title: Redefinition of the human kappa opioid receptor gene (OPRK1) structure and association of haplotypes with opiate addiction.
abstract: The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) plays a role in stress responsivity, opiate withdrawal and responses to cocaine. KOR activation by its endogenous ligand dynorphin A(1-17) decreases basal and drug-induced striatal levels of dopamine. The complete structure of the human KOR gene (hOPRK1) has not been previously determined. This study: (i) characterized the genomic structure of the hOPRK1 gene; (ii) identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the hOPRK1 gene; and (iii) investigated possible associations of these variants with vulnerability to develop heroin addiction. Analysis of 5'-RACE cDNA clones revealed the presence of a novel exon 1 ranging in length from 167 to 251 nucleotides in the 5' 5'-untranslated region of the hOPRK1 mRNA. We found that the hOPRK1 gene has four major exons and three introns, similar to rodent OPRK1 genes. Direct sequencing of amplified DNA containing all four exons and intron 1 of the hOPRK1 gene were evaluated for polymorphisms in 291 subjects (145 former heroin addicts and 146 controls). Twelve SNPs were identified, nine novel variants and three previously reported SNPs. Using logistic regression with opioid dependence as the dependent variable, the 36G>T SNP exhibited a point-wise significant association (P = 0.016) with disease status. The number of haplotypes seen in the three ethnic groups were nine, six and five for African-Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanics, respectively, with corresponding significance levels for differences in haplotype frequencies between cases and controls of P = 0.0742, 0.1015 and 0.0041. Combining ethnicities by Fisher's method yields an empirical significance level of P = 0.0020.
authors.affiliation: aLaboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021, USA. yuferov@mail.rockefeller.edu
authors.forename: Vadim
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Yuferov
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fussell
authors.forename: K Steven
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: LaForge
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Leal
authors.forename: Jurg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: Mary Jeanne
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kreek
mesh_terms: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009518:New York; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D018579:Patient Selection; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017473:Receptors, Opioid, kappa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D017473:Receptors, Opioid, kappa