title: Pooling pharmacogenetic studies on the serotonin transporter: a mega-analysis.
abstract: Pharmacogenetic studies on antidepressants have reported an association between the promoter of the serotonin transporter gene (SERTPR) and response to antidepressant treatment. In the present study, individual subject data from three pharmacogenetic studies on SERTPR were pooled ('mega-analysis') to investigate the role of this gene in the antidepressant activity of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). A group of 548 patients who were treated with different SSRIs in a double blind design were included; the severity of depressive symptoms was weekly assessed with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. SERPR allelic variants were determined in each subject using a PCR-based technique. In the whole sample, subjects with SERPR() l/l variants showed a significantly better response to treatment, and this effect was independent from analyzed demographic and clinical variables but was not uniform across samples. This result supports the involvement of the SERTPR gene in response to antidepressant treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vita-Salute University, Fondazione Centro San Raffaele del Monte Tabor, Milan, Italy. serretti.alessandro@hsr.it
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serretti
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cusin
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rausch
authors.forename: Brigitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bondy
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smeraldi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors