title: Genes involved in neuroplasticity and stressful life events act on the short-term response to antidepressant treatment: a complex interplay between genetics and environment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  During the last few years, an increasing number of studies have focused on the association between neuroplasticity and affective disorders. The aim of the study is to evaluate the interactive effect of stressful life events (SLEs) and genes involved in neuroplasticity (BDNF and ST8SIA) on the short-term response to antidepressant treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 114 patients affected by mood or anxiety disorders under antidepressant treatment were enrolled in the study. We evaluated the interactive effects of three BDNF single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and five ST8SIA SNPs and SLEs at different time points (childhood SLEs, SLEs at illness onset, and SLEs reported over the last preceding treatment) over 1-month of antidepressant treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Carriers of some genetic variants in both BDNF and ST8SIA had a slower response to antidepressants if non-exposed to the onset SLEs, whereas they had a similar trend compared with the carriers of the opposite variant if exposed (allelic analysis: BDNF p = 0.00003, p = 0.00609; ST8SIA p = 0.04, p = 0.033). The BDNF haplotype analysis confirmed this trend (p = 0.00016).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Though our results are limited by the small sample size, variants in BDNF and ST8SIA may slow down the early response to antidepressants in subjects non-exposed to stressors at the illness onset, with a remarkable gene-environment interaction.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; National Institute for Suicide Prevention (NASP), Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mandelli
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Emiliani
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Porcelli
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Albani
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serretti
mesh_terms: D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006239:Haplotypes; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012799:Sialyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C579455:BDNF protein, human; D012799:Sialyltransferases; C043662:alpha-N-acetylneuraminate alpha-2,8-sialyltransferase
keywords: BDNF; ST8SIA2; antidepressant; stressful life events