MAOA Interacts With the ALDH2 Gene in Anxiety-Depression Alcohol Dependence

• Published in: Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research Vol. 34; no. 7; pp. 1212 - 1218
• Main Authors: Lee, Sheng-Yu, Hahn, Cheng-Yi, Lee, Jia-Fu, Huang, San-Yuan, Chen, Shiou-Lan, Kuo, Po-Hsiu, Lee, I Hui, Yeh, Tzung Lieh, Yang, Yen Kuang, Chen, Shih-Heng, Ko, Huei-Chen, Lu, Ru-Band
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2010; Wiley
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alcohol Dependence; Alcoholism; Alcoholism - epidemiology; Alcoholism - genetics; Alcoholism - psychology; Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase - genetics; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase - metabolism; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; ALDH2; Alleles; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders - genetics; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - genetics; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Depression; Depressive Disorder - epidemiology; Depressive Disorder - genetics; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); Gene; Genotype; Humans; Interaction; Male; MAOA; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Minisatellite Repeats - genetics; Monoamine Oxidase - genetics; Monoamine Oxidase - metabolism; Mood disorders; Polymorphism, Genetic - genetics; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Taiwan - epidemiology; Toxicology; Mood disorder; Affect affectivity; MAOA; Alcoholism; Interaction; Depression; Alcoholic beverage; Gene; ALDH2; Dependence; Genetics; Anxiety; Alcohol Dependence
• ISSN: 0145-6008; 1530-0277
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01198.x

Background:  Alcohol dependence is usually comorbid with anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, or both; this comorbidity may increase drinking behavior. We previously hypothesized that anxiety–depressive alcohol dependence (ANX/DEP ALC) was a genetically specific subtype of alcohol dependence. ANX/DEP ALC may be related to dopamine and serotonin, which are catalyzed by monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2). The aim of this study was to determine whether the interaction between the MAOA and the ALDH2 genes is associated with ANX/DEP ALC. Methods:  We recruited 383 Han Chinese men in Taiwan: 143 ANX/DEP ALC and 240 healthy controls. The diagnosis of ANX/DEP ALC (alcohol dependence with a past or current history of anxiety, depressive disorder, or both) was made using DSM‐IV criteria. Genotypes of ALDH2 and MAOA‐uVNTR (variable number of tandem repeat located upstream) were determined using PCR‐RFLP. Results:  The ALDH2, but not the MAOA‐uVNTR, polymorphism was associated with ANX/DEP ALC. After stratifying the MAOA‐uVNTR polymorphism, we found a stronger association between the ALDH2*1/*2 and *2/*2 genotypes and the controls in the MAOA‐uVNTR 4‐repeat subgroup. Logistic regression significantly associated the interaction between ALDH2 and MAOA variants with ANX/DEP ALC. Conclusion:  We conclude that the MAOA and ALDH2 genes interact in ANX/DEP ALC. Although the MAOA gene alone is not associated with ANX/DEP ALC, we hypothesize that different variants of MAOA‐uVNTR polymorphisms modify the protective effects of the ALDH2*2 allele on ANX/DEP ALC in Han Chinese in Taiwan.