Association of CHRNA4 gene polymorphisms with response to antidepressant among ethnic Han Chinese / 中华医学遗传学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) CHRNA4 gene with response to selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).@*METHODS@#For 304 patients receiving drug treatment for major depression, 2 SNPs, namely rs4522666 and rs4603829, of the CHRNA4 gene were determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. HAMD-17 was adopted as the primary rating tool to evaluate the severity of depression on the baseline and at the end of 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th weeks treatment.@*RESULTS@#The frequency of GG genotype/G allele for rs4522666 differed significantly from that of TT and GT genotypes/T allele between responders and non-responders (P=0.015 and P=0.006, respectively). No significant difference was found in genotypic and allelic frequencies of rs4603829 between the two groups (P> 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#SNPs of the CHRNA4 gene may play an important role in the response to antidepressant drugs among ethnic Han Chinese with MDD.