Single‐nucleotide polymorphisms in genes related to the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis as risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder

• Published in: American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics Vol. 174; no. 7; pp. 671 - 682
• Main Authors: Carvalho, Carolina M., Coimbra, Bruno M., Ota, Vanessa K., Mello, Marcelo F., Belangero, Sintia I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2017
• Subjects: Adrenal glands; Etiology; gene; Genetic Markers; Genetics; HPA axis; Humans; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - metabolism; Hypothalamus; Pituitary; Pituitary-Adrenal System - metabolism; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; polymorphisms; Post traumatic stress disorder; PTSD; Risk Factors; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - genetics; trauma; PTSD; trauma; HPA axis; gene; polymorphisms
• ISSN: 1552-4841; 1552-485X
• DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32564

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common psychiatric disorder. The etiology of PTSD is multifactorial, depending on many environmental and genetic risk factors, and the exposure to life or physical integrity‐threatening events. Several studies have shown significant correlations of many neurobiological findings with PTSD. Hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction is strongly correlated with this disorder. One hypothesis is that HPA axis dysfunction may precede the traumatic event, suggesting that genes expressed in the HPA axis may be involved in the development of PTSD. This article reviews molecular genetic studies related to PTSD collected through a literature search performed in PubMed, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). The results of these studies suggest that several polymorphisms in the HPA axis genes, including FKBP5, NR3C1, CRHR1, and CRHR2, may be risk factors for PTSD development or may be associated with the severity of PTSD symptoms.