title: Menthol preference among smokers: association with TRPA1 variants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preference for smoking menthol cigarettes differs from individual to individual and population to population in ways that may provide higher levels of nicotine intake and contribute to smoking's morbidity and mortality. Menthol acts at sites that include the transient receptor potential (TRP) A1 channel that is expressed by nociceptors in the lung and airways, suggesting that individual and population differences in TRPA1 sequences might contribute to observed differences in menthol preference among smokers.
  
  
  METHODS
  We have thus sought association between menthol preference and common variants in the TRPA1 gene in heavier and lighter European-American smokers. Smokers were recruited for studies of smoking cessation in North Carolina and of substance abuse genetics in Maryland.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A common TRPA1 haplotype is defined by 1 missense and 10 intronic single nucleotide polymorphisms that display significant (.006 < p < .05; χ(2)) association with preference for mentholated cigarettes in heavy smokers (odds ratio ca. 1.3). There are smaller trends in the same direction in lighter smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This TRPA1 haplotype provides a novel biological basis for individual differences in menthol preference and possibly for actions of other agents that act at TRPA1.
authors: Molecular Neurobiology, National Institutes of Health-Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Box 5180, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. guhl@intra.nida.nih.gov
authors: George R
authors: GR
authors: Uhl
authors: Donna
authors: D
authors: Walther
authors: Frederique M
authors: FM
authors: Behm
authors: Jed E
authors: JE
authors: Rose
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D060148:HapMap Project; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008610:Menthol; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D057566:Self Report; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels / Q000235:genetics*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; C473350:TRPA1 protein, human; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; D008610:Menthol