title: Association study of seven polymorphisms in four serotonin receptor genes on suicide victims.
abstract: A number of molecular genetic studies have investigated if serotonin (5-HT) receptor subtypes are involved in the pathogenesis of depression, suicidal behavior, aggression, and impulsive behavior. Existence of many receptor subtypes for a single transmitter permits a great diversity of signaling raising the possibility that they may serve as genetic markers for suicidal behavior. Most previous studies of suicide have analyzed polymorphisms of the receptors 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A, fewer have examined 5-HT1F. We report a study of possible association between the polymorphisms in the 5-HT receptor genes (1A, 1B, 1F, and 2A) and suicidal behavior on a sample of 226 suicide victims and 225 healthy control subjects. No significant differences in genotype frequency distributions between the suicide victims and healthy control subjects were observed for four polymorphisms; three were not polymorphic. A single polymorphism, C-1420T in gene 5-HT2A, showed a slight association with suicide (chi2= 4.94, df = 2, P = 0.067), but the correlation was not statistically significant. None of the tested genetic variants of serotonin receptors appears to be associated with suicidal behavior in the Slovenian population which has a relatively high suicide rate.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Alja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Videtic
authors.forename: Galina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pungercic
authors.forename: Irena Zupanic
authors.initials: IZ
authors.lastname: Pajnic
authors.forename: Tomaz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zupanc
authors.forename: Joze
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Balazic
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomori
authors.forename: Radovan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Komel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000235:genetics*; D013405:Suicide
chemical_list: D011985:Receptors, Serotonin