BACKGROUND:Recent studies have paid much attention to the newly found neuregulin-1,which might be closely linked to the molecular genetics of schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the association of neuregulin-related genes with schizophrenia,and to summarize the advancements in this current research. RETRIEVAL STRATEGY:Using the terms neuregulins,gene,schizophrenia,we retrieved articles published from January 2000 to June 2007 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.gov,http://www.elsevier.lib.tsinghua.edu.cn,and http://www.cjfd.cnki.net to identify studies addressing the association of neuregulin-related genes to schizophrenia.At the same time,we searched more than 10 medical joals by hand.The languages were limited to English and Chinese.Forty-two manuscripts were obtained and were firstly screened.Inclusion criteria:studies on neuregulins,schizophrenia,neuregulin-1, and the pathogenesis of schizophrenia,including randomized,blinded,and other original studies.Exclusion criteria:studies not related to schizophrenia,or repetitive studies.LITERATURE EVALUATION:The included 42 manuscripts were sorted.Twenty-one were selected as references for this article:fourteen were basic studies,and the remaining articles were case-controlled studies or other.DATA SYNTHESIS:Neuregulins are primarily expressed in the nervous system and heart,and limited expression is also seen in other tissues..These proteins transmit signals among certain cells and play an important role in normal development of the nervous system.Neuregulin-1 is a typical neuregulin-related gene.Neuregulin genes are closely related to glutamatergic,GABAergic,and dopaminergic neurons. CONCLUSION:Neuregulin-related genes,such as neuregulin-l,are important and promising candidate genes for studying schizophrenia disease.Their roles in the onset of schizophrenia,neuregulin-related gene expression products,and correlations of ErbB receptor to schizophrenia symptoms need to be further investigated.Further studies of neuregulin-1 will hopefully provide powerful evidence for understanding the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.