Rare coding variants in ten genes confer substantial risk for schizophrenia

Tarjinder Singh*, Timothy Poterba, David Curtis, Huda Akil, Mariam Al Eissa, Jack D. Barchas, Nicholas Bass, Tim B. Bigdeli, Gerome Breen, Evelyn J. Bromet, Peter F. Buckley, William E. Bunney, Jonas Bybjerg-Grauholm, William F. Byerley, Sinéad B. Chapman, Wei J. Chen, Claire Churchhouse, Nicholas Craddock, Caroline M. Cusick, Lynn DeLisiSheila Dodge, Michael A. Escamilla, Saana Eskelinen, Ayman H. Fanous, Stephen V. Faraone, Alessia Fiorentino, Laurent Francioli, Stacey B. Gabriel, Diane Gage, Sarah A. Gagliano Taliun, Andrea Ganna, Giulio Genovese, David C. Glahn, Jakob Grove, Mei Hua Hall, Eija Hämäläinen, Henrike O. Heyne, Matti Holi, David M. Hougaard, Daniel P. Howrigan, Hailiang Huang, Hai Gwo Hwu, René S. Kahn, Hyun Min Kang, Konrad J. Karczewski, George Kirov, James A. Knowles, Francis S. Lee, Douglas S. Lehrer, Francesco Lescai, Dolores Malaspina, Stephen R. Marder, Steven A. McCarroll, Andrew M. McIntosh, Helena Medeiros, Lili Milani, Christopher P. Morley, Derek W. Morris, Preben Bo Mortensen, Richard M. Myers, Merete Nordentoft, Niamh L. O’Brien, Ana Maria Olivares, Dost Ongur, Willem H. Ouwehand, Duncan S. Palmer, Tiina Paunio, Digby Quested, Mark H. Rapaport, Elliott Rees, Brandi Rollins, F. Kyle Satterstrom, Alan Schatzberg, Edward Scolnick, Laura J. Scott, Sally I. Sharp, Pamela Sklar, Jordan W. Smoller, Janet L. Sobell, Matthew Solomonson, Eli A. Stahl, Christine R. Stevens, Jaana Suvisaari, Grace Tiao, Stanley J. Watson, Nicholas A. Watts, Douglas H. Blackwood, Anders D. Børglum, Bruce M. Cohen, Aiden P. Corvin, Tõnu Esko, Nelson B. Freimer, Stephen J. Glatt, Christina M. Hultman, Andrew McQuillin, Aarno Palotie, Carlos N. Pato, Michele T. Pato, Ann E. Pulver, David St. Clair, Ming T. Tsuang, Marquis P. Vawter, James T. Walters, Thomas M. Werge, Roel A. Ophoff, Patrick F. Sullivan, Michael J. Owen, Michael Boehnke, Michael C. O’Donovan, Benjamin M. Neale*, Mark J. Daly*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

358 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Rare coding variation has historically provided the most direct connections between gene function and disease pathogenesis. By meta-analysing the whole exomes of 24,248 schizophrenia cases and 97,322 controls, we implicate ultra-rare coding variants (URVs) in 10 genes as conferring substantial risk for schizophrenia (odds ratios of 3-50, P < 2.14 × 10-6) and 32 genes at a false discovery rate of <5%. These genes have the greatest expression in central nervous system neurons and have diverse molecular functions that include the formation, structure and function of the synapse. The associations of the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor subunit GRIN2A and AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptor subunit GRIA3 provide support for dysfunction of the glutamatergic system as a mechanistic hypothesis in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. We observe an overlap of rare variant risk among schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders1, epilepsy and severe neurodevelopmental disorders2, although different mutation types are implicated in some shared genes. Most genes described here, however, are not implicated in neurodevelopment. We demonstrate that genes prioritized from common variant analyses of schizophrenia are enriched in rare variant risk3, suggesting that common and rare genetic risk factors converge at least partially on the same underlying pathogenic biological processes. Even after excluding significantly associated genes, schizophrenia cases still carry a substantial excess of URVs, which indicates that more risk genes await discovery using this approach.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNature
Volume604
Issue7906
Pages (from-to)509-516
Number of pages8
ISSN0028-0836
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2022

Keywords

  • Exome
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics
  • Humans
  • Mutation
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders/genetics
  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/genetics
  • Schizophrenia/genetics

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