Although these associations became insignificant after Bonferroni correction, the findings might provide support for the association of the TNXB locus or its adjacent region of the NOTCH4 locus with schizophrenia.
Our aim was to test the association of the entire genomic region of NOTCH4 in 218 families with at least two siblings affected by schizophrenia in Taiwan.
In a previous study, we found that rs520692, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at the NOTCH4 locus, was associated with schizophrenia in a Chinese population.
The finding of the present study could not support the original findings that the NOTCH4 gene itself is associated with susceptibility to schizophrenia.
The NOTCH4 T-25C polymorphism has an important effect on the age of onset in schizophrenia and thus may be related to an early pathogenesis of schizophrenia in young patients.
These findings may reflect the interaction of NOTCH4 with the underlying genetic and phenotypic complexity that characterizes both schizophrenia and normal cognition and brain development.