Association of Genetic Variants of Dopamine and Serotonin In Schizophrenia

Background Several studies indicated that antipsychotic treatment response and side effect manifestation can be different due to inter-individual variability in genetic variations. Aim of the study Here we perform a case-control study to explore a potential association between schizophrenia and variants within the antipsychotic drug molecular targets (DRD1, DRD2, DRD3, HTR2A, HTR6) and metabolizing enzymes (CYP2D6, COMT) genes in Armenian population including also analysis of their possible relationship with disease clinical symptoms. Methods A total of 18 SNPs was studied in patients with schizophrenia (n = 78) and healthy control subjects (n = 77) using MassARRAY genotyping. Results: We found that two studied genetic variants, namely DRD2 rs4436578C and HTR2A rs6314A are underrepresented in the group of patients compared to healthy subjects. After the correction for multiple testing, the rs4436578C variant remained significant while the rs6314A reported borderline significance. No significant differences in minor allele frequencies for other studied variants were identified. Also, a relationship between the genotypes and age of onset as well as disease duration has been detected. Conclusions The DRD2 rs4436578*C genetic variant might have protective role against schizophrenia, at least in Armenians.