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Postmortem Analysis of the Caudate Nucleus in Schizophrenia

This postmortem study examines genomic signatures (gene, transcript, exon, and exon-exon junction) in the caudate nucleus of individuals with or without psychiatric illnesses. We characterized genetic and epigenetic changes across the lifespan of 443 donor subjects, including 245 individuals without psychiatric illness, 154 individuals with schizophrenia, and 44 individuals with bipolar disorder. The subjects are 210 from African and 233 from European ancestries. Combining expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis, Mendelian randomization with the latest schizophrenia genome-wide association study (GWAS), transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) and differential expression analysis, we identified many genes associated with schizophrenia risk, including potentially the dopamine D2 receptor short isoform. We found that antipsychotic medication has an extensive influence on caudate gene expression. We constructed caudate nucleus gene expression networks that highlight interactions involving schizophrenia risk. These analyses provide a resource for the study of schizophrenia and insights into risk mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets. There are 120 subjects in this study which are also present in the study phs000417.