Promoter polymorphism in the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene is significantly associated with leukocyte telomere length in Han Chinese.
The serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT)-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) plays an important role in modulating mood and behavior by regulating 5-HTT expression and thereby controlling the concentration of serotonin (5-HT) in brain synapses: The homozygous shorter allele (S/S) in 5-HTTLPR results in lower 5-HTT expression coupled with stronger psycho-pathological reactions to stressful experiences compared to the homozygous long (L/L) and heterozygous (S/L) alleles. Psychological insults and mood disorders have been shown to cause accelerated telomere shortening, a marker of biological aging, however, it is currently unclear whether the allelic variants of 5-HTTLPR affect telomere length (TL) in the healthy population without mood disorders. In the present study, we determined the relationship between TL and the 5-HTTLPR variants in healthy Han Chinese. The 5-HTTLPR genotyping and leukocyte TL analysis of 280 young female Han Chinese freshmen showed a significantly shorter TL in 149 of them carrying the 5-HTTLPR S/S version compared to those (131) with the L/S or L/S plus L/L genotypes (mean ± SD, 0.533±0.241 for S/S vs 0.607±0.312 for L/S, P  =  0.034; or vs 0.604±0.313 for L/S plus L/L, P  =  0.038). Similar results were achieved in the other cohort including 220 adult healthy individuals of different age, gender and profession (0.691±0.168 for S/S vs 0.729±0.211 for L/S, P  =  0.046, or vs 0.725±0.213 for L/S plus L/L, P  =  0.039). Taken together, shorter leukocyte TL is significantly associated with the 5-HTTLPR S/S allelic variant, which may be implicated in psychological stress-related health problems.
School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
Ping
P
Li
Department of Microbiology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, PR China; Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital Solna and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Tiantian
T
Liu
School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
Jiajia
J
Liu
School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
Qing
Q
Zhang
School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
Fenglan
F
Lou
Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
Feng
F
Kong
Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
Guanghui
G
Cheng
Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital Solna and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Magnus
M
Björkholm
Hematology Department, the Second Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
Chengyun
C
Zheng
Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China; Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital Solna and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Dawei
D
Xu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D001483:Base Sequence; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000235:genetics; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins