title: Association study of the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism and mirtazapine antidepressant response in major depressive disorder.
abstract: Modulations of serotonergic and noradrenergic systems are thought to be critical to the therapeutic effect of most antidepressants, and their efficacies have been shown to depend on a functional polymorphism within the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR). Mirtazapine has a dual-action profile, combining the enhancement of the noradrenergic neurotransmitter system with specific actions on particular serotonergic receptor subtypes. The goal of this study was to elucidate whether the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with the mirtazapine antidepressant response in subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD). One hundred and one MDD patients were evaluated during 4 weeks of mirtazapine treatment. The severity of depression was assessed with the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating scale, and the 5-HTTLPR genotypes in the patients were determined using the polymerase chain reaction. Our results showed that responses at the 2nd and 4th weeks were significantly better for the s/s genotype of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism than for l-allele carriers. These results support our hypothesis that the response to noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants is significantly associated with the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism.
authors.affiliation: Depression Center, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Rhee-Hun
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Ma-Li
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Myoung-Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Jong-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.forename: Min-Soo
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008803:Mianserin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D000078785:Mirtazapine; D010597:Pharmacogenetics; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D008803:Mianserin; D000078785:Mirtazapine