Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40530585›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics2025

The Role of SLC39A8.p.(Ala391Thr) in Schizophrenia Symptom Severity and Cognitive Ability: Cross-Sectional Studies of Schizophrenia and the General UK Population.

Sophie E Smart, Sophie E Legge, Eilidh Fenner, Antonio F Pardiñas, Grace Woolway, Amy J Lynham, Valentina Escott-Price, Jeremy Hall, Lawrence Wilkinson, Peter Holmans and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Neurotoxic mechanisms of cadmium in neurodegenerative diseases.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Sophie E SmartCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6709-5425
Sophie E LeggeCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Eilidh FennerCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6946-5768
Antonio F PardiñasCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6845-7590
Grace WoolwayCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Amy J LynhamCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3189-6888
Valentina Escott-PriceCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1784-5483
Jeremy HallNeuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Lawrence WilkinsonCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Peter HolmansCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Michael C O'DonovanCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Michael J OwenCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
James T R WaltersCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6980-4053

Funding

5/7 Psychiatric Genomics Consortium: Advancing Discovery and ImpactR01MH124873 · NIMH · CARDIFF UNIVERSITY · PI LEWIS, CATHRYN, O'DONOVAN, MICHAEL · 2021 to 2025
$2.6M
Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard SBF005/1083European Union's Horizon 2020 964874Medical Research Council Centre MR/P005748/1NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH124873NIMH NIH HHS R01MH124873Takeda Pharmaceuticals Ltd.Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust Integrative Neuroscience PhD Studentship 108891/B/15/Z/WT
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The missense SNP NC_000004.12:g.102267552C>T (also known as SLC39A8.p.(Ala391Thr), rs13107325) in SLC39A8 encodes a zinc transporter. This SNP has been linked to schizophrenia and is the likely causal variant for one of the genome-wide association loci associated with the disorder. Using regression analyses, we tested whether the schizophrenia-risk allele at p.(Ala391Thr) was associated with schizophrenia-related phenotypes, including positive, negative, and disorganized symptoms, cognitive ability, educational attainment, and age of psychosis onset, within three schizophrenia cohorts (combined N = 1232) and, with equivalent phenotypes, in a sample of population controls (UK Biobank, N = 355,069). We also used the population controls to test for associations with rare protein-truncating and deleterious missense variants within SLC39A8. Within the schizophrenia cohorts, after correction for multiple testing, p.(Ala391Thr) was not significantly associated with any schizophrenia-related phenotypes. In the unaffected participants from the UK Biobank, the schizophrenia-risk allele at p.(Ala391Thr) was associated with significantly poorer cognitive ability and fluid intelligence, a lower probability of obtaining GCSEs or a degree-level qualification, and fewer years in education. There was no association between p.(Ala391Thr) and self-reported psychotic experiences in this cohort. Rare variants in SLC39A8 were nominally associated with poorer cognitive ability, but these associations did not survive correction for multiple testing. The schizophrenia-risk allele was associated with poorer cognitive ability, but not psychotic experiences, in a volunteer sample drawn from the general population. We found no evidence that p.(Ala391Thr) was associated with symptom severity in schizophrenia. To understand the impact of rare variants in SLC39A8 on cognitive impairment, larger independent samples are required.

Indexed as

Cation Transport ProteinsCognitionSchizophreniaAdultAllelesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleMiddle AgedMutation, MissensePhenotypePolymorphism, Single NucleotideUnited KingdomCation Transport ProteinsSLC39A8 protein, humanZinc Transporter 8metal ion transporterspsychosisrs13107325whole‐exome sequencingZIP8

Identifiers

PMID40530585
PMCPMC12281500

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.