Cortical surface area correlates with STON2 gene Ser307Pro polymorphism in first-episode treatment-naïve patients with schizophrenia.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Evidence shows that STON2 gene is associated with synaptic function and schizophrenia. This study aims to explore the relationship between two functional polymorphisms (Ser307Pro and Ala851Ser) of STON2 gene and the cortical surface area in first-episode treatment-naïve patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Magnetic resonance imaging of the whole cortical surface area, which was computed by an automated surface-based technique (FreeSurfer), was obtained from 74 first-episode treatment-naïve patients with schizophrenia and 55 healthy controls. Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the effect of genotype subgroups on the cortical surface area. A significant genotype-by-diagnosis effect on the cortical surface area was observed. Pro-allele carriers of Ser307Pro polymorphism had larger right inferior temporal surface area than Ser/Ser carriers in the patients with schizophrenia; however, no significant difference was found in the same area in the healthy controls. The Ala851Ser polymorphism of STON2 gene was not significantly associated with the cortical surface area in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The present study demonstrated that the functional variant of the STON2 gene could alter cortical surface area on the right inferior temporal and contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.