Serotonin transporter promoter gain-of-function genotypes are linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
A functional serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism, HTTLPR, alters the risk of disease as well as brain morphometry and function. Here, we show that HTTLPR is functionally triallelic. The L(G) allele, which is the L allele with a common G substitution, creates a functional AP2 transcription-factor binding site. Expression assays in 62 lymphoblastoid cell lines representing the six genotypes and in transfected raphe-derived cells showed codominant allele action and low, nearly equivalent expression for the S and L(G) alleles, accounting for more variation in HTT expression than previously recognized. The gain-of-function L(A)L(A) genotype was approximately twice as common in 169 whites with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) than in 253 ethnically matched controls. We performed a replication study in 175 trios consisting of probands with OCD and their parents. The L(A) allele was twofold overtransmitted to the patients with OCD. The HTTLPR L(A)L(A) genotype exerts a moderate (1.8-fold) effect on risk of OCD, which crystallizes the evidence that the HTT gene has a role in OCD.
Hu
Xian-Zhang
XZ
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD.
Lipsky
Robert H
RH
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD.
Zhu
Guanshan
G
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD.
Akhtar
Longina A
LA
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD.
Taubman
Julie
J
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD.
Greenberg
Benjamin D
BD
Butler Hospital, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence; Department of Psychiatry, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence.
Xu
Ke
K
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD.
Arnold
Paul D
PD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Richter
Margaret A
MA
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Kennedy
James L
JL
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Murphy
Dennis L
DL
Laboratory of Clinical Science, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD.
Goldman
David
D
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD. Electronic address: dgneuro@box-d.nih.gov.
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002460:Cell Line; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D051381:Rats; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins