Linkage of schizophrenia with chromosome 1q loci in Taiwanese families

A positive linkage of schizophrenia with chromosome 1q loci has been reported in Caucasian patients. This study was designed to evaluate the linkage of schizophrenia with markers of the 1q22-44 region in 52 Taiwanese families with at least two affected siblings. In the region 1q2231 (17.8cM), marker D1S1679 had a maximal proportion (0.57, P=0.03) of shared identity by descent (IBD) under a narrow phenotype (DSM-IV schizophrenia only). In the region 1q42-44 (26.8cM), the marker D1S251, located near the breakpoint of a balanced translocation t (1;11) (q42.1;q14.3) segregated with schizophrenia, and also near the neurodevelopment-related 'Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1' gene, had a maximum NPL score of 1.73 (P=0.03) under the narrow phenotype model and 2.18 (P = 0.01) under the broad phenotype model comprised of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and other nonaffective psychotic disorders as defined by DSM-IV criteria. The marker D1S2836 also had a maximal proportion (0.57, P = 0.05) of shared IBD under the broad model. These findings may provide guidance for positional cloning studies on candidate genes in the 1q22-31 and 1q41-44 regions.