Serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) is not associated with depressive symptomatology in mood disorders

• Published in: Molecular psychiatry Vol. 4; no. 3; pp. 280 - 283
• Main Authors: Serretti, A, Cusin, C, Lattuada, E, Bella, D Di, Catalano, M, Smeraldi, E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.05.1999; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alleles; Analysis of Variance; Anxiety; Behavioral Sciences; Benzodiazepines; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Psychology; Bipolar disorder; Bipolar Disorder - genetics; Bipolar Disorder - psychology; Bipolar disorders; Carrier Proteins - genetics; Chi-Square Distribution; Chromosome Mapping; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17; Depressive Disorder - genetics; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Diazepam; Emotional disorders; Female; Gene polymorphism; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Membrane Glycoproteins - genetics; Membrane Transport Proteins; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Mood; Mood disorders; Mood Disorders - genetics; Mood Disorders - psychology; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Neurosciences; original-research-article; Pharmacotherapy; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Genetic; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; Serotonin; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; Serotonin transporter; phenotype; depressive disorder; anxiety; serotonin; bipolar disorder; polymorphism; Mood disorder; Human; Symptomatology; Gene; Serotonin; Biological transport; Depression; Genetics; Bipolar disorder; Genetic determinism; Polymorphism
• ISSN: 1359-4184; 1476-5578
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.mp.4000485

Disturbances of the serotoninergic neutrotransmitter system have been implicated in the pathogenesis of mood disorders. A functional polymorphism in the upstream regulatory region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) has been recently reported to be associated with both unipolar and bipolar disorder. In this study, we investigated the possibility that the 5-HTTLPR might be associated with depressive symptomatology in a sample of mood disorder subjects. One hundred and thirty-two psychiatric inpatients affected by major depressive ( n  = 67) and bipolar ( n  = 65) disorder (DSM-IV) were assessed at admission by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-21, divided into Core, Sleep, Activity, Psychic anxiety, Somatic anxiety and Delusion clusters) and were typed using PCR techniques. The only prior treatment permitted was low dose benzodiazepines (<5 mg diazepam or equivalent); no prior (<2 weeks) antidepressant or neuroleptic treatment was allowed. 5-httlpr variants were not associated with total depressive symptomatology as measured by hamd. the short 5-httlpr variant was marginally associated with higher psychic anxiety scores (f = 7.11, d.f. = 1,262, P  = 0.008). The association was stronger among bipolars and early onset subjects. 5-HTTLPR variants were not associated with the remaining symptom clusters. The upstream regulatory region of the serotonin transporter gene has not, therefore, a major influence on the depressive symptomatology in mood disorder subjects.