title: Analysis of polymorphisms in the olfactory G-protein Golf in major depression.
abstract: It is well established that G-proteins represent essential regulatory components in transmembrane signaling. The alpha subunit of the olfactory G-protein Golf (GNAL) maps to a region on chromosome 18 where linkage to affective disorders has been reported, as well as a parent-of-origin effect in affective disorders with some markers near the locus for the alpha subunit of the Golf gene. We investigated whether two polymorphisms in the alpha subunit of the Golf gene (A-->G in intron 3, and T-->G in intron 10) are associated with major depression in 176 major depressive patients compared with 145 healthy control subjects, and additionally tested for a parent-of-origin effect in separated gender groups. In the control group, we found a significant increase in the G-allele frequency of the intron 3 polymorphism in females (P=0.0036, odds ratio=2.13, 95% confidence interval=1.29-3.54, Fisher's Exact Test). In patients, we found a similar tendency for higher G-allele frequencies in females. Concerning the intron 10 polymorphism, no differences in the genotype or allele frequencies were detectable for any of the separated gender groups. Also, the total patient and control groups showed no differences in allele or genotype frequencies for any of the investigated polymorphisms. The results of this study agree with the reported parent-of-origin effects on chromosome 18, but do not support the hypothesis that the Golf gene is a major susceptibility factor for major depression.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany. Peter.Zill@psy.med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zill
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Baghai
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zwanzger
authors.forename: Cornelius
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schüle
authors.forename: Christo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Minov
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Behrens
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rupprecht
authors.forename: Hans Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.forename: Brigitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bondy
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D044385:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D044385:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits; C084618:olfactory G protein subunit alpha olf; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins