An association study of the serotonin transporter and receptor genes with the suicidal ideation of major depression in a Chinese Han population

Wang, Shan; Zhang, Kerang; Xu, Yong; Sun, Ning; Shen, Yan; Xu, Qi

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2008.12.006

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Volume 170, Issue 2 , Pages 204-207, 30 December 2009

An association study of the serotonin transporter and receptor genes with the suicidal ideation of major depression in a Chinese Han population

Shan Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
Kerang Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
- Corresponding authors. K. Zhang is to be contacted at Tel.: +86 351 4639869; fax: +86 351 4639956. Xu, Tel.: +86 10 65296432; fax: +86 10 65263392.
Yong Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
Ning Sun
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, China
Yan Shen
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) and Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, 100005, China
Qi Xu
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) and Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, 100005, China
- Corresponding authors. K. Zhang is to be contacted at Tel.: +86 351 4639869; fax: +86 351 4639956. Xu, Tel.: +86 10 65296432; fax: +86 10 65263392.

Received 25 April 2008; received in revised form 1 December 2008; accepted 22 December 2008.

Abstract

Major depression (MD) is a common psychiatric disorder and one of its most serious symptoms is suicidal ideation. Six polymorphisms in four genes related to the serotonin system, including the HTTLPR and HTTVNTR in the SLC6A4 gene, rs6295 in the HTR1A gene, rs11568817 and rs130058 in the HTR1B gene, and rs6313 in the HTR2A gene, were studied in 420 patients with MD to investigate the relationship between these genes and suicidal ideation in MD. An allele association study revealed a significant relationship between rs11568817 and suicidal ideation, while no association was found for any of the other five polymorphisms. A haplotype association study suggested that the rs11568817–rs130058 haplotype of the HTR1B gene is significantly associated with suicidal ideation in MD. No association was found between suicidal ideation and the combined effect of the genes studied using rs11568817 as a conditional marker. Our work indicated that the HTR1B gene might be involved in the development of suicidal ideation in MD among a Chinese Han population.

Keywords: Major depression, Serotonin transporter, Serotonin receptor, Suicidal ideation