Association of a serotonin transporter gene promoter polymorphism with harm avoidance behaviour in an elderly population.
A polymorphic 44-nucleotide insertion/deletion in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) has been shown to affect the level of expression of the serotonin transporter protein. An association between anxiety-related behavioural traits and the short form of the 5-HTTLPR has been reported. We determined the 5-HTTLPR genotype in genomic DNA samples from 84 subjects (47 Parkinson's disease patients and 37 controls) with a mean age of 67.4 years. The TPQ of Cloninger was used to obtain values for harm avoidance (HA), reward dependence and novelty seeking for all subjects. Analysis of variance showed a significant influence of the s-allele of the 5-HTTLPR on HA in both subject groups, with no significant interaction between diagnosis and genotype. Subjects with the l/l-genotype had significantly lower mean HA scores than the l/s subjects (P < 0.04) and s/s subjects (P < 0.003). A linear change in HA with genotype was observed, indicating a gene dose effect of the 5-HTTLPR s-allele on this personality dimension. Based on these findings it is suggested that there may be increased influence of the 5-HTTLPR short allele on anxiety-related traits during aging.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway 08854, USA. Ricketts@umdnj.edu
M H
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Ricketts
R M
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Hamer
J I
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Sage
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Manowitz
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Feng
M A
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Menza
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D001519:Behavior; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D003863:Depression / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000235:genetics*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
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