title: High ethanol tolerance in young adults is associated with the low-activity variant of the promoter of the human serotonin transporter gene.
abstract: Central serotonergic neurotransmission has been implicated in the aetiology of ethanol tolerance and dependence. Cellular expression of the serotonin transporter and serotonin reuptake is modulated via a polymorphic, repetitive element in the 5'-flanking regulatory region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR). We report the association of the low-activity, short variant of the 5-HTTLPR with high ethanol tolerance among young adults in a case-control association study (n = 713). The low-activity 5-HTTLPR showed a significantly increased allele frequency (chi2 = 7.30; df = 2; P = 0.007) and genotype frequency among young adults (< or =26 years) with high ethanol tolerance homozygous for the short allele (chi2 = 7.58; df = 1; P = 0.02). The estimated odds ratio for the homozygous short variant compared to the homozygous long variant was 2.82 (95% CI 1.30-6.11). This indicates that the low-activity 5-HTTLPR may be involved in the neuronal mechanisms responsible for ethanol tolerance and dependence.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Türker
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sodmann
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Goebel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jatzke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knapp
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Lesch
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schütz
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weiler
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stöber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000235:genetics*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D012701:Serotonin; D000431:Ethanol