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Conscientiousness is modified by genetic variation in catechol-O-methyltransferase to reduce symptom complaints in IBS patients.

ABSTRACT: Attention to and perception of physical sensations and somatic states can significantly influence reporting of complaints and symptoms in the context of clinical care and randomized trials. Although anxiety and high neuroticism are known to increase the frequency and severity of complaints, it is not known if other personality dimensions or genes associated with cognitive function or sympathetic tone can influence complaints. Genetic variation in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is associated with anxiety, personality, pain, and response to placebo treatment. We hypothesized that the association of complaint reporting with personality might be modified by variation in the COMT val158met genotype.We administered a standard 25-item complaint survey weekly over 3-weeks to a convenience sample of 187 irritable bowel syndrome patients enrolled in a placebo intervention trial and conducted a repeated measures analysis.We found that complaint severity rating, our primary outcome, was negatively associated with the personality measures of conscientiousness (? = -0.31 SE 0.11, P = 0.003) and agreeableness (? = -0.38 SE 0.12, P = 0.002) and was positively associated with neuroticism (? = 0.24 SE 0.09, P = 0.005) and anxiety (? = 0.48 SE 0.09, P < 0.0001). We also found a significant interaction effect of COMT met alleles (? = -32.5 SE 14.1, P = 0.021). in patients genotyped for COMT val158met (N = 87) specifically COMT × conscientiousness (? = 0.73 SE 0.26, P = 0.0042) and COMT × anxiety (? = -0.42 SE 0.16, P = 0.0078) interaction effects.These findings potentially broaden our understanding of the factors underlying clinical complaints to include the personality dimension of conscientiousness and its modification by COMT.

SUBMITTER: Hall KT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4321393 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Conscientiousness is modified by genetic variation in catechol-O-methyltransferase to reduce symptom complaints in IBS patients.

Hall Kathryn T KT Tolkin Benjamin R BR Chinn Garrett M GM Kirsch Irving I Kelley John M JM Lembo Anthony J AJ Kaptchuk Ted J TJ Kokkotou Efi E Davis Roger B RB Conboy Lisa A LA

Brain and behavior 20141113 1

<h4>Background</h4>Attention to and perception of physical sensations and somatic states can significantly influence reporting of complaints and symptoms in the context of clinical care and randomized trials. Although anxiety and high neuroticism are known to increase the frequency and severity of complaints, it is not known if other personality dimensions or genes associated with cognitive function or sympathetic tone can influence complaints. Genetic variation in catechol-O-methyltransferase ( ...[more]

PMID: 25722948

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Project description:Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a key enzyme in the elimination of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex of the human brain. Genetic variation in the COMT gene (MIM 116790) has been associated with altered prefrontal cortex function and higher risk for schizophrenia, but the specific alleles and their functional implications have been controversial. We analyzed the effects of several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within COMT on mRNA expression levels (using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis), protein levels (using Western blot analysis), and enzyme activity (using catechol methylation) in a large sample (n = 108) of postmortem human prefrontal cortex tissue, which predominantly expresses the -membrane-bound isoform. A common coding SNP, Val158Met (rs4680), significantly affected protein abundance and enzyme activity but not mRNA expression levels, suggesting that differences in protein integrity account for the difference in enzyme activity between alleles. A SNP in intron 1 (rs737865) and a SNP in the 3' flanking region (rs165599)--both of which have been reported to contribute to allelic expression differences and to be associated with schizophrenia as part of a haplotype with Val--had no effect on mRNA expression levels, protein immunoreactivity, or enzyme activity. In lymphocytes from 47 subjects, we confirmed a similar effect on enzyme activity in samples with the Val/Met genotype but no effect in samples with the intron 1 or 3' SNPs. Separate analyses revealed that the subject's sex, as well as the presence of a SNP in the P2 promoter region (rs2097603), had small effects on COMT enzyme activity. Using site-directed mutagenesis of mouse COMT cDNA, followed by in vitro translation, we found that the conversion of Leu at the homologous position into Met or Val progressively and significantly diminished enzyme activity. Thus, although we cannot exclude a more complex genetic basis for functional effects of COMT, Val is a predominant factor that determines higher COMT activity in the prefrontal cortex, which presumably leads to lower synaptic dopamine levels and relatively deleterious prefrontal function.

Project description:ObjectiveSome IBS patients possess detailed memories of the events surrounding their bowel symptom onset ("episodic memories"). In this exploratory study we sought to: (1) examine memory relationship with gastrointestinal (GI) symptom severity, extraintestinal symptoms, and mood; (2) qualitatively explore memory valence and content in IBS patients with or without episodic memories.MethodsReferral IBS patients n = 29; age 47.0± 2.2 years, 79.3% female) enrolled in this cross-sectional, mixed methods research study. Participants completed validated specific memory instruments [Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), Sentence Completion for Events from the Past Test (SCEPT)] and relevant questionnaires [IBS symptoms 10-cm visual analog scale); SF-36 Health-related quality of life (HRQOL); Perley-Guze and PHQ-15/12: somatization; Beck Depression/Anxiety Inventories). Qualitative analysis examined the content and valence of general memories.Results14/29 (48.3%) of IBS subjects endorsed episodic memories of IBS symptom onset, often GI infections/enteritis (35.7%). Recall of the exact year (69%) and month (60%) of symptom onset were common. Episodic memories were associated with greater IBS symptom severity/bother, higher anxiety/depression, and poorer HRQOL. Though AMT and SCEPT memory specificity were not different based on episodic memories, overgeneralization to negatively-valenced cues in the AMT was associated with more severe IBS in those without episodic memory. Qualitative analysis revealed no observable differences in topic focus of IBS patients with and without episodic memories.ConclusionsIBS patients often endorse episodic memories associated with symptom onset, and this recall seems to associate with more severe symptoms. Overgeneralization responses to negative stimuli may lead to worse bowel symptoms in those without episodic memories. IBS memory specificity may associate with qualitative differences in processing psychosocial experiences and might be important to IBS pathophysiology.

Dataset Information

Conscientiousness is modified by genetic variation in catechol-O-methyltransferase to reduce symptom complaints in IBS patients.

Publications

Conscientiousness is modified by genetic variation in catechol-O-methyltransferase to reduce symptom complaints in IBS patients.

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