FZD3 is not a risk gene for schizophrenia: a case-control study in a Caucasian sample.

BACKGROUND:Polymorphisms in the human frizzeled-3 (FZD3) gene have been associated with schizophrenia in an Asian population sample. However, this finding could not be confirmed in subsequent studies investigating other populations. Here we attempted to replicate this finding in a sample of 192 German chronically ill schizophrenic subjects. METHODS:Three single nucleotide polymorphisms in the FZD3 gene have been genotyped by primer extension and MALDI-TOF measurement. Subsequently, associations for single markers as well as haplotypes were tested. RESULTS:In German patients, neither single markers nor haplotypes in FZD3 were associated with schizophrenia. Further exploratory analyses using a different diagnostic approach did also not yield significant results. CONCLUSIONS:FZD3 is unlikely to play a role in the genetic predisposition towards schizophrenia in the Caucasian population.