in patients with schizophrenia and controls (0.068 vs. 0.078, respectively). Allele frequenCies for the polymorphic HNMT CA repeat also failed to show significant differences between cases and matched controls. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)404-406
Number of pages3
JournalAmerican Journal of Medical Genetics - Neuropsychiatric Genetics
Volume96
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 12 2000

Keywords

  • Association studies
  • Genetic polymorphism
  • Histamine
  • Histamine N-methyltransferase
  • Schizophrenia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics(clinical)
  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Histamine N-methyltransferase functional polymorphism: Lack of association with schizophrenia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this