Role of DRD2 and ALDH2 genes in bipolar II disorder with and without comorbid anxiety disorder

Y-S Wang; S-Y Lee; S-L Chen; Y-H Chang; T-Y Wang; S-H Lin; C-L Wang; S-Y Huang; I H Lee; P S Chen; Y K Yang; R-B Lu

doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2013.05.001

Role of DRD2 and ALDH2 genes in bipolar II disorder with and without comorbid anxiety disorder

Eur Psychiatry. 2014 Mar;29(3):142-8. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2013.05.001. Epub 2013 Jul 5.

Authors

Y-S Wang¹, S-Y Lee², S-L Chen³, Y-H Chang⁴, T-Y Wang⁵, S-H Lin³, C-L Wang³, S-Y Huang⁶, I H Lee³, P S Chen², Y K Yang⁷, R-B Lu⁸

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Behavioral Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
² Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University & Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
³ Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University & Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁴ Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University & Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Tainan Hospital, Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁷ Institute of Behavioral Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University & Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁸ Institute of Behavioral Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University & Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address: rblu@mail.ncku.edu.tw.

PMID: 23835015
DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2013.05.001

Abstract

The presence of comorbid anxiety disorders (AD) and bipolar II disorders (BP-II) compounds disability complicates treatment, worsens prognosis, and has been understudied. The genes involved in metabolizing dopamine and encoding dopamine receptors, such as aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) and dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) genes, may be important to the pathogenesis of BP-II comorbid with AD. We aimed to clarify ALDH2 and DRD2 genes for predisposition to BP-II comorbid with and without AD. The sample consisted of 335 subjects BP-II without AD, 127 subjects BP-II with AD and 348 healthy subjects as normal control. The genotypes of the ALDH2 and DRD2 Taq-IA polymorphisms were determined using polymerase chain reactions plus restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Logistic regression analysis showed a statistically significant association between DRD2 Taq-I A1/A2 genotype and BP-II with AD (OR=2.231, P=0.021). Moreover, a significant interaction of the DRD2 Taq-I A1/A1 and the ALDH2*1*1 genotypes in BP-II without AD was revealed (OR=5.623, P=0.001) compared with normal control. Our findings support the hypothesis that a unique genetic distinction between BP-II with and without AD, and suggest a novel association between DRD2 Taq-I A1/A2 genotype and BP-II with AD. Our study also provides further evidence that the ALDH2 and DRD2 genes interact in BP-II, particularly BP-II without AD.

Keywords: ALDH2; Anxiety disorders; Bipolar II disorder; DRD2.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / physiology*
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial
Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology
Anxiety Disorders / genetics*
Bipolar Disorder / epidemiology
Bipolar Disorder / genetics*
Comorbidity
Genetic Predisposition to Disease / genetics
Genotype
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Polymorphism, Genetic
Receptors, Dopamine D2 / physiology*

Substances

DRD2 protein, human
Receptors, Dopamine D2
ALDH2 protein, human
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial