The relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms in 5-HT2A signal transduction-related genes and the response efficacy to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatments in Chinese patients with major depressive disorder.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the possible relationship between six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs6311 and rs6305 of 5-HT2A, rs5443 of Gβ3, rs2230739 of ACDY9, rs1549870 of PDE1A and rs255163 of CREB1, which are all related with 5-HT2A the signal transduction pathway) and the response efficacy to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatments in major depressive disorder (MDD) Chinese.

METHODS

This study included 194 depressed patients to investigate the influence of 6 polymorphisms in 5-HT2A signal transduction-related genes on the efficacy of SSRIs assessed over 1 year. The efficacies of SSRIs on 194 MDD patients were evaluated in an 8-week open-trial study. Over 1 year, a follow-up study was completed for 174 of them to observe the long-term efficacy of SSRIs. The optimal-scaling regression analysis was used for testing the relationship between the different genotypes of five SNPs and the efficacy in MDD.

RESULTS

It showed that the patients with rs5443TT and rs2230739GG have a relatively good efficacy in response to short-term SSRIs. We also found that good efficacy appeared in depressed patients with rs2230739GG in response to long-term SSRIs.

CONCLUSIONS

It suggested that different genotypes of rs5443 and rs2230739 might influence the signal transduction pathways of second message and affect therapeutic efficacy.