The cause of schizophrenia is unknown, but it has a significant genetic component. Pharmacologic studies, studies of gene expression in man, and studies of mouse mutants suggest involvement of glutamate and dopamine neurotransmitter systems. However, so far, strong association has not been found between schizophrenia and variants of the genes encoding components of these systems. Here, we report the results of a genomewide scan of schizophrenia families in Iceland; these results support previous work, done in five populations, showing that schizophrenia maps to chromosome 8p. Extensive fine-mapping of the 8p locus and haplotype-association analysis, supplemented by a transmission/disequilibrium test, identifies neuregulin 1 (NRG1) as a candidate gene for schizophrenia. NRG1 is expressed at central nervous system synapses and has a clear role in the expression and activation of neurotransmitter receptors, including glutamate receptors. Mutant mice heterozygous for either NRG1 or its receptor, ErbB4, show a behavioral phenotype that overlaps with mouse models for schizophrenia. Furthermore, NRG1 hypomorphs have fewer functional NMDA receptors than wild-type mice. We also demonstrate that the behavioral phenotypes of the NRG1 hypomorphs are partially reversible with clozapine, an atypical antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia.

Reduced fecundity, associated with severe mental disorders1, places negative selection pressure on risk alleles and may explain, in part, why common variants have not been found that confer risk of disorders such as autism2 schizophrenia3 and mental retardation4. Thus, rare variants may account for a larger fraction of the overall genetic risk than previously assumed. In contrast to rare single nucleotide mutations, rare copy number variations (CNVs) can be detected using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism arrays. This has led to the identification of CNVs associated with mental retardation4,5 and autism2. In a genome-wide search for CNVs associating with schizophrenia, we used a population-based sample to identify de novo CNVs by analysing 9,878 transmissions from parents to offspring. The 66 de novo CNVs identified were tested for association in a sample of 1,433 schizophrenia cases and 33,250 controls. Three deletions at 1q21.1, 15q11.2 and 15q13.3 showing nominal association with schizophrenia in the first sample (phase I) were followed up in a second sample of 3,285 cases and 7,951 controls (phase II). All three deletions significantly associate with schizophrenia and related psychoses in the combined sample. The identification of these rare, recurrent risk variants, having occurred independently in multiple founders and being subject to negative selection, is important in itself. CNV analysis may also point the way to the identification of additional and more prevalent risk variants in genes and pathways involved in schizophrenia.

Migraine is a common episodic neurological disorder, typically presenting with recurrent attacks of severe headache and autonomic dysfunction. Apart from rare monogenic subtypes, no genetic or molecular markers for migraine have been convincingly established. We identified the minor allele of rs1835740 on chromosome 8q22.1 to be associated with migraine (p=5.12 × 10−9, OR 1.23 [1.150-1.324]) in a genome-wide association study of 2,748 migraineurs from three European headache clinics and 10,747 population-matched controls. The association was replicated in 3,202 cases and 40,062 controls for an overall meta-analysis p-value of 1.60 × 10−11 (OR 1.18 [1.127 – 1.244]). rs1835740 is located between the astrocyte elevated gene 1 (MTDH/AEG-1) and plasma glutamate carboxypeptidase (PGCP). In an expression quantitative trait study in lymphoblastoid cell lines transcript levels of the MTDH/AEG-1 were found to have a significant correlation to rs1835740. Our data establish rs1835740 as the first genetic risk factor for migraine.

Forty-two different sense codons, coding for all 20 amino acids, were placed at the ribosomal E site location, two codons upstream of a UGA or UAG codon. The influence of these variable codons on readthrough of the stop codons was measured in Escherichia coli. A 30-fold difference in readthrough of the UGA codon was observed. Readthrough is not related to any property of the upstream codon, its cognate tRNA or the nature of its codon-anticodon interaction. Instead, it is the amino acid corresponding to the second upstream codon, in particular the acidic/basic property of this amino acid, which seems to be a major determinant. This amino acid effect is influenced by the identity of the A site stop codon and the efficiency of its decoding tRNA, which suggests a correlation with ribosomal pausing. The magnitude of the amino acid effect is in some cases different when UGA is decoded by a wildtype form of tRNATrP as compared with a suppressor fonn of the same tRNA. This indicates that the structure of the A site decoding tRNA is also a determinant for the amino acid effect.

BackgroundAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible visual impairment in the developed world. The two forms of advanced AMD, geographic atrophy and neovascular AMD, represent different pathological processes in the macula that lead to loss of central vision. Soft drusen, characterized by deposits in the macula without visual loss, are considered to be a precursor of advanced AMD. Recently, it has been proposed that a common missense variant, Y402H, in the Complement Factor H (CFH) gene increases the risk for advanced AMD. However, its impact on soft drusen, GA, or neovascular AMD—or the relationship between them—is unclear.Methods and FindingsWe genotyped 581 Icelandic patients with advanced AMD (278 neovascular AMD, 203 GA, and 100 with mixed neovascular AMD/GA), and 435 with early AMD (of whom 220 had soft drusen). A second cohort of 431 US patients from Utah, 322 with advanced AMD (244 neovascular AMD and 78 GA) and 109 early-AMD cases with soft drusen, were analyzed. We confirmed that the CFH Y402H variant shows significant association to advanced AMD, with odds ratio of 2.39 in Icelandic patients (p = 5.9 × 10−12) and odds ratio of 2.14 in US patients from Utah (p = 2.0 × 10−9) with advanced AMD. Furthermore, we show that the Y402H variant confers similar risk of soft drusen and both forms of advanced AMD (GA or neovascular AMD).ConclusionSoft drusen occur prior to progression to advanced AMD and represent a histological feature shared by neovascular AMD and GA. Our results suggest that CFH is a major risk factor of soft drusen, and additional genetic factors and/or environmental factors may be required for progression to advanced AMD.

Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) is a rare subtype of migraine with aura and transient hemiplegia. FHM mutations are known in three genes, the CACNA1A (FHM1) gene, the ATP1A2 (FHM2) and the SCN1A (FHM3) gene and seem to have an autosomal-dominant mode of inheritance. The aim of this study was to search for FHM mutations in FHM families identified through a screen of the Danish population of 5.2 million people. FHM patients were diagnosed according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders and all FHM patients had a physical and neurological examination by a physician. A total of 147 FHM patients from 44 different families were identified; 43 FHM families participated in this study. Linkage analysis of these families shows clear linkage to the FHM locus (FHM1) on chromosome 19, supportive linkage to the FHM2 locus whereas no linkage was found to the FHM3 locus. Furthermore, we sequenced all exons and promoter regions of the CACNA1A and ATP1A2 genes and screened for the Q1489K mutation in the SCN1A gene. CACNA1A gene mutations were identified in three of the FHM families, two known FHM mutations, R583Q and T666M and one novel C1369Y mutation. Three FHM families were identified with novel mutations in the ATP1A2 gene; a family with a V138A mutation, a family with a R202Q mutation and a family with a R763C mutation. None of the Danish FHM families have the Q1489K mutation in the SCN1A gene. Our study shows that only 14% (6/42) of FHM families in the general Danish population have exonic FHM mutations in the CACNA1A or ATP1A2 gene. The families we identified with FHM mutations in the CACNA1A and ATP1A2 genes were extended, multiple affected families whereas the remaining FHM families were smaller. The existence of many small families in the Danish FHM cohort may reflect less bias in FHM family ascertainment and/or more locus heterogeneity than described previously.

Migraine is a common form of headache and has a significant genetic component. Here, we report linkage results from a study in Iceland of migraine without aura (MO). The study group comprised patients with migraine recruited by neurologists and from the registry of the Icelandic Migraine Society, as well as through the use of a questionnaire sent to a random sample of 20,000 Icelanders. Migraine diagnoses were made and confirmed using diagnostic criteria established by the International Headache Society. A genome-wide scan with multipoint allele-sharing methods was performed on 289 patients suffering from MO. Linkage was observed to a locus on chromosome 4q21 (LOD=2.05; P=.001). The locus reported here overlaps a locus (MGR1) reported elsewhere for patients with migraine with aura (MA) in the Finnish population. This replication of the MGR1 locus in families with MO indicates that the gene we have mapped may contribute to both MA and MO. Further analysis indicates that the linkage evidence improves for affected females and, especially, with a slightly relaxed definition of MO (LOD=4.08; P=7.2 x 10(-6)).

We assessed the reliability of the diagnosis of migraine with aura (MA) and migraine without aura (MO) based on the third edition of the deCODE Migraine Questionnaire (DMQ3) using a physician-conducted interview as an empirical index of validity. Amongst Danish migraine families recruited from specialist practice we selected 200 cases diagnosed according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders 2nd Edition in a validated physician-conducted telephone interview: 50 patients with exclusively MA, 50 with both MA and MO, 50 with exclusively MO and 50 controls. A written copy of the DMQ3 was mailed to the participant. The DMQ3-based diagnosis was compared with the interview-based diagnosis. Overall, the DMQ3 diagnosed migraine (MA, MO or both) with a sensitivity of 99% (109/110), a specificity of 86% (32/37) and a kappa statistic of 0.89. The most reliable subtype of migraine was MA (with or without co-occurring attacks of MO) which was diagnosed with a sensitivity of 92% (71/77), a specificity of 93% (65/70) and a kappa statistic of 0.85. Exclusively MO was diagnosed with a sensitivity of 91% (30/33), a specificity of 93% (106/114) and a kappa statistic of 0.80. Weakest was the diagnosis of both MO and MA which was diagnosed with a sensitivity of 63% (24/38), a specificity of 92% (100/109) and a kappa statistic of 0.57. In conclusion, the DMQ3 is a valid tool for diagnosing patients with migraine for genetic studies.