The serotonin-1A (5HT1A) receptor system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of major depression by postmortem studies of suicide victims and depressed subjects dying of natural causes.
Epistatic Interaction Between 5-HT1A and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene Polymorphisms in the Northern Chinese Han Population With Major Depressive Disorder.
In our study, the HTR1A C(-1019)G polymorphism was found to be associated to the frequent clinical presentation of comorbid MD and GAD, suggesting a common genetic background for mixed depression and anxiety states.
The present study adds to the clarification of the role of 5-HT1A variation in treatment response in major depression by providing preliminary support for poor treatment response mediated by the 5-HT1A-1019C allele repressing 5-HT1A activity specifically in the melancholic subtype of depression.
Over-expression of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor has been implicated in reducing serotonergic neurotransmission, and is associated with major depression and suicide.
Thus, the 5-HT1A receptor gene illustrates the convergence of genetic, epigenetic and posttranscriptional mechanisms in gene expression, neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity, and major depression.
Targeted therapeutics to inhibit 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor expression and induce 5-HT(1A) heteroreceptor expression may ameliorate treatment of anxiety and major depression.
The 5-HT1A receptor gene is repressed by NUDR/DEAF-1 in raphe cells at the C-, but not at the G-allele of the C(-1019)G polymorphism that is associated with major depression and suicide.
Twenty patients with DSM-IV PTSD (13 with comorbid major depressive disorder, [MDD]) and 49 healthy volunteers underwent PET imaging with 5-HT1A antagonist radioligand [C-11]WAY100635.
Despite the fact that the contribution of the "genome" remains elusive when it comes to major depression, intriguing evidence has recently emerged pointing to sexually dimorphic influences of certain polymorphisms in genes related to the pathophysiology of major depression and antidepressant response, such as the serotonin transporter (5-HTT), serotonin 1A (5HT1A) receptor, monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) and others.
The sample comprised 426 patients suffering from unipolar MD as well as 643 healthy control subjects for the variants of the 5-HT(1A) receptor and the NET.
Polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and 5-HT1a receptor are associated with increased amygdala activation investigated with functional MRI in patients with MD.