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Objective To investigate whether the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAB) receptor genes,including gabbr1 gene and gabbr2 gene,are the susceptible genes for simple febrile seizures (sFS) by screening mutation of gabbr1 gene and gabbr2 gene and to study the possible association between sFS and the 2 genes.Methods All exons and flanking introns of gabbr1 gene and gabbr2 gene were amplified with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced to screen the possible mutation on 60 children with sFS in the northern China in Han nationality population.One hundred and one healthy children from the same area were selected as controls,and the genotypes of single nucleotiole polymorphisms (SNPS) (rs29220,rs29230,rs29267 on gabbr1 gene and rs1000440,rs3205936,rs2304391 on gabbr2 gene) were typed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism.EH1.20 software was used to estimate haplotype frequency to study the association with the haplotype as genetic marker between case group and control group.Results No mutation associated with sFS was found in the 60 sFS cases.In all sequenced regions,23 SNPs were identified in both genes:6 SNPs in gabbr1 gene and 17 SNPs in gabbr2 gene.The frequencies of the 6 SNPs were complied well with the Hardy-weinberg equilibrium in sFS group and normal group.Genotype proportions and allele frequencies of 6 SNPs were not significantly different between both groups.The haplotypes of 3 SNPs in gabbr1 gene and in gabbr2 gene distributions were not significantly different between 2 groups.Conclusions No mutations and associations were identified between sFS with both GABAB receptor genes(gabbr1 gene and gabbr2 gene).They may not be the susceptibility gene for simple febrile seizures in Han nationality population in northern China.
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OBJECTIVE: The genes encoding for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) A and B receptors may be considered as candidates for alcoholism; genetic alterations at this level may produce structural and functional diversity and thus play a role in the response to alcohol addiction treatment. To investigate these aspects further, we conducted a preliminary genetic association study on a population of Italian male alcohol addicts, focusing on GABA A and B receptors. METHODS: A total of 186 alcohol-dependent subjects (in the first phase 139, then 47 more samples) and 182 controls were genotyped for 25 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes encoding the alpha-1 subunit of GABA A receptor (GABRA1) and subunits 1 and 2 of GABA B receptor (GABBR1 and GABBR2). The chi-squared test for allele and genotype distributions and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium analysis of both subjects and controls were performed. Bonferroni's correction for multiple comparisons was applied. RESULTS: Preliminary results comparing 139 alcohol-dependent subjects and 182 controls showed differences in genotype distribution in the former for SNP rs29253, located in the intron region of the GABBR1 gene. In order to clarify the meaning of this association, 47 more samples from alcohol-dependent subjects were tested for this SNP only: the previously found association was not confirmed. CONCLUSION: The lack of significant differences between the two groups does not provide evidence that GABRA 1 and GABBR1 and 2 genes are candidates for alcoholism in this population. Further studies with larger samples are needed, together with investigation of other components of the GABA pathway.