title: The state of the serotonin transporter protein in the platelets of patients with somatoform [correction of somatiform] disorders.
abstract: The role of the serotonin transporter protein (STP) in the development of somatoform [corrected] disorders was addressed in a correlational study of the levels of immunoreactive STP (IR-STP) using site-specific antibodies against the least conserved (among a group of other cotransporters) epitope at the C-terminal of STP and the level of anxiety symptoms in patients with somatoform [corrected] disorders. A total of 22 patients were studied, with DSM-IV diagnoses of somatoform [corrected] disorders, along with 32 mentally healthy subjects of comparable age and sex. Immunoblotting of IR-STP from patients from healthy donors produced a diffuse band between 68 and 105 kDal and a clear narrow band at 43 kDal. The 43-kDal IR-STP protein was almost completely absent from most patients, as compared with the levels of this protein in healthy donors. This result suggests an abnormality of STP processing or, perhaps, alternative splicing of the gene encoding STP in patients with somatoform [corrected] disorders, and this appears to reflect the dysfunction in serotoninergic transmission in the CNS in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endogenous Mental Diseases and Affective States, Scientific Center for Mental Health, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Belous
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramamoorthy
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Blakely
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Factor
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dupin
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Katasonov
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Lozier
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Beniashvili
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Morozova
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Brusov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000097:blood; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood; D000939:Epitopes / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000097:blood*; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D000939:Epitopes; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins