EXCLUSION OF CLOSE LINKAGE BETWEEN THE SYNAPTIC VESICULAR MONOAMINE TRANSPORTER LOCUS AND SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM DISORDERS

The principal brain synaptic vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2) i s responsible for the reuptake of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and histamine from the cytoplasm into synaptic vesicles, thus contributing to determination of the size of releasable neurotra nsmitter vesicular pools. Potential involvement of VMAT2 gene variants in the etiology of schizophrenia and related disorders was tested usi ng polymorphic VMAT2 gene markers in 156 subjects from 16 multiplex pe digrees with schizophrenia, schizophreniform, schizoaffective, and sch izotypal disorders and mood incongruent psychotic depression, Assuming genetic homogeneity, complete (theta = 0.0) linkage to the schizophre nia spectrum was excluded under both dominant and recessive models, Al lelic variants at the VMAT2 locus do not appear to provide major genet ic contributions to the etiology of schizophrenia spectrum disorders i n these pedigrees. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.