The c.1460C&gt;T Polymorphism of<i>MAO-A</i>Is Associated with the Risk of Depression in Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

Objective . The aim of the study was an evaluation of possible relationships between polymorphisms of serotoninergic system genes and the risk of depression in postmenopausal women. Methods . We studied 332 women admitted to our department because of climacteric symptoms. The study group included 113 women with a diagnosis of depressive disorder according to the Hamilton rating scale for depression; the controls consisted of 219 women without depression. Serum 17β-estradiol concentrations were evaluated using radioimmunoassay, while polymorphisms in serotoninergic system genes: serotonin receptors 2A ( HTR2A ), 1B ( HTR1B ), and 2C ( HTR2C ); tryptophan hydroxylase 1 ( TPH1 ) and 2 ( TPH2 ), and monoamine oxidase A ( MAO-A ) were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction-restriction. Results . We found that the 1460T allele of MAO-A c.1460C&gt;T (SNP 1137070) appeared with a significantly higher frequency in depressed female patients than in the control group (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.011</mml:mn></mml:math>) and the combined c.1460CT + TT genotypes were associated with a higher risk of depression (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.0198</mml:mn></mml:math>). Patients with the 1460TT genotype had a significantly higher 17β-estradiol concentration than patients with the 1460CT genotype (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.0065</mml:mn></mml:math>) and 1460CC genotype (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.0018</mml:mn></mml:math>). Conclusions . We concluded that depression in postmenopausal women is closely related to the genetic contribution of MAO-A .