Citation

Videtic A, Pungercic G, Zupanc T, Pajnic IZ, Balazic J, Tomori M, Komel R. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 157.

Affiliation

Medical faculty, Institute of Biochemistry, Vrazov trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. alja.videtic@mf.uni-lj.si.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16964176

Abstract

Suicide is a serious mental and health problem in Slovenia, where in the year 2002 44.4 men and 10.5 women (per 100.000 citizens) committed suicide. A growing number of molecular genetic studies emphasize the involvement of genetic factors in the etiology of suicidal behavior. One possible mechanism by which genetic factors might affect the risk for suicide is by the control of serotonergic neurotransmission. Genes that code proteins involved in the serotonergic system, including tryptophan hydroxylase, serotonin transporter (5-HTT), and serotonin receptors (5-HTR) are major candidate genes. In our study we investigated 7 polymorphisms of serotonin receptors: 5-HTR1A C(47)T and G(815)A, 5-HTR2A C(-1420)T, 5-HTR1B G(861)C and A(-161)T, and 5-HTR1F C(-78)T and C(528)T. On serotonin transporter gene we analyzed one insertion/deletion of 44bp in its promoter and one VNTR in the second intron. All of the analyzed genes of serotonergic pathway were previously linked to psychiatric disease. Genotyping was performed on 226 suicide victims and 225 controls of Slovenian origin. No statistically important differences of genotype distribution between suicide and control group were detected, although polymorphism C(-1420)T of 5-HTR2A showed slight association with suicide. Further studies with more samples and additional polymorphisms of 5-HTR2C and 5-HTR6 are in progress.

Language: en