Novel 5′-regulatory region polymorphisms of the 5-HT2C receptor gene: association study with panic disorder

• Published in: The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology 2000-12, Vol.3 (4), p.321-325, Article S1461145700002078
• Main Authors: Deckert, Jürgen, Meyer, Jobst, Catalano, Marco, Bosi, Monica, Sand, Philipp, DiBella, Daniela, Ortega, Gabriela, Stöber, Gerald, Franke, Petra, Nöthen, Markus M., Fritze, Jürgen, Maier, Wolfgang, Beckmann, Helmut, Propping, Peter, Bellodi, Laura, Lesch, Klaus-Peter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brief Report
• ISSN: 1461-1457; 1469-5111
• DOI: 10.1017/S1461145700002078

Candidate genes for association studies in panic disorder are often selected on the basis of molecular mechanisms of drugs utilized in challenge tests such as m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), a non-selective 5-HT2C receptor agonist. Two novel, adjacent polymorphisms [(GT)12–18 and (CT)4–5] in the 5′-regulatory region of the X-chromosomal 5-HT2C receptor gene have recently been reported. We determined the allele frequency of long vs. short polymorphism haplotypes in a German and an Italian sample (combined n = 211) of panic disorder patients (DSM-III-R) and compared it with allele frequencies in two ethnically matched control samples (combined n = 226). In the German sample, a comparison of female genotypes containing the short haplotype vs. female genotypes containing only long haplotypes showed a significant difference (p = 0.01, χ2 analysis). In the Italian sample, however, this observation could not be replicated (p = 0.54, χ2 analysis). This argues against a major role for these promoter-associated 5-HT2C receptor gene length polymorphisms in the aetiopathogenesis of panic disorder.