Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Depression is a common source of human disability for which etiologic insights remain limited. Although abnormalities of monoamine neurotransmission, including dopamine, are theorized to contribute to the pathophysiology of depression, evidence linking dopamine-related genes to depression has been mixed. The current study sought to address this knowledge-gap by examining whether the combined effect of dopamine polymorphisms was associated with depressive symptomatology in both healthy individuals and individuals with depression.Methods
Data were drawn from three independent samples: (1) a discovery sample of healthy adult participants (n?=?273); (2) a replication sample of adults with depression (n?=?1,267); and (3) a replication sample of healthy adult participants (n?=?382). A genetic risk score was created by combining functional polymorphisms from five genes involved in synaptic dopamine availability (COMT and DAT) and dopamine receptor binding (DRD1, DRD2, DRD3).Results
In the discovery sample, the genetic risk score was associated with depressive symptomatology (??=?-0.80, p?=?0.003), with lower dopamine genetic risk scores (indicating lower dopaminergic neurotransmission) predicting higher levels of depression. This result was replicated with a similar genetic risk score based on imputed genetic data from adults with depression (??=?-0.51, p?=?0.04). Results were of similar magnitude and in the expected direction in a cohort of healthy adult participants (??=?-0.86, p?=?0.15).Conclusions
Sequence variation in multiple genes regulating dopamine neurotransmission may influence depressive symptoms, in a manner that appears to be additive. Further studies are required to confirm the role of genetic variation in dopamine metabolism and depression.
SUBMITTER: Pearson-Fuhrhop KM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4023941 | biostudies-literature | 2014
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Pearson-Fuhrhop Kristin M KM Dunn Erin C EC Mortero Sarah S Devan William J WJ Falcone Guido J GJ Lee Phil P Holmes Avram J AJ Hollinshead Marisa O MO Roffman Joshua L JL Smoller Jordan W JW Rosand Jonathan J Cramer Steven C SC
PloS one 20140516 5
<h4>Background</h4>Depression is a common source of human disability for which etiologic insights remain limited. Although abnormalities of monoamine neurotransmission, including dopamine, are theorized to contribute to the pathophysiology of depression, evidence linking dopamine-related genes to depression has been mixed. The current study sought to address this knowledge-gap by examining whether the combined effect of dopamine polymorphisms was associated with depressive symptomatology in both ...[more]