Impact on schizotypal personality trait of a genome-wide supported psychosis variant of the ZNF804A gene

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder with a high heritability. Relatives with schizophrenia have an increased risk not only for schizophrenia but also for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, such as schizotypal personality disorder. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs1344706, in the Zinc Finger Protein 804A (ZNF804A) gene, has been implicated in susceptibility to schizophrenia by several genome-wide association studies, follow-up association studies and meta-analyses. This SNP has been shown to affect neuronal connectivities and cognitive abilities. We investigated an association between the ZNF804A genotype of rs1344706 and schizotypal personality traits using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) in 176 healthy subjects. We also looked for specific associations among ZNF804A polymorphisms and the three factors of schizotypy-cognitive/perceptual, interpersonal and disorganization-assessed by the SPQ. The total score for the SPQ in carriers of the risk T allele was significantly higher than that in individuals with the G/G genotype (p= 0.042). For the three factors derived from the SPQ, carriers with the risk T allele showed a higher disorganization factor (p= 0.011), but there were no differences in the cognitive/perceptual or interpersonal factors between genotype groups (p> 0.30). These results suggest that the genetic variation in ZNF804A might increase susceptibility not only for schizophrenia but also for schizotypal personality traits in healthy subjects.