Research reportRisk variants in the S100B gene, associated with elevated S100B levels, are also associated with visuospatial disability of schizophrenia

Rs9722 and rs1051169 have been reported as affecting the levels of S100B in the serum or the brain, and haplotypes containing these two SNPs have been associated with schizophrenia. The current study investigated the role of the S100B gene in an endophenotype of schizophrenia-spatial disability. 304 schizophrenia patients and 196 healthy controls were given a block design task and a mental rotation task. Results showed that the two aforementioned SNPs and related haplotypes were associated with the spatial disability of schizophrenia patients. Specifically, risk factors for the elevated S100B levels, including the A allele of rs9722, the G allele of rs1051169, and the AG haplotype, were associated with a poorer performance on both tests of spatial ability, especially the mental rotation task. These results implicate a role for S100B gene polymorphisms in the cognitive functions of schizophrenia patients and encourage further investigation into spatial disability as an endophenotype of schizophrenia.

Research highlights▶ Visuospatial ability is impaired in schizophrenia patients when comparing with healthy controls after controling all demographic factors. ▶ The visuospatial disability in schizophrenia was associated with S100B gene polymorphisms by both genotypic and haplotypic analysis. ▶ Howeve, S100B gene polymorphisms did not show association with the visuospatial ability in healthy controls.