Association of toll-like receptor 2 gene polymorphism (rs3804099) with susceptibility to Schizophrenia risk in the Dogra population of Jammu region, North India

Background and objective

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe mental biological disorder with a multifactorial manner of transmission and inheritance associated with environmental, developmental, and genetic set-off. It is a heritable disorder that involves genes and metabolic mechanisms in a combined effect, each conferring a small increase in the overall disease burden. Its etiology is not fully understood, although recent studies showed a relationship between SCZ and inflammation. Evidence from various studies indicates that dysregulation of TLR genes may have a role in the physiopathology of schizophrenia. In the present study, 4 polymorphisms, each in TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, and TLR6, were studied to explore their role in susceptibility to SCZ in the Dogra population of the Jammu region.

Methods

Five hundred (500) individuals including 200 SCZ and 300 healthy controls were included in the study. DNA was isolated and Sanger's sequencing was performed after PCR amplification.

Results

Statistically significant association of TLR2 (rs3804099) was observed in the study population, the C allele of rs3804099 is associated with the increased risk for SCZ (OR=2.667; [1.4196–5.0093 at 95%CI] P = 0.0023). No statistically significant associations with SCZ were observed in the target population at TLR1, TLR4, and TLR6.

Conclusion

Study concludes that TLR2 (rs3804099) may be associated with schizophrenia in the targeted population. Advance studies can be carried out focusing on finding potential SNPs for establishing a candidate gene approach.