Project Summary

Yilang Tang, M.D. (Young Investigator 2006) of Emory University, will study the relationship between variations in the catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene and the function of its protein in healthy individuals and in patients with 22q11 deletion syndrome, a chromosomal disorder that increases schizophrenia risk. COMT plays an important role in the metabolism of catecholamine neurotransmitters, which modulate the symptoms of schizophrenia. Evidence supports an association between DNA sequence variation at the COMT locus with schizophrenia. Moreover, the COMT gene is missing in the region covered by the 22q11 deletion.What is not clear is how the COMT gene may alter risk for, or the manifestations of, schizophrenia. In this study, Dr. Tang will recruit 100 unrelated healthy European-American and 100 African-American subjects to genotype their DNA at places in the gene where previous studies suggest an association with schizophrenia. Dr. Tang will then measure COMT enzyme activity in red blood cells, and correlate DNA differences with COMT activity. Finally, Dr. Tang will examine the DNA-protein relationship in 22q11 deletion syndrome patients. This work should lead to new insights about the genetic basis for schizophrenia.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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