Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the Complement System C1q Protein in Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex, multifactor psychiatric disorder. Our previous findings indicated that altered functional activity of the complement system, a major mediator of the immune response, is implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In the present study single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the complement C1q component were investigated in schizophrenia-affected subjects. For this purpose 103 schizophrenics and 105 healthy controls were genotyped for C1q four SNPs (C1qA rs292001, C1qB rs913243, rs291982 and rs631090) using PCR-SSP and Real-time PCR methods. The data obtained indicate no association of C1qA rs292001, C1qB: rs913243, rs631090 polymophisms with schizophrenia whereas the carriers of the C1qB rs291982*T mutant allele were significantly less frequent in patients when compared to control (62% vs 78%, pnomi-nal=0.012, OR=0.456, 95%CI: 0.53-0.91, pcorrected=0.048). The results of the present study suggest the association of C1qB rs291982 polymorphism with schizophrenia.