title: Tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene and alcohol use among college students.
abstract: Genes that regulate serotonin activity are regarded as promising predictors of heavy alcohol use. Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH2) plays an important role in serotonergic neurotransmission by serving as the rate-limiting enzyme for serotonin biosynthesis in the midbrain and serotonergic neurons. Despite the link between TPH2 and serotonergic function, TPH2's role in the pathogenesis of alcohol-use disorders remains unclear. The goal of this study was to examine whether a variation in the TPH2 gene is associated with risky alcohol consumption. Specifically, this study examined whether the TPH2 G-703T polymorphism predicted alcohol consumption among college students. In two successive years, 351 undergraduates were asked to record their alcohol use each day for 30 days using an Internet-based electronic diary. Participants' DNA was collected and polymerase chain reaction genotyping was performed. Results show that alcohol consumption was not associated with the TPH2 G-703T polymorphism alone, or the interaction of TPH2 with two other candidate polymorphisms (TPH1 C218A and the SLC6A4 tri-allelic 5-HTTLPR), or negative life events. In conclusion, this study supports recent null findings relating TPH2 to drinking outcomes. It also extends these findings by showing null interactions with the TPH1 C218A polymorphism, the SLC6A4 tri-allelic 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and environmental stressors in predicting sub-clinical alcohol use among Caucasian American young adults.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Program, Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030-6325, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gacek
authors.forename: Tamlin S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Conner
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tennen
authors.forename: Henry R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kranzler
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Covault
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D000483:Alleles; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; C497467:TPH1 protein, human; C494784:TPH2 protein, human; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2005 Jan;29(1):8-16
references.pmid: 15654286
references.citation: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2006 Aug;9(4):437-42
references.pmid: 16146581
references.citation: J Am Coll Health. 2002 Mar;50(5):203-17
references.pmid: 11990979
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2000 Dec 4;97(1):1-10
references.pmid: 11104852
references.citation: Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2005 Feb 5;133B(1):79-84
references.pmid: 15635638
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2006 Jan 11;26(2):530-4
references.pmid: 16407550
references.citation: Science. 2003 Jan 3;299(5603):76
references.pmid: 12511643
references.citation: Alcohol. 2005 May;36(1):1-3
references.pmid: 16257348
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Dec 1;62(11):1288-94
references.pmid: 17568567
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2004 Feb;28(2):257-67
references.pmid: 15112933
references.citation: Hum Genet. 2006 Aug;120(1):22-30
references.pmid: 16741719
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2005 Jan;29(1):1-7
references.pmid: 15654285
references.citation: Morfologiia. 2005;127(3):17-20
references.pmid: 16381305
references.citation: J Pers. 2005 Dec;73(6):1465-83
references.pmid: 16274442
references.citation: Mol Psychiatry. 2005 Sep;10(9):884-8, 805
references.pmid: 16044172
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Mar 1;61(5):609-16
references.pmid: 16920076
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 1995 Jul;85(7):921-6
references.pmid: 7604914
references.citation: Am J Hum Genet. 2006 May;78(5):815-826
references.pmid: 16642437
references.citation: J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2005 Nov;112(11):1479-85
references.pmid: 16245070
references.citation: Mol Psychiatry. 2000 Jan;5(1):32-8
references.pmid: 10673766
references.citation: Neuron. 2005 Jan 6;45(1):11-6
references.pmid: 15629698
references.citation: J Neural Transm (Vienna). 1999;106(9-10):1017-25
references.pmid: 10599882
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1998 Nov;55(11):989-94
references.pmid: 9819067
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jan 2;104(1):329-34
references.pmid: 17182745
references.citation: Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2004 May;30(5):558-69
references.pmid: 15107156
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Jun 1;61(11):1228-34
references.pmid: 17123474
references.citation: J Clin Psychiatry. 1986 Apr;47 Suppl:16-22
references.pmid: 3007443
references.citation: Recent Dev Alcohol. 1997;13:173-89
references.pmid: 9122495
references.citation: Psychol Addict Behav. 2005 Dec;19(4):392-403
references.pmid: 16366811
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2007 May;17(5):1160-3
references.pmid: 16801378
references.citation: Psychiatr Genet. 2006 Feb;16(1):35-8
references.pmid: 16395128
references.citation: Alcohol Alcohol. 2003 Sep-Oct;38(5):446-9
references.pmid: 12915525
references.citation: BMC Med Genet. 2007 Mar 08;8:11
references.pmid: 17346350
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006 Jul;7(7):583-90
references.pmid: 16791147
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007 Aug;32(8):1687-94
references.pmid: 17251907
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 1994 Sep 1;36(5):326-37
references.pmid: 7993959