Human Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 11 gene is associated with schizophrenia in a Japanese population

Objective The human Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 11 (ARHGEF11) gene is one of the candidate genes for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). ARHGEF11 is mapped to chromosome 1q21, which has susceptible risk loci for T2DM and schizophrenia. We hypothesized that ARHGEF11 contributes to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Method We selected eight single nucleotide polymorphisms of ARHGEF11 that had significant associations with T2DM for a case-control association study of 490 patients with schizophrenia and 500 age-matched and sex-matched controls. Results We did not find any differences in allelic, genotypic associations, or minor allele frequencies with schizophrenia. Analysis of the rs6427340-rs6427339 haplotype and the rs822585-rs6427340-rs6427339 haplotype combination provided significant evidence of an association with schizophrenia (global permutations p = 0.00047 and 0.0032, respectively). C-C of the rs6427340-rs6427339 haplotype and A-C-C of the rs822585-rs6427340-rs6427339 haplotype carried higher risk factors for schizophrenia (permutation p = 0.0010 and 0.0018, respectively). A-C-T of the rs822585-rs6427340-rs6427339 haplotype had a possible protective effect (permutation p = 0.031). Conclusion These results provide new evidence that ARHGEF11 may constitute a risk factor for schizophrenia.