Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata, Unit of Psychiatry B, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Genes (Basel). 2023 Jan 29;14(2):350. doi: 10.3390/genes14020350.
Serotonergic and dopaminergic systems are involved in the regulation of mood and reactivity to psychological stress. This study explores, in a sample of first episode psychosis (FEP) patients, whether more severe depressive symptoms were found in those who: (1) experienced a major stressful event in the 6 months preceding illness onset; and (2) were homozygous for the COMT Val158 allele or carrying the S allele of 5-HTTLPR. A total of 186 FEP patients recruited were assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) for depressive symptoms. Stressful life events (SLEs) were collected by the List of Events Scale. The genotypes of 5-HTTLPR, rs25531, and COMT Val158 Met were performed. It has been found that higher levels of depression is associated with the presence of SLEs ( = 0.019) and with COMT Val158 allele homozygosity ( = 0.029), but not with carrying the S allele of 5-HTTLPR. The COMT gene moderates the association between depression and SLEs as Val158 allele homozygote patients experiencing SLEs had the highest level of depressive symptoms compared to the others ( = 0.002). The present study provides initial evidence for an effect of the COMT Val158 homozygosity and severe stressful life events on the severity of depressive symptoms in first episode psychosis.
5-羟色胺能和多巴胺能系统参与调节情绪和对心理压力的反应。本研究在首发精神病患者样本中探讨了更严重的抑郁症状是否存在于以下人群：(1)在发病前 6 个月经历过重大应激事件；和(2)COMT Val158 等位基因纯合或携带 5-HTTLPR 的 S 等位基因。共招募了 186 名首发精神病患者，使用汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HAMD）评估抑郁症状。通过事件清单量表收集应激性生活事件（SLEs）。进行了 5-HTTLPR、rs25531 和 COMT Val158 Met 的基因分型。研究发现，抑郁水平与 SLEs 的存在（ = 0.019）和 COMT Val158 等位基因纯合性（ = 0.029）有关，但与携带 5-HTTLPR 的 S 等位基因无关。COMT 基因调节了抑郁与 SLEs 之间的关联，因为经历 SLEs 的 Val158 等位基因纯合患者的抑郁症状最严重（ = 0.002）。本研究初步证明了 COMT Val158 纯合性和严重应激性生活事件对首发精神病患者抑郁症状严重程度的影响。
