A coding variant of the novel serotonin receptor subunit 5-HT3E influences sustained attention in schizophrenia patients

Lennertz, Leonhard; Wagner, Michael; Frommann, Ingo; Schulze-Rauschenbach, Svenja; Schuhmacher, Anna; Kühn, Kai-Uwe; Pukrop, Ralf; Klosterkötter, Joachim; Wölwer, Wolfgang; Gaebel, Wolfgang; Rietschel, Marcella; Häfner, Heinz; Maier, Wolfgang; Mössner, Rainald

doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2010.02.012

« Previous Next »European Neuropsychopharmacology
Volume 20, Issue 6 , Pages 414-420, June 2010

A coding variant of the novel serotonin receptor subunit 5-HT3E influences sustained attention in schizophrenia patients

Leonhard Lennertz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Michael Wagner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Ingo Frommann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Svenja Schulze-Rauschenbach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Anna Schuhmacher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Kai-Uwe Kühn
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Ralf Pukrop
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Joachim Klosterkötter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Wolfgang Wölwer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
Wolfgang Gaebel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
Marcella Rietschel
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany
Heinz Häfner
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany
Wolfgang Maier
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Rainald Mössner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, DE-53105 Bonn, Germany. Tel.: +49 228 287 1939; fax: +49 228 287 22617.

Received 5 November 2009; accepted 26 February 2010. published online 31 March 2010.

Abstract

Sustained attention as measured by the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) has proved a valuable endophenotype for schizophrenia. Recently pharmacological studies suggested a role of the serotonin (5-HT) 3 receptor in schizophrenia. The 5-HT3 receptors are the only ligand-gated ion channels within the 5-HT receptor family. Applying an endophenotype approach, we investigated a potential impact of the genes of the 5-HT3A and 5-HT3B subunits as well as the novel 5-HT3C, 5-HT3D, and 5-HT3E subunits on CPT performance in subjects with schizophrenia. The study included 196 patients with schizophrenia, 113 of their parents, and 205 healthy controls recruited from community registers. Sustained attention was assessed with the Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs (CPT-IP). Assessing functional and coding variants of the 5-HT3 receptor subunit genes, we found the GG genotype of the 5-HT3E subunit gene (rs7627615; Thr86Ala) to be associated with better attentional capacities in subjects with schizophrenia and healthy controls. This study provides additional evidence for a role of the serotonergic system and the 5-HT3 receptor in schizophrenia.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, Endophenotype, 5-HT3, Continuous Performance Test, Sustained attention, HTR3