Both genetic and environmental factors have been associated with an increased risk
for schizophrenia. These factors are not mutually exclusive; a single gene can be
a genetic factor (due to a mutation in the gene sequence) and a target of a physiological
response to an environmental stimulus, both with the common endpoint of altered expression
of the gene. Regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4) has been implicated as such
a gene from three lines of evidence. First, a subset of genetic studies revealed an
association between schizophrenia and non-functional polymorphisms in the RGS4 gene.
Second, across the cortical mantle the expression of RGS4 mRNA is decreased in a diagnosis-specific
manner in subjects with schizophrenia. Third, neurobiological studies demonstrate
that RGS4 is highly responsive to environmental stimuli and capable of modulating
the function of G-protein coupled neurotransmitter receptors implicated in schizophrenia.
RGS4 is an example of a molecule that may underlie increased vulnerability through
either genetic or non-genetic mechanisms, which we suggest may be typical of other
genes in a complex, polygenic disorder such as schizophrenia.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 25, 2006
Accepted:
April 18,
2006
Received in revised form:
April 12,
2006
Received:
October 11,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
