SCHIZOPHRENIA AND POLYMORPHIC CAG REPEATS ARRAY OF CALCIUM-ACTIVATED POTASSIUM CHANNEL (KCNN3) GENE IN SERBIAN POPULATION

Abstract

KCNN3 might be a candidate gene for schizophrenia. The KCNN3 cDNA sequence contains two stretches of CAG trinucleotide repeats encoding two separate polyglutamine segments near the N-terminus of this channel protein. The second CAG repeat is highly polymorphic in the Caucasian population from both Europe and United States. The authors carried out a study to compare the allelic frequency distribution of the CAG repeat in KCNN3 gene in 55 Serbian schizophrenic patients and 46 controls. The data indicate a significant association between longer CAG repeats in second polymorphic KCNN3 region and schizophrenia in the Serbian population.

Keywords:

• CAG repeats
• hSKCa3 gene
• polyglutamine
• potassium channel
• schizophrenia
• Serbian populatio