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Association between a functional polymorphism in the monoamine oxidase A gene promoter and major depressive disorder
JournalArticle (Originalarbeit in einer wissenschaftlichen Zeitschrift)
ID
149584
Author(s)
Schulze, T G; Müller, D J; Krauss, H; Scherk, H; Ohlraun, S; Syagailo, Y V; Windemuth, C; Neidt, H; Grässle, M; Papassotiropoulos, A; Heun, R; Nöthen, M M; Maier, W; Lesch, K P; Rietschel, M
Association between a functional polymorphism in the monoamine oxidase A gene promoter and major depressive disorder
Journal
American journal of medical genetics
Volume
96
Number
6
Pages / Article-Number
801-3
Keywords
major depressive disorder, monoamine oxidase A gene, functional polymorphism
Abstract
Various polymorphisms of the X-chromosomal monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) gene were investigated for association with affective disorders. However, none of the studied variants could consistently be associated with either major depressive or bipolar affective disorder. Recently, a positive association between panic disorder and a novel functional repeat polymorphism in the MAO-A gene promoter, with the longer alleles being more active, was reported. Since monoaminergic neurotransmission is supposed to play an important role in affective disorders, we investigated a potential association of this polymorphism with major depressive illness in a sample of 146 unrelated patients of German descent and a control group of 101 individuals with a negative life history for affective disorders. Similarly to the recent findings in panic disorder, we observed a significantly increased frequency of genotypes containing only long alleles in female patients with recurrent major depression in comparison with age- and sex-matched controls. Thus, our data suggest that an excess of high-activity MAO-A gene promoter alleles resulting in an elevated MAO-A activity is a risk factor for major depressive disorder in females. Am. J. Med. Genet. (Neuropsychiatr. Genet.) 96:801-803, 2000.