Comprehensive analysis of shared genetic loci between hippocampal volume and schizophrenia

• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114795
• Publication Date: 2022-08-14T05:22:46Z
• Authors: Zongchang Li; Xiaogang Chen
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; Genetic Loci; Schizophrenia; Humans; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Hippocampus; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Genome-Wide Association Study

Schizophrenia and hippocampal volume exhibit a genetic correlation, but the underlying genetic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated the shared genetic variants in schizophrenia and hippocampal volume using the largest genome-wide association studies (GWASs) data. We identified three genetic loci associated with both schizophrenia and hippocampal volume. Functional annotation analysis suggested that shared genetic variants play a major role via the regulatory effect on gene expression. Expression pattern analyses showed that candidate genes have a spatiotemporal and cell-specific expression pattern across human brain development. These findings provided deeper insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying hippocampus and schizophrenia risk.