Association of the functional V158M catechol-O-methyl-transferase polymorphism with panic disorder in women.
Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder with an estimated heritability of up to 48%. Pharmacological and genetic studies suggest that genes coding for proteins involved in the catecholaminergic system might be relevant for the pathogenesis of the disease. In the present study, we genotyped a single nucleotide polymorphism (472G/A=V158M) in the coding region of the catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) gene in 115 patients with panic disorder and age- and sex-matched controls. Association analysis revealed a significant excess of the more active COMT allele (472G=V158) in patients with panic disorder (p=0.04), particularly in female patients (p=0.01), but not in male patients (p=1.0). The assessment of a possible interaction of the COMT polymorphism with a previously reported functional 30-bp VNTR in the monoamine oxidase A promoter (MAOALPR) in female patients did not yield significant results. Our data support a role of the 472G/A (V158M) COMT polymorphism or a nearby locus in the pathogenesis of panic disorder in women.
Domschke
Katharina
K
Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Germany.
Freitag
Christine M
CM
Kuhlenbäumer
Gregor
G
Schirmacher
Anja
A
Sand
Philipp
P
Nyhuis
Peter
P
Jacob
Christian
C
Fritze
Jürgen
J
Franke
Petra
P
Rietschel
Marcella
M
Garritsen
Henk S
HS
Fimmers
Rolf
R
Nöthen
Markus M
MM
Lesch
Klaus-Peter
KP
Stögbauer
Florian
F
Deckert
Jürgen
J
D000328:Adult; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000523:psychology; D000483:Alleles; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D017931:DNA Primers; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase