Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and polymorphisms in Monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA): a revisit

Literature describes multiple possible links between genetic variations in the neuroadrenergic system and the occurrence of sudden infant death syndrome. The X-chromosomal Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is one of the genes with regulatory activity in the noradrenergic and serotonergic neuronal systems and a polymorphism of the promoter which affects the activity of this gene has been proclaimed to contribute significantly to the prevalence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in three studies from 2009, 2012 and 2013. However, these studies described different significant correlations regarding gender or age of children. Since several studies, suggesting associations between genetic variations and SIDS, were disproved by follow-up analysis, this study was conducted to take a closer look at the MAOA gene and its polymorphisms. The functional MAOA promoter length polymorphism was investigated in 261 SIDS cases and 93 control subjects. Moreover, the allele distribution of 12 coding and non-coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the MAOA gene was examined in 285 SIDS cases and 93 controls by a minisequencing technique. In contrast to prior studies with fewer individuals, no significant correlations between the occurrence of SIDS and the frequency of allele variants of the promoter polymorphism could be demonstrated, even including the results from the abovementioned previous studies. Regarding the SNPs, three statistically significant associations were observed which had not been described before. This study clearly disproves interactions between MAOA promoter polymorphisms and SIDS, even if variations in single nucleotide polymorphisms of MAOA should be subjected to further analysis to clarify their impact on SIDS.