APOE and CPT1-A Promoter Methylation and Expression Profiles in Patients with Schizophrenia

Background: Apo-lipoprotein E (APOE) and Carnitine palmitoyltransferase1-A (CPT1-A) genes are well known to be involved in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia but regarding their CPG island methylation status data is sparse. Objectives: The aims of the current study were to highlight the effect of the promoter “hypermethylation” in the development of SCZ. Patients and Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of 80 patients with schizophrenia and 71 healthy controls. The Methylation pattern was studied using Methylation-Specific PCR. RNA expression analysis was performed on extracted RNA from blood samples of patients suffering from schizophrenia (n = 17) and healthy controls (n = 17). Results: Frequency of the APOE and CPT1-A methylation show insignificant relationship between cases and controls. Estimates of relative gene expression revealed no significant statistical association of the APOE and CPT1-A genes between schizophrenic patients and healthy controls. Conclusions: This is the first evidence regarding APOE and CPT1-A gene methylation and their expression profile related to risk of schizophrenia which indicate no significant association between the APOE and CPT1-A gene methylation and development of schizophrenia.