Association studies implicate multiple PDZ domain protein (MPDZ/MUPP1) sequence and/or expression in risk for alcoholism in humans and ethanol withdrawal (EW) in mice, but confirmation has been hindered by the dearth of targeted genetic models.
SNP rs3915568 in NTSR1, which encodes neurotensin receptor, and SNP rs1389752 in MPDZ, which encodes the multiple PDZ domain protein, were previously associated with heroin addiction or alcohol addiction, respectively.
Given the growing body of evidence that the syntenic region of human chromosome 9p and human MPDZ gene are associated with alcohol abuse, our results may facilitate research on alcohol dependence and associated withdrawal in clinical populations.
However, a global test of haplotype association revealed a significant difference in haplotype frequencies between alcohol-dependent subjects without AWS and Coriell controls (p = 0.015), suggesting a potential role of MPDZ in alcoholism and/or related phenotypes other than AWS.
However, a global test of haplotype association revealed a significant difference in haplotype frequencies between alcohol-dependent subjects without AWS and Coriell controls (p = 0.015), suggesting a potential role of MPDZ in alcoholism and/or related phenotypes other than AWS.