OBJECTIVE:

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists are known to produce a syndrome resembling schizophrenia, probably due to their blockade of NMDA receptors. The NMDA receptor 2B (NR2B) subunit has been identified as one of the major proteins in the postsynaptic density at glutamatergic synapses, suggesting that the carboxyl-terminal domain of the NR2B subunit may play a significant role in intracellular signal transduction.

METHOD:

The authors screened for genetic variations in the region of the NR2B subunit gene encoding the carboxyl-terminal intracellular domain in patients with schizophrenia and studied the association between schizophrenia and a novel polymorphism of the NR2B subunit gene.

RESULTS:

One silent mutation (2664C/T) was identified. No significant differences in the frequencies of 2664C/T genotypes and alleles were found between patients with schizophrenia and healthy comparison subjects.

CONCLUSIONS:

The findings provided no evidence of an association between schizophrenia and the 2664C/T polymorphism of the NR2B subunit gene.