Affymetrix' SNP arrays aid in schizo CNV mapping

USA-based Affymetrix says that researchers around the world have used its Genome-Wide Human SNP Arrays 5.0 and 6.0 to uncover links between copy number variations and schizophrenia, according to findings published in recent issues of Nature and Nature Genetics.

One of the studies was conducted by a team of scientists from the Columbia University Medical Center, USA. They used the Affymetrix SNP Array 5.0 to uncover a clear link between rare de novo copy number variations and sporadic schizophrenia in an African population. The team discovered 17 de novo CNVs in patients with schizophrenia and showed that rare CNVs are approximately eight times more likely to appear in sporadic cases with schizophrenia than in unaffected individuals. A number of genes harbored within these detected gains and losses are members of pathways previously associated with neural development and RNA binding and processing.