GSK-3β and BDNF genes may not be associated with venlafaxine treatment response in Chinese of Han ethnicity

Abstract

Qianqian Sun,1,2 Fan Yuan,1,2 Decheng Ren,1,2 Gaini Ma,1,2 Fengping Yang,1,3 Xi Wu,1,3 Lin He,1,3 Guang He1,21Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China; 2Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China; 3Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, P.R. ChinaPurpose: Venlafaxine is one of the commonly prescribed antidepressants for major depressive disorder (MDD). Accumulated evidence revealed the involvement of glutamatergic system in the pathophysiology of MDD and antidepressant treatment. Methods: We recruited 193 MDD patients who have been taking venlafaxine for 6 weeks, and investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GSK-3β and BDNF were associated with treatment response. Nine SNPs were selected randomly depending on association studies. Efficacy of treatment was determined by 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between responders and nonresponders.Results: After adjusting the false discovery rate, no significant difference was observed between response and nonresponse groups in allele or genotype distributions after venlafaxine treatment for 6 weeks.Conclusion: Our results indicated that genetic variants in the GSK-3β and BDNF may not be associated with treatment response in MDD patients treated with venlafaxine.Keywords: association, GSK-3β, BDNF, major depressive disorder, venlafaxine

Keywords

• association
• GSK-3β
• BDNF
• major depressive disorder
• venlafaxine