Neurotrophin-3 gene polymorphism in schizophrenia and its relation with diseases severity and cognitive dysfunction.

Objectives: Synaptic plasticity markers are known to alter in schizophrenia. The objective of the study was to investigate the genotype and allele frequency of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) gene polymorphism (rs6489630, rs6332, and rs11063714) and plasma NT-3 levels in schizophrenia and their relation with cognitive status.

Materials And Methods: The study was conducted on 216 Schizophrenia patients and 216 controls. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of NT-3 and its plasma levels were assessed in both groups. Cognitive status was evaluated using Addenbrooke Cognitive examination-III scores.

Results: The rs6489630 polymorphism was found to be significantly associated with the severity of schizophrenia ( = 0.004). The CT genotype ( = 0.02, OR = 1.631 [1.10-2.43]) and minor allele T ( = 0.004, OR = 1.58 [1.16-2.16]) of rs6489630 conferred an increased susceptibility to develop schizophrenia. The rs6332 variant was found to affect cognitive status significantly in schizophrenia ( = 0.040), and memory dysfunction was seen in individuals with AG ( < 0.01) and AA variant ( = 0.03) of rs6332.

Conclusion: We conclude that SNPs of NT-3 enhance the risk of schizophrenia and are related to cognitive dysfunction.