Polymorphisms in the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) contribute to individual differences in human sexual behavior:: desire, arousal and sexual function
Polymorphisms in the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) contribute to individual differences in human sexual behavior:: desire, arousal and sexual function
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DOI：
10.1038/sj.mp.4001832
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发表时间：
2006-08-01
影响因子：
11
通讯作者：
Ebstein, R. P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ben Zion, I. Z.;Tessler, R.;Ebstein, R. P.
虽然有一些来自双胞胎研究的证据表明，性行为的个体差异是可遗传的，但人们对人类性行为的特定分子遗传设计知之甚少。最近，一种特异性多巴胺D4受体（DRD 4）激动剂在大鼠中被证明通过中枢机制诱导阴茎勃起。这些发现促使我们在一组148名非临床大学生中研究了DRD 4基因与人类性行为核心表型之间的可能关联，包括欲望，唤醒和功能。我们观察了外显子3重复区与C-521 T和C-616 G启动子区SNP之间的关联，并在衡量人类性行为的量表上进行了评分。最常见的DRD 4 5位点单倍型（19%）与欲望、功能和唤醒评分显著相关。目前的结果与动物研究一致，这些研究表明多巴胺，特别是DRD 4受体在性行为中的作用，并表明人类欲望，唤醒和功能的个体差异介导的一种途径是基于编码DRD 4受体基因表达差异的等位基因变体和关键大脑区域的蛋白质浓度。
Although there is some evidence from twin studies that individual differences in sexual behavior are heritable, little is known about the specific molecular genetic design of human sexuality. Recently, a specific dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) agonist was shown in rats to induce penile erection through a central mechanism. These findings prompted us to examine possible association between the well-characterized DRD4 gene and core phenotypes of human sexual behavior that included desire, arousal and function in a group of 148 nonclinical university students. We observed association between the exon 3 repeat region, and the C-521T and C-616G promoter region SNPs, with scores on scales that measure human sexual behavior. The single most common DRD4 5-locus haplotype (19%) was significantly associated with Desire, Function and Arousal scores. The current results are consistent with animal studies that show a role for dopamine and specifically the DRD4 receptor in sexual behavior and suggest that one pathway by which individual variation in human desire, arousal and function are mediated is based on allelic variants coding for differences in DRD4 receptor gene expression and protein concentrations in key brain areas.