Citation

Pivac N, Pregelj P, Nikolac M, Zupanc T, Nedic G, Seler DM, Paska AV. Genes Brain Behav. 2011; 10(5): 565-569.

Affiliation

Laboratory for Molecular Neuropsychiatry, Division of Molecular Medicine, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, POBox 180. HR-1000 Zagreb, Croatia University Psychiatric Hospital Ljubljana, Studenec 48, Ljubljana Polje, SI-1260. Slovenia Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova ulica 2, Ljubljana, SI-1000. Slovenia Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Vrazov trg 2, Ljubljana, SI-1000. Slovenia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1601-183X.2011.00695.x

PMID

21486391

Abstract

One of the candidate genes for suicide is also a gene in the pathway for catecholamine degradation encoding an enzyme catehol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT). It harbors a common functional polymorphism, a G to A nucleotide transition resulting in amino acid substitution from valine (Val) to methionine (Met) at position 158 (COMT Val(108/158) Met; rs4680) that has been associated with psychiatric disorders characterized with an increased risk of suicidal behavior. We have performed the first study on Caucasian population examining the association between completed suicide and the COMT Val(108/158) Met polymorphism. The study population consisted of 356 suicide victims and 198 control subjects. Significant difference in COMT Val(108/158) Met variants (genotypes, alleles and Val carriers) distribution was found only in male groups, between controls and suicide victims (p = 0.018; p = 0.031; p = 0.005), and between controls and violent suicide victims (p = 0.026; p = 0.042; p = 0.010). The R value from the standardized residuals revealed that the Met/Met genotype (R = 2.03) in the control group contributed to these significant differences. In contrast to male subjects, no significant differences in the frequency of the COMT Val(108/158) Met variants were detected between female control and female suicide groups; however the POC (range 0.161-0.680) was below the desired 0.800. In addition, the logistic regression analysis confirmed these significant differences. In conclusion, our results showed the over-presentation of the Met/Met genotype in male control subjects compared to male suicide victims, suggesting that this genotype of the COMT Val(108/158) Met might be a protective factor against suicide.

Language: en