Association Between the SLC1A1 Glutamate Transporter Gene and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in the Chinese Han...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common, serious and genetically related mental illness; the etiology of OCD has not yet reached a definitive conclusion. Multiple evidence suggests that the glutamatergic system plays a major role in the pathophysiology of OCD. However, subsequent studies on the glutamate transporter gene are not consistent. OCD is a heterogeneous disease. To resolve the complex genetic basis of OCD, division the disorder into different subphenotypes is an effective method for studying the pathogenesis of OCD.

We recruited 438 OCD patients and 465 age- and sex-matched controls from a Chinese Han population. rs10491734, rs3780412, rs301434 and rs3087879 SNPs were genotyped by real-time TaqMan polymerase chain reaction, and the chi-squared test was used to compare allele and genotype frequencies of variants between the two groups.

The genotype of rs301434 was statistically significant in total patients with OCD and the controls. After grouping by age and gender, the genotype of rs301434 was statistically significant in early-onset OCD, late-onset OCD as well as male OCD, the allele and genotype of rs3780412 was associated with late-onset OCD. Haplotype analysis showed that four loci haplotypes (G-A-A-G and G-G-A-G) were associated with total OCD, (G-G-A-G) was associated with female OCD, (G-A-G-G) was associated with male OCD, (G-A-A-G and G-G-A-G) were associated with late-onset OCD.

This study provides suggestive evidence that SLC1A1 may be involved in the development of OCD in the Han population. However, these findings require further replication.