COMT: a common susceptibility gene in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

A variety of psychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, have been reported in patients with microdeletion on chromosome 22q11-a region which includes the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene. The variety of psychiatric manifestations in patients with the 22q11 microdeletion and the role of COMT in the degradation of catecholamine neurotransmitters may thus suggest a general involvement of the COMT gene in psychiatric diseases. We have previously reported on a significant association between a COMT haplotype and schizophrenia.

A highly significant association between a COMT haplotype and schizophrenia.

Several lines of evidence have placed the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene in the limelight as a candidate gene for schizophrenia. One of these is its biochemical function in metabolism of catecholamine neurotransmitters; another is the microdeletion, on chromosome 22q11, that includes the COMT gene and causes velocardiofacial syndrome, a syndrome associated with a high rate of psychosis, particularly schizophrenia. The interest in the COMT gene as a candidate risk factor for schizophrenia has led to numerous linkage and association analyses.