IL-2 and IL-4 polymorphisms as candidate genes in schizophrenia

An immune process, characterized by a relative predominance of the T helper-2 (Th2) system and possibly induced by a viral infection,may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this context, functional polymorphisms in the Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and Interleukin-4 (IL-4) genes appear to be principal candidates for genetic schizophrenia research. Further evidence for these candidate genes comes from several linkage analyses, pointing to susceptibility gene loci on chromosomes 4q and 5q, where the genes coding for IL- 2 and IL-4 are located. We carried out a case-control study including 230 schizophrenic patients and 251 healthy persons, investigating the IL-2 -330 T/G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and the IL-4 -590 C/T SNP. A significant association of the IL-2 -330 TT genotype and of the IL-4 -590 CC genotype with schizophrenia could be identified. Our findings may partly account for the relative predominance of the Th2 system in schizophrenia, although they cannot directly explain this immunological imbalance, but may be related to an altered antiviral immune response in patients with schizophrenia.