Relationship between polymorphisms of eNOS gene and depression

目的：我们推测eNOS基因多态性与抑郁症的发病机制有关。为了证实这一假设，我们检查了eNOS基因多态性在重度抑郁症患者之间的关联。此外，我们还研究了eNOS基因多态性与抑郁症患者HAMD和贝克抑郁量表（BDI）评分、踝肱指数（ABI）和血浆NOx水平之间的关系。材料与方法：本研究纳入我校附属医院符合DSM-IV-TR重度抑郁症诊断标准的103例住院或门诊患者（男/女：41/62，年龄：44±13岁）和104例年龄和性别匹配的健康对照（男/女：37/66，年龄：39±16岁）。基于eNOS基因的三个多态性（SNP; rs2070744, rs1799983，内含子4中的VNTR），我们对日本人群中MDD患者和健康对照组的病例对照样本进行了遗传关联分析。采用Griess法，利用ENO-20分析等离子体NOx水平。我们用TaqMan法检测了两个snp，用PCR-RFLP法检测了内含子4的VNTR多态性。结果：我们没有发现重度抑郁症患者和健康志愿者之间的基因型分布。在MDD患者中，没有观察到eNOS基因多态性与HAMD、BDI或ABI之间的关联。结论：上述结果提示eNOS基因的三种多态性在抑郁症发病机制中可能作用不大。

Objective : We hypothesized that polymorphisms of eNOS gene are associated with pathogenesis of depression. To confirm the hypothesis, we examined the association of the polymorphisms of eNOS gene between patients with MDD. In addition, we also investigated the associations among the polymorphisms of eNOS gene among scores of HAMD and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), ankle brachial index (ABI) and plasma NOx levels in depressed patients.Materials and Methods : This study included 103 in- or outpatients in our university hospital who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for MDD (M/F:41/62, age:44±13 years) and 104 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (M/F:37/66, age:39±16 years). Based on three polymorphism of eNOS gene (SNP; rs2070744, rs1799983, VNTR in intron 4), we conducted a genetic association analysis of case- control samples in patients with MDD or healthy controls in Japanese population. The plasma NOx levels were analyzed by the Griess method, using ENO-20. We used TaqMan assay for two SNPs, and the VNTR polymorphisms in intron 4 were determined by PCR-RFLP.Results : We did not find genotype distributions between patients with MDD and healthy volunteers. No associations were observed between any polymorphisms of eNOS gene and HAMD, BDI, or ABI in patients with MDD. Conclusions : These results suggest that the three polymorphisms of eNOS gene might play little roles for the pathogenesis of depression.