Seasonal affective disorder and the G-protein beta-3-subunit C825T polymorphism.
BACKGROUND
Guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) have been implicated in affective disorders, with reports of altered signal transduction and G-protein levels. Association with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) has been found for the higher activity T-allele of the G-protein beta-3-subunit C825T polymorphism.


METHODS
European SAD patients (n = 159) and matched controls (n = 159) were genotyped for the C825T. Seasonality and diurnal preference were investigated in subsets of the material (n = 177 and 92, respectively).


RESULTS
We found no association between C825T and SAD (chi(2) =.09, p =.96) or seasonality (F = 1.76, p =.18). There was some evidence for an effect on diurnal preference but only in the control group (n = 46, t = -2.8, Bonferroni corrected p =.045).


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the G-protein beta-3-subunit 825 T-allele does not play a major role in susceptibility to seasonal affective disorder in the population studied.
Johansson
Carolina
C
Neurogenetics Unit, Department of Molecular Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine L8:00, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska Hospital, S-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
Willeit
Matthäeus
M
Aron
Liviu
L
Smedh
Christina
C
Ekholm
Jenny
J
Paunio
Tiina
T
Kieseppä
Tuula
T
Lichtermann
Dirk
D
Praschak-Rieder
Nicole
N
Neumeister
Alexander
A
Kasper
Siegfried
S
Peltonen
Leena
L
Adolfsson
Rolf
R
Partonen
Timo
T
Schalling
Martin
M
D000483:Alleles; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003596:Cytosine; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D016574:Seasonal Affective Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D013941:Thymine
C454420:G-protein beta3 subunit; D003596:Cytosine; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins; D013941:Thymine