title: Norepinephrine transporter gene (NET) variants in patients with panic disorder.
abstract: Several lines of evidence suggest that catecholamines, especially norepinephrine, are implicated in the etiology and/or symptomatology of panic disorder (PD). At the cellular level, functional noradrenergic neurotransmission depends on synaptic reuptake of norepinephrine as mediated by the norepinephrine transporter (NET). A pharmacological target of agents with an established anti-panic efficacy, e.g. tricyclic antidepressants, the NET is of particular interest in PD. We investigated the NET gene for the presence of 6 naturally occurring exonic sequence variants, 5 of which give rise to amino acid substitutions (Val69Ile, Thr99Ile, Val245Ile, Val449Ile and Gly478Ser) in a population of 87 patients with PD and 89 healthy controls. Except for a silent substitution (G1287A), overall frequencies of variant alleles were low (< or =0.016). None of the variants under study was found to be associated with PD regardless of an additional diagnosis of agoraphobia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstrazze 15, D-97080, Würzburg, Germany. philipp.sand@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Sand
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Godau
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stöber
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Flachenecker
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Nöthen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fritze
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: K-P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Lesch
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riederer
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Beckmann
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deckert
mesh_terms: D019943:Amino Acid Substitution / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050484:Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D010361:Patients; D027981:Symporters / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D050484:Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C493227:SLC6A2 protein, human; D027981:Symporters