title: An association study of the m6A genes with major depressive disorder in Chinese Han population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, chronic and recurrent mental disease but the precise mechanism behind this disorder remains unknown. FTO is one of the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification genes and has recently been found to be associated with depression. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal modification on RNA, which is highly enriched within the brain. There are five genes involved in m6A modification including FTO, but whether these m6A modification genes could confer a risk of MDD is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the genetic influence of the m6A modification genes on risk of MDD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We genotyped 23 SNPs in 5 modification genes among 738 patients with MDD and 1098 controls. The UNPHASED program was applied to analyze the genotyping data for allelic and genotypic association with MDD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 23 SNPs selected, rs12936694 from the m6A demethylase gene ALKBH5 showed allelic association (χ(2)=11.19, p=0.0008, OR=1.491, 95%CI 1.179-1.887) and genotypic association (χ(2)=12.26, df=2, p=0.0022) with MDD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Replication and functional study are required to draw a firm conclusion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ALKBH5 gene may play a role in conferring risk of MDD in the Chinese population.
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Tingfu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Shuquan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Zeyue
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Huiling
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Jianbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100005, China. Electronic address: xuqi@pumc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000241:Adenosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D000071502:AlkB Homolog 5, RNA Demethylase; D000483:Alleles; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D049308:Dioxygenases / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; C010223:N-methyladenosine; D049308:Dioxygenases; C559920:ALKBH5 protein, human; D000071502:AlkB Homolog 5, RNA Demethylase; D000241:Adenosine
keywords: ALKBH5; Major depressive disorder; RNA methylation; m6A modification