Association between genetic variants of the norepinephrine transporter gene (SLC6A2) and bipolar I disorder

We aimed to investigate the associations between genetic variants of the norepinephrine transporter gene (NET, also known as SLC6A2) and diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. In addition, we examined the relationship between the genetic variants and manic and psychotic symptoms in patients with bipolar I disorder. The three SNPs rs28386840, rs2242446, and rs5569 were genotyped in 326 patients: patients with bipolar I disorder (n = 160) and a control group (n = 166). Subsequently, multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and sex was conducted to identify independent influences of the SNPs on diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. A possible association between manic and psychotic symptoms and variants of SLC6A2 was also investigated in patients with bipolar I disorder. The rs28836840 SNP in the 5'-UTR of SLC6A2 was significantly associated with bipolar I disorder and with severity of manic and psychotic symptoms in this disorder. Individuals carrying a T allele in the rs28836840 SNP were likely to have a lower risk of bipolar I disorder or lower severity of manic and psychotic symptoms in patients with bipolar I disorder (bipolar I disorder diagnosis: OR = 0.643, 95% Cl = 0.468-0.883, p = 0.006; manic symptoms: β = -2.457, 95% Cl = -4.674 ~ -0.239, p = 0.031; psychotic symptoms: β = -2.501, 95% Cl = -4.700 ~ -0.301, p = 0.027). For the rs2242446 and rs5569 SNPs, there were no significant differences between patients with bipolar I disorder and those without. Our results revealed associations of the rs28386840 SNP with bipolar I disorder diagnosis and with severity of manic and psychotic symptoms. However, the findings reported here require replication in larger samples and various ethnic groups.