title: Genetic association of the interaction between the BDNF and GSK3B genes and major depressive disorder in a Chinese population.
abstract: Alterations in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-signaling pathways may play an important role in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Several lines of evidence have suggested that gene-gene interactions may confer susceptibility to MDD. The aim of this study was to analyze the single and combined effects of genes in the BDNF signal-transduction pathway on MDD in a Chinese population. We recruited 447 patients with MDD and 432 age- and gender-matched control subjects. Five SNPs in three BDNF signal-transduction pathway genes (BDNF, GSK3B and AKT1) were used in association analyses. An allelic association between the GSK3B SNP rs6782799 and MDD was found in our sample (allelic: chi(2) = 5.24, P = 0.022, corrected P = 0.107; genotypic: chi(2) = 5.55, P = 0.062) with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.52). Further gene-gene interaction analyses showed a significant effect of a two-locus BDNF/GSK3B interaction with MDD (GSK3B rs6782799 and BDNF rs7124442) (corrected P = 0.011), and also for a three-locus interaction (GSK3B rs6782799, BDNF rs6265 and BDNF rs7124442) (corrected P = 0.019). Individuals carrying the combination of two risk alleles showed an OR value of 4.00 (95% CI 2.05-7.79), while those with the combination of three risk alleles gave the largest OR value of 4.46 (95% CI 2.15-9.24). Taken together, these findings support the assertion that the GSK3B gene is an important susceptibility factor for MDD in a Han Chinese population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People's Republic of China. krzhang_sxmu@vip.163.com
authors.forename: Kerang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chunxia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jinli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D002681:China; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000235:genetics*; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C494918:AKT1 protein, human; C000605506:GSK3B protein, human; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3