The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and smoking.

Although the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been mainly investigated in the context of depression and anxiety disorders, several studies also suggest an association between BDNF and smoking. BDNF represents a protein which crucially influences several processes in the cell ranging from growth to apoptosis. A functional variant of the BDNF gene - the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism - is one of the main targets in BDNF research because of its influence on BDNF secretion. Recently an association between the 66Met allele and smoking has been reported in a sample of 320 Caucasians. The aim of the present study was to replicate this association in a sample nearly twice as large consisting of N=614 German Caucasian participants. A link between smoking and the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism could not be found in our data.