Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism modulates inflammatory cytokine responses during acute stress

Cytokines are important mediators of various stress-related modulations of immune function. A major genetic factor determining inter-individual differences in stress reactivity is polymorphisms of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT) transporter (5HTT) gene. A short (S) variant, compared with a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2015-09, Vol.5 (1), p.13852-13852, Article 13852
Main Authors: Yamakawa, Kaori, Matsunaga, Masahiro, Isowa, Tokiko, Ohira, Hideki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/477/2811
692/699/476/1414
Adolescent
Adult
Alleles
Analysis of Variance
Cytokines
Cytokines - metabolism
Genes
Heart rate
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
IL-1β
Immune response
Inflammation
Inflammation Mediators - metabolism
Male
multidisciplinary
Polymorphism, Genetic
Science
Serotonin
Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins - genetics
Stress
Stress, Physiological - genetics
Stress, Physiological - immunology
Stress, Psychological - genetics
Stress, Psychological - metabolism
Young Adult
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Summary:Cytokines are important mediators of various stress-related modulations of immune function. A major genetic factor determining inter-individual differences in stress reactivity is polymorphisms of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT) transporter (5HTT) gene. A short (S) variant, compared with a long (L) variant, of the promoter region of the 5HTT gene-linked polymorphic region (5HTTLPR) has been related to emotional and stress hyper-reactivity. The present study examined whether the 5HTTLPR can modulate responses of inflammatory cytokines under acute stress. Nine Japanese male participants carrying two copies of the S alleles and nine Japanese males carrying S and L alleles underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Inflammatory cytokines, endocrine parameters, heart rate and subjective stress were measured before, during and after the task. The participants carrying the SS alleles, but not those carrying the SL alleles, showed a significant increase of IL-1β immediately after TSST. This hyper-reactivity to acute stress in individuals with the SS alleles was also observed in their heart rate and cortisol levels. These results suggest that the S allele of the 5HTTLPR is consistently associated with stress reactivity in multi-level stress-related biological systems.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep13852